discussion Cooler Master Nepton 240M Cooler Review

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Over half a year ago Cooler Master launched their Nepton 280L an impressive dual 140mm radiator AIO with an excellent combination of performance and value-added features. While Cooler Master was actually one of the first manufacturers to realize the potential of All in One water cooling designs, the competition long since overcame the initial hesitation and now there’s a dizzying number of options in this segment. In the last few months alone we’ve reviewed samples from NZXT, Deepcool and Enermax. Corsair, what many consider to be the 700lb gorilla in the closed loop water cooling market, has also launched a refresh of their lineup.

So where does this leave Cooler Master? Rather than following in footsteps of some competitors who have decided to rebrand generic Asetek designs, they’re innovating in a number of different areas. The end result is the Nepton 240M, a high performance 240mm AIO which promises to deliver excellent performance metrics for some of today’s hottest running processors.

For many consumers dual 120mm units offer the best blend of abilities and compatibility as they may not be able to keep up with dual 140mm based devices, but they still offer plenty of performance while offering fewer case mounting constraints and boast lower asking prices. For the most part this perfectly sums up the relationship between the Nepton 240M and its bigger sibling the 280L's relationship. It also happens to be much easier to compare this 240M to the 280L rather than to the older Seidon 240M it replaces.

Much like the Nepton 280L, the new 240M makes use of an entirely in-house design. In fact, the custom waterblock is nearly a clone of the one found on the 280L. This means it uses a design philosophy that is the antithesis of the Seidon 240M's so it is large, easy to work with and offers very decent performance levels.

Also like the 280L, the 240M comes standard with two very high performance fans, and an anti vibration strip that reduces harmonic dissonance created from the vibration of these fans. Sadly, Cooler Master has also forgone the use of any fan controller abilities and instead relies upon your motherboard to keep the noise profile in check. This is an area we will be paying close attention to as the fans were a sore spot for customers of the Seidon 240M since they were quite loud.

Cooler Master has also taken a page from the Seidon 240M series. Instead of using a 30mm thick radiator capable of mounting multiple size fans like the Nepton 280L can, the new 240M has a 27mm thick radiator which can only accommodate 120mm fans. The fan compatibility limitations are par for the course since no one would want to use 140mm fans on a smaller radiator while the thinner radiator should lower static pressure needs and speed up airflow through the fin array.

With an average online asking price of $129 it is this unique combination of features, price, and performance that Cooler Master is hoping will make the Nepton 240M just as popular as the 280L. However with such stiff competition from the likes of Corsair (H100i, H105), Silverstone (TD02), Enermax (Liqtech 240HP), and a whole host of others Cooler Master does have their work cut out for them.

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Closer look at the Nepton 240M

Closer look at the Nepton 240M

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The accessories which accompany the Nepton 240M share more in common with Seidon 240M rather than the Nepton 280L. Just like its direct predecessor, this cooler includes a well-documented installation pamphlet, a large bag containing mounting equipment for all current Intel and AMD systems, a small tube of TIM and even a rubber vibration dampening sheath to help reduce fan / radiator mount vibrations. The latter is something not usually found in AIO accessory lists but it still quite welcome.

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Rather than following in the Seidon series’ footsteps, the Nepton 240M uses a design that’s reminiscent of its larger sibling. It uses high performance fans and a relatively large water block which incorporates several of Cooler Master’s design advances.

Speaking of the fans, they’re likely the most important aspect of this design. Both are 4-pin PWM capable, rated for 800-2400RPM and can move upwards of 76 cubic feet of air per minute with a whopping 4.8mm of static pressure. Interestingly they use Loop Dynamic Bearings instead of the rifle or hydro dynamic variety. Thanks to LD bearings, these fans are rated for a lifespan of 160,000 hours and while they will never even remotely be considered quiet their performance aspects are fairly decent.

Thanks to the included anti-vibration sleeve, most of the noise produced by these fans is from air movement rather than vibrations. Unfortunately, going hand in hand with the usual issues that using such high performance fans bring to the table, Cooler Master has once again forgone the use of any integrated fan controller. The impact from this oversight will vary from minor to moderate and will depend on your motherboard's built in fan controller ability. Given the price point of this dual 120mm AIO, this omission is rather disappointing.

