INTRODUCTION

   With a huge selection of CPU coolers in the market today from regular air coolers and AIO liquid solutions up to custom cooling loops and Freon kits (all available in various sizes) no consumer can claim that there's not one designed to cover his needs. Still although finding the right cooler is relatively easy there's one thing not many manufacturers seem to care about and that's the color since most coolers right now are either nickel plated (air coolers primarily) or black. Now I’m not the most demanding user when it comes to color since at the end of the day hardware components placed inside a PC case are not as visible (if at all) as external components but i do understand the why some people care a lot about that. DeepCool seems to understand that as well and so shortly after their CAPTAIN AIO Liquid CPU Cooler line which featured a nice black & red color combination they launched the same exact line but this time in black & white color.

   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”!

   Having already reviewed two out of the three available models in the CAPTAIN AIO line of liquid CPU coolers by DeepCool the 240mm model is not really something new for us. So once again we find the typical configuration consisting of a 240mm radiator (274.2mm total to be precise), two 120mm high-RPM (2200RPM +- 10%) low-noise fluid dynamic bearing fans with removable impellers (for easier cleaning) and rubber coating (de-vibration design), two long fluorinated ethylene propylene tubes and a high-RPM (2200RPM) ceramic-bearing pump (MTBF of 120.000 hours) placed on top of a all-copper base. DeepCool is behind the design and manufacture of the CAPTAIN 240 and just like with the 120 and 360 models they've used a LED to illuminate the reactor-like top of its pump (this time however instead of red the bionic breathing LED is white). What remains is for us to check and see where the 240mm lands between the 120mm and 360mm models.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

A large product picture is placed at the front of the box right next to the company logo.

The specifications of the fans are printed on the left side.

A product sketch and a list of compatible CPU sockets are all printed at the rear of the box.

Both the specifications and features of the CAPTAIN 240 White are placed at the top.

The CAPTAIN 240 White and its bundle are placed inside plastic bags and a formed piece of cardboard.

As usual DeepCool has bundled quite a few things with the CAPTAIN 240 White so aside the main unit you're also getting the two 120mm fans, 8 fan radiator mounting screws, 3pin expansion cable, 4-way fan controller, case badge, single cable tie, installation instructions and all the required bits and pieces to mount the CAPTAIN 360 onto Intel LGA 1150/1155/1156/1366/2011/2011-v3 and AMD AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+/FM1/FM2/FM2+ mainboards.

THE CAPTAIN 240 WHITE

The CAPTAIN 240 White features a mid-sized radiator measuring 274.2mm in length, 120mm in width and 27mm in height (thickness).

The radiator is 27mm thick just like with most 240mm ones used in AIO solutions.

Fin quality is very good this time over as you can clearly see from the above picture (FPI count of 22).

Just like the other two CAPTAIN models you can easily gain access to the liquid used by DeepCool to fill the loop (it will however void your warranty).

Both tubes are 300mm in length but this type is not as flexible as the rubber ones we see with most AIO models.

The pump is the best looking part of the CAPTAIN 240 thanks to the reactor-like transparent section which allows you to see the liquid circulating. Specs-wise this particular pump can reach speeds of up to 2200RPM (+_10%) and has a MTBF (meantime between failures) of up to 120.000 hours.

Both tubes can rotate up to 60 degrees from the base of the cooler to allow for easier installation.

Once again DeepCool has applied a thin layer of thermal conductive material on the all-copper base right from the factory.

The two "tweaked" GF120 120mm fans bundled with the CAPTAIN 240 can spin up to 2200RPM (+_10%) to produce airflow up to 91.12CFM with just 39.3dBA of noise.

These fans have fins on the edge of each blade and are surrounded by rubber which reduces vibrations.

The 4-way fan controller (actually 3-way since one slot is reserved for the pump) has always been a very good addition to the CAPTAIN series of AIO liquid coolers.

The time has come for us to mount the CAPTAIN 240 White and see just how good it is.

I do prefer red but the white LED of the CAPTAIN 240 White is not half bad either.

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

   Both the CAPTAIN 120 and the 360 models performed extremely well back when we reviewed them slightly over a year ago and although since then we’ve tested several new AIO liquid CPU coolers the CAPTAIN 240 White does not disappoint. Certainly as you can all see from our charts it falls just a tad short when compared to the current generation 240mm AIO models like the Tundra TD02 line (DeepCool just announced their new generation models which they’ve named EX) but a roughly 57 degrees Celsius while at heavy load is by no means a bad result. What the CAPTAIN 240 White offers however is something you can’t get with any other AIO model and that’s a white/black color combination (not to mention the great looking reactor-like section) which thanks to several white PC cases, mainboards, graphics cards and PSUs is quite popular nowadays (especially among modders). The ability to remove the impellers from the fans for easier cleaning may not be the most important feature of the CAPTAIN 240 White but it’s certainly also a plus just like with the CAPTAIN 120 and 360 models.

   DeepCool launched the white variants of the CAPTAIN AIO line primarily to cover modders and for that its price tag is somewhat “inflated” compared to the one of the regular CAPTAIN 240 model (red/black color). To be more exact as we speak the CAPTAIN 240 White costs roughly 20% more since it retails for USD124.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 125Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk). In the end it’s not our place to say whether or not the white/black version is worth the extra price since if you’re building a white system it’s pretty much a one way but personally I do hope DeepCool can level their prices between models with different color combinations. With that out of the however the CAPTAIN 240 White is a very good 240mm AIO liquid CPU cooler and for that it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Very Good Performance
- Radiator Thickness (27mm)
- Noise Levels
- Easy Installation
- Transparent Pump
- White & Black Color Combination 

CONS

- No Control Software
- Price (For Some)