INTRODUCTION

   There's no denying that CPU air coolers are the weapon of choice for the vast majority of consumers but since there's a steadily growing number of people who prefer to use closed loop AIO (All In One) liquid CPU coolers it's only natural to see more and more manufacturers add such solutions in their product lines. Of course as mentioned in the past most AIO liquid CPU cooling solutions are currently rebranded ones made by the three major names in the OEM industry namely Asetek, CoolIT and AVC (Asia Vital Components) with Asetek holding the 1st place since they are responsible for roughly 70% of such products. Recently DeepCool also decided to jump on the AIO wagon with their Maelstrom product line which includes two 120mm (single fan) and one 240mm models (dual fan) and as revealed by the title we decided to take the largest one for a ride to see how it handles.

   Deepcool was founded with the mission of providing the best performance & humanized thermal solutions for worldwide customers. Deepcool design and manufacture a comprehensive range of high quality products, covering desktop cooling solutions, laptop cooling solutions, server cooling solutions, embedded cooling solutions, and other thermal components. Our goal is to maintain customer satisfaction by serving our customer’s ever-changing thermal needs and providing the quickest and most comprehensive service available. As our slogan goes, we wish you all “Enjoy your cool life”!

   Although it really seems that much like Enermax in the past DeepCool also decided to trust AVC with the manufacture of their AIO liquid CPU coolers that's not really the case since according to them they are both behind their design and manufacture (Swiftech also makes their own closed loop AIO models so who knows, we just may also see them in the OEM market later on). So once again we have a dual 240mm AIO liquid CPU cooler which includes a 27mm thick aluminum radiator connected to a mini high-RPM zirconia ceramic bearing pump (located ontop of the copper base) via two thin 305mm long fluorinated ethylene propylene tubes. As expected DeepCool also bundles two high-RPM 120mm fans with the Maelstrom 240 both of which feature rubber frames for reduced vibrations (and thus noise) and removable impellers for easier cleaning. Specs-wise the Maelstrom 240 seems quite good but what we care most however is the same as always meaning performance and noise levels so let’s see how DeepCool intends to compete in a market filled with AIO liquid CPU coolers.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

A large sketch of the pump beneath the GamerStorm logo and alongside a small product image with its main features listed beneath it are all placed at the top of the box.

The specifications and features of the Maelstrom 240 are placed at the front.

Several sketches of the Maelstrom 240 parts are placed at the rear right next to the mainboard/CPU compatibility lists.

Everything is nicely placed inside a formed piece of cardboard (much like with every other AIO we've seen).

Inside the box you will find the Maelstrom 240, two 120mm fans with their mounting screws, fan hub with a cable tie and a sticker, users guide (for both the Maelstrom 240 and the fan hub), GamerStorm case badge and mounting hardware for Intel LGA 1150/1155/1156/1366/2011 and AMD AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+/FM1/FM2/FM2+ compatible mainboards.

THE MAELSTROM 240

The main body of the Maelstrom 240 is not really different than all the others we've seen in the past although the base/pump combo is actually larger compared to what we've seen to date.

As you can see the radiator is just 27mm thick which is quite smaller compared to some 32mm thick ones we've gotten our hands on.

You can install up to 4 fans onto the 274mm long radiator (two 120mm fans on each side).

Aside a single fin which was slightly damaged the rest of the fins are of very good quality.

Although the 305mm long fluorinated ethylene propylene tubes are not as soft as the ones used by Asetek and CoolIT still they are almost equally flexible.

The pump/base combo is 31.5mm thick and has the GamerStorm logo on it which lights up when connected to the mainboard.

The tubes don't rotate as much as the ones we've seen with other AIO models but even this should be enough to simplify the installation.

The large copper base of the Maelstrom 240 comes with a thin layer of thermal conductive material pre-applied on it.

DeepCool decided to use two GF120 120mm fans that feature rubber frames and removable impellers.

The black/red color combination had me from the get go since it so happens to be my favorite one.

You can plug up to four 4pin PWM fans into the bundled fan hub but unfortunately you can't control their speed with it.