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The Nepton 240M’s radiator is an interesting affair since it is basically a clone of the Seidon’s; right down to the extra fill port next to the standard inlet/outlet ports. It also boasts a classic thin 27mm design that uses folded aluminum fins to transfer the heat from the water channels to the air. This radiator design has been surpassed by newer, more efficient layouts and it was disappointing to see that Cooler Master did not address either the thickness or folded fin issues with this newer model.

On the positive side, the same 15.5mm FEP tubing that is used on the Nepton 280L has been carried over to the Nepton 240M. This in conjunction with the larger integrated water reservoir should help boost the overall performance abilities of the Nepton 240M compared to the Seidon 240M. However while thicker, the tubing still is made from FEP and not PA rubber compounds. This makes them stiffer and less flexible than competing solutions.

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The included water block is basically the same one that comes with the Nepton 280L. This is easily the largest improvement over the Seidon 240M that Cooler Master has given their latest cooler. Put simply the Seidon 240M used an extremely low profile water block and we always thought it was one of the weakest links in its design.

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Going hand in hand with the improvements the waterblock brings to the table are the same inherent issues that the Nepton 280L suffers from. First and foremost the mounting solution is anything but optimal and it may hinder the installation procedure for novice users. The base’s finishing isn’t all that great either.

Internally the waterblock has been upgraded and improved over the Seidon series with better efficiency to take advantage of the large water pump’s increased flow rates. While there’s lower head pressure than the Seidon, it remains to be seen how this design stacks up against Enermax's Shut Channel Technology which uses numerous smaller channels to achieve the same end result. Make no mistake about it though, waterblock is still very efficient which translates into very little pump noise.

 

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Setup and Installation Issues

Setup and Installation Issues

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If you have ever installed a Cooler Master Seidon, Enermax Liqtech AIO, or even a DeepCool Maelstrom, the CM Nepton installation will seem very familiar. This is one area that Cooler Master seems to have fallen behind the curve on, and it is one of the bigger weaknesses of the Nepton series. This is a shame as in nearly every area of the Nepton design Cooler Master has taken the time to further refine and polish their rather good custom design.

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Compared to Asetek’s new top bracket based design or CoolIT’s excellent magnetic system the Nepton feels like it uses a mounting system from yesteryear. With that being said, there are some major benefits to utilizing a mounting procedure that should be familiar to pretty much everyone.

For Intel users, the beginning of the process will feel a bit tedious since they’re used to having the necessary hardware pre-mounted for them and Cooler Master ships their block without such niceties. Ah, first world problems….. With that being said, anyone with an AMD system will appreciate avoiding the messy process of uninstalling incompatible mounting accessories.

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Looking past the lack of preparation there are several other hurdles to overcome. Normally we would praise mechanical mounting hardware since it virtually guarantees secure and fool-proof installation but Cooler Master uses a ton of extremely small hardware bits to get the job done. Just getting the mini-me sized screws to line up between the water block and retention arms is a lesson in frustration and heaven help you if you lose one of them! With such a large waterblock there is simply no need for those small screws.

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Getting past the actual hardware components and looking at the installation experience as a whole also leaves us less than enthused. Actually wrangling the entire affair into position isn’t a problem in larger cases but in more confined spaces the extremely rigid tubing becomes a hindrance. It just isn’t as flexible as its competitors.

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On the positive side, once you do have the AIO installed this mounting hardware does offer a very secure setup and one that you can set and forget. It is just a shame that Cooler Master did not take a Mulligan on this design and instead simply went with the less than optimal previous generation design.

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Stock Fan Performance Results

Stock Fan Performance Results

You can find our 2015 CPU Cooler Testing Methodology HERE.

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It is obvious that Cooler Master has spent a lot of time and effort on their design and the results do speak for themselves. In a single generation Cooler Master has noticeably improved their dual bay All In One cooling solution in a single generation, especially when you consider both the Nepton and Seidon use the same fans and similar radiators. This means the 240M's water block takes the lion's share of credit.

