Enermax Liqmaxflo 420mm AIO CPU Cooler Review

If you consider all variables such as price, noise output, CPU socket compatibility and thermal performance the Enermax Liqmaxflo 420 is a good option if you are currently in the market for a big AIO CPU cooler. As long as your case can accommodate a 420mm radiator, you are not fussy about the loud VRM fan and you are happy with the short 2-year warranty in some regions, then there's really not a lot wrong with it.

But if RGB lighting is a big thing for you then you will be disappointed with this, the RGB on the fans is particularly bland. The illumination of the fan blade is very dim and dull compared to some of the best RGB AIO fans. The RGB lighting around the inside of the fan hubs is not very well diffused either so you can clearly see each individual LED rather than them blending into one which is also quite disappointing and will be unattractive to RGB lighting enthusiasts.

The VRM fan is also quite loud, if you tune the speed down you can reduce noise but the majority of the noise is due to the design of the CPU block top cover. If you remove the cover the pitch changes and the noise is reduced, so it's more about the badly designed cover than the fan but either way, it might be too much for users who want an almost silent system.

The only other issue is the length of the long fan screws. If you choose to mount the cooler at the front of the case with the fans in push configuration in front of the radiator and there is a case panel to mount through, the screws aren’t long enough which is more annoying than anything else as sometimes the screws just grab the threads on the radiator, but if you tighten more they strip the thread and then become useless. Just a few millimetres longer and they would be fine.

But you can't argue with the thermal performance, on our high-end AMD CPU test system the Liqmaxflo 420 is up there with some of the best coolers that we have tested. It does have a larger radiator than some of the other top coolers so you should expect good performance but the fans are very quiet. Even when we reduced noise down in our 40dBA limit test the cooler was able to hang on to its thermal performance, which is a great showing of true thermal performance. The cooler is also priced very competitively so if you want solid thermal performance and low noise but you're not too concerned with RGB performance then this could be the ideal cooler for you, just as long as it fits in your case that is.

The Enermax Liqmaxflo 420 is available to purchase from Amazon UK priced at £90.90 HERE.

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Pros:

• Solid thermal performance.
• A large radiator means a huge surface area for heat dissipation.
• Fans are quiet even at max RPM.
• Relatively cheap compared to some other 420mm AIOs.

Cons:

• RGB lighting on the fans is very dim and not well diffused.
• Fans screws are very short.
• VRM fan is quite loud, even more so when the grill/cover is in place.

KitGuru says: Good performance and great price, do you need any more from your CPU cooler, or would the short warranty in some regions and the poor RGB put you off?

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