The GamerStorm logo looks very nice once the Maelstrom 240 is installed.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY 

   We always take things quite seriously when it comes to work so just like with the previous LGA1366 database we will not be testing each CPU Cooler on its own and with different ambient temperature levels and thus we can actually have yet another valid CPU Cooler database. Testing a CPU Cooler automatically means that you need to know where it stands against the immediate competition and to accomplish that we have spent both money and time through the years, something that we plan to continue to do so in order to get the most accurate results for the end consumers who read these lines. Every CPU cooler in this database is tested with the bundled 140mm/120mm/92mm/80mm fans while working at both idle speed and 100% of their speeds for all the temperature tests. CPU Coolers that do not come bundled with a fan/s are measured using a Noctua fan (size dependent on the model) to test for the temperature tests but due to the lack of a stock fan dBA level tests are obviously skipped. Single (120/140mm) watercooling solutions are tested with the radiator mounted at the rear of our test rig while dual/triple/quad (240/260/280/360/420/480/560mm) solutions with the radiator mounted at the top. For the dBA tests every cooler in the database was measured both while on idle mode or with the fan controller in the minimum setting and while on extreme load or with the fan controller all the way to the highest possible setting (PWM fans do that on their own without our intervention). Every single test takes place in a temperature controlled room of 23 degrees Celsius Ambient Temp with the help of two AC units placed diagonally inside the room. The Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste is used with every CPU Cooler in our latest LGA2011 database (although initially this was not the plan we had to change things to get the most accurate results). Finally it's very important to point out that just because a CPU Cooler is better than another when tested with our test rig that does not necessarily mean that the same performance differences will apply 100% for other CPU models and in other situations (such as different ambient temps and system configurations).

     To successfully record the load temperatures we use the latest OCCT application for around 6-10 minutes to push the processor to its limits and after that is done and the temperatures are recorded we wait for about 10-20 minutes for the CPU to cool down and record the idle temperatures. This is done to allow time for the thermal conductive material to achieve the optimal performance level. Same procedure is then repeated with the Passmark BurnIn Test as a failsafe just in case the OCCT results are wrong. This procedure takes a lot more time than the usual peltier/thermometer tests but this way not only can we deliver real world results to our readers based on real CPUs but we can also triple check the results using a variety of programs. Last but not least the temperatures were recorded using both the latest versions of AIDA64 and RealTemp while the noise level tests are performed using a high precision ExTech HD600 Decibel Meter placed about 10-15cm above the CPU Cooler. Still although the same testing procedure applies to all units do take into consideration that unlike the official numbers which are measured in special noise isolated labs with just the fans here we also have both the rest of the cooler and the rest of the system (although all system fans are turned off when recording noise levels).

TEST RESULTS

CONCLUSION

   The introduction of a close loop AIO line of liquid CPU coolers by DeepCool didn't come as a surprise to us since judging by their very good CPU air cooler line we knew that it would eventually happen. Knowing however that they'd eventually introduce their very own AIO liquid CPU cooler line is not the same as knowing how it would perform so after wrapping up all our tests i can say that things are quite positive. Of course we can't have it all so since the two 120mm fans are quieter compared to those of both the Water 3.0 Extreme by Thermaltake and the KUHLER H2O 1250 by Antec the Maelstrom 240 does fall back a bit in terms of performance but nothing drastic. On the other hand however it comes really close to the Archon IB-E X2 (the Archon IB-E X2 is however even quieter) so that's a really good alternative as long as it fits inside your PC case.

   The entire Maelstrom line of closed loop AIO liquid CPU coolers by DeepCool is very new so it's not really widely available currently so we were unable to locate the 240mm model in the usual stores both in the USA and in the EU (Newegg will carry it soon). According to DeepCool however the Maelstrom 240 will retail at USD105.99 inside the USA and 105.99Euros inside the EU so it will be amongst the most affordable 240mm AIO liquid CPU coolers in the market. That being said performance was very good and the two 120mm fans were quieter than the competition so we are awarding the Maelstrom 240 liquid CPU cooler by DeepCool with our Golden Award.

PROS

- Good Build Quality
- Design (Black & Red Color Combination)
- Very Good Cooling Performance
- Quiet Fans (For An 240mm AIO Model)
- Bundled Fan Hub
- Price (For Some) 

CONS

- Current Availability
- PWM Fan Speed Regulation Only