We can talk all we want about improvements but as temperatures rise, efficacy starts falling behind. The 240M still remains one of the better 240mm coolers around but the competition gradually creeps up in the standings.

 

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Quad Fan Performance / Sound Testing

Quad Fan Performance Results

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Once again the Nepton 240M offers a noticeable improvement in performance over the older Seidon 240 series. Unfortunately the ultra-powerful fans that Cooler Master has gifted this unit with are not enough to keep up with the competition at all but the slowest of RPM's. This is unfortunate as the waterblock is very efficient, but the older radiator it relies upon did cost it a few degrees of performance. These days a few degrees of performance is all that takes to separate the best from the worst.

Sound Level Testing

<i>While everyone "hears" noise differently there is one easy way to remove all subjectivness and easily compare different fans: use a sound level meter. This way you can easily compare the various fans noise envelopes without us coloring the results and see what fans fit within your personal comfort level. Of course, we will endeavor to try and explain the various results (which are taken at a 30 inch distance) to help you our readers get an even better understanding of how loud a cooler's stock fan is, but even if you discount our personal opinions, the fact remains numbers don't lie. All fans are tested with both voltage regulation / PWM turned off. 30 decibels was the background noise level and as such anything below this level is considered inaudible. This is why the bottom of the chart stops at 30.</i>

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As expected the fans are loud, and have a rather 'distinctive' sound profile. If noise is a top priority this is not the AIO you want since there's a noticeable while that doesn't translate well into the chart above. This issue could have been somewhat mitigated if Cooler Master had included fan control abilities, but since they didn't we cannot even give them credit for trying to help make the Nepton 240M a unit capable of fitting in with a wide range of consumers unless some intervention from the motherboard is possible.

 

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Conclusion

Conclusion

Please note that since this review was posted, Cooler Master has reduced the price of their Nepton 240M by roughly 20%. With that in mind, it becomes quite a bit more competitive from a price / performance standpoint as it now competes directly against many of the single-bay 140mm coolers.)

Cooler Master’s Nepton 240M has some big shoes to fill. Not only does it have to compete in an increasingly cluttered market but it also needed to significantly improve upon the performance offered by the very capable Seidon 240M. Both goals were accomplished though to varying degrees.

When taken at face value this new Nepton offers good performance relative to the Seidon series and lines up quite well against the immediate competition. It certainly won’t be wining any efficiency contests when cooling off Haswell processors and posts competent results across the board but it neither stands out for being below or above average in its abilities. When going toe to toe against the likes of Corsair, NZXT, Thermaltake and others, cooling needs to be top-notch unless some additional enticing features are thrown into the melting pot.

Normally at this point we’d begin talking about how massive cooling performance should never be the final word when evaluating an All in One closed loop systems. Top-end results can be derived from custom loops while these AIOs are meant to satisfy users who want affordable, quiet and easy-to-install cooling solutions.

Had the Nepton shone in every one of those categories, it could have still been a class leader. Unfortunately it offers up a somewhat mixed bag here as well. The price is certainly right and happens to be one of the lowest in the 240mm segment. However, like its predecessors the 240M has a slightly antiquated mounting process that uses a maddening number of small components. In order to keep costs down an integrated fan controller has been left on the cutting board, leaving users at the mercy of their motherboard’s abilities (or lack thereof). The lack of fan control can also negatively affect acoustics since the high RPM fans tend to emit a noticeable whine when operating in ranges above 1200RPMs.

With all of that being said Cooler Master has to be commended for making a totally in-house AIO that is very competitive with more entrenched designs. Asetek and CoolIT have much, much more experience in modern AIO engineering and yet Cooler Master has created product that can easily hold its own with either OEM’s offerings. With only a few tweaks, we are positive they could create something special.

In the end, the Cooler Master Nepton 240M will not be right for everyone, but consumers should not count it out either. With some judicious price cuts it could indeed become one of the best value-oriented dual bay AIOs available. As such we highly recommend keeping a close eye on this model and waiting for it to go on sale. With a lower asking price many of its “missing” features become a lot more tolerable.