We have earlier tested DC Radiant 240 from darkFlash and this budget cooler got our praise. This time we are taking a look at the Twister 2.6 DC36 White edition from the same manufacturer. This is a 360mm version and this version is compatible with Intel LGA1700 and AMD AM5 sockets. We have got a white color edition which looks quite pleasing.

Key features include:

• Redesign water pump infinity mirror with 360-degree rotation
• Cooling fans are synchronizable with most motherboards.
• Dense liquid channels for a better cooling effect.
• Supports both Intel and AMD
• TDP: 285W

I am a bit surprised to see that darkFlash rated the 240mm version for 270W TDP and this 360mm version is rated for a mere 285W. This makes me think that DC Radiant is actually their new generation compared to Twister.

Item:                     Twister DX360 V2.6 White

Price:                    PKR 25000

Twister DX360 V2.6 Specifications

Packaging and Unboxing

The cooler is shipped inside a cardboard packing box. darkFlash has emphasized two key changes over here. One is the compatibility with the Intel LGA1700 and the AMD AM5 sockets. The second is a rotatable pump top in 360° rotation so that the darkFlash logo remains upright.

Infinity 8 ARGB PWM Fans caught my attention while I was looking at the backside. What is Infinity 8? I don’t know. What I know is that there is an infinity mirror effect on the center of these fans which gives quite a cool look to the unit. darkFlash has listed more features of the unit over here.

There is another container inside the main box. The main cooler and the contents are placed in this container for safe and sound shipping.

Accessories

Let’s see what accessories are provided.

There is a printed user guide. I did not check it since the mounting mechanism of this cooler is the same as is on the DC Radiant 240.

The mounting hardware is provided inside a transparent container. 360 is labeled on top of this container indicating that it is for the 360mm size cooler.

There are:

• 4x Intel LGA 115x Standoff Screws
• 1x Intel Backplate
• 4x Intel Thumb Nuts
• 4x Intel LGA1700 Standoff Screws
• 4x Intel LGA20xx Standoff Screws
• 4x Intel LGA1700 Washers (Not in the Picture)

There are two mounting brackets for the pump housing.

There are two AMD mounting brackets and two screws. There are 12x fan screws and 12 radiator screws.

There is a 3-port fan hub included as well. This port has 3x 4-pin PWM ports.

Closer Look

Let’s take a look at the unit starting with the radiator.

This cooler has a 360mm size and comes with a radiator having a dimension of 394x120x27mm. Here 27mm is the thickness of this unit. Installing a 120x25mm fan would make this thickness 53mm or so including the thickness of the screw head. The complete assembly is white color coated. The fin density is 20 FPI. There are 12 channels for coolant flow. There is a gap of 105mm between two mounting holes at opposite ends. There is a gap of 15mm between two adjacent mounting holes.

The far end or block has rounded corners to my liking. It has a thin profile which is obvious and more of a standard design. There is no sticker or label of any sort over here.

The overall fin stacking job is satisfactory as we did not find any bend or broken fin.

Looking at the tube side of the radiator, we can see a serial number sticker or label however you name it. White color metallic covers hide the connections. There is a warranty void sticker over another port cover. Possibly this port is reserved for factory use and tampering with it may lose the vacuum pressure of the loop.

There is a darkFlash text in a white color on the side frame. This frame is riveted to the main housing. There is a gap between side frame and actual fin stack implying that thickness of fin stack is less than 27mm.

darkFlash uses rubber tubes. These have nylon braided mesh sleeves over them. These tubes have a length of 400mm. These tubes are not that flexible.

The pump housing is made of plastic material and it is in a ring or circular design. It has a dimension of 78.5x70x54mm. There is a dual-chamber sort of design. The top chamber can be rotated. There is a thick diffuser separating the top portion from the lower portion. The top portion has an infinity mirror effect with a darkFlash brand logo whereas the lower chamber has a pump and cooling block.

The above picture shows the top view of this block. It has a high glossy finish and is fingerprint magnet.

There is no branding or styling on any side of this housing.

Looking at the main frame from the front, we can see flat cables coming from the upper base. The majority of the AIOs have these cables coming out from the tube end of the block and that makes the cable management easier than this way.

There is a 3-pin connector on a cable powering the pump. There are standard 3-pin, 5V ARGB connectors for the ARGB LEDs. This makes the Twister DX360 V2.6 compatible with the RGB sync technology of major motherboard manufacturers. The pump is rated for 2700 ± 10% RPM. It is rated for 12VDC.

There are two more cables coming out from the base. One is the SATA connector and the other is the RESET SW label connector cable. Both are optional. These cables would be needed in case your motherboard does not have a 5V, 3-pin ARGB header, in which case you would have to sacrifice the reset connector on the front panel of your PC Case by connecting it to this connector and powering this connection using SATA. This will enable the pre-programmed ARGB modes allowing the users to still enjoy lighting effects.

The above picture is taken from darkFlash website and it highlights the same what we have described above.

The backside of this housing has 90° right-angled fittings on which the tubes are connected. They can be moved towards the right and left depending on the requirement. darkFlash has used metallic clamps to conceal the connection. There is a copper base on this unit measuring 55x55mm. The mounting brackets are installed on the housing using 4x screws.

There are three 120mm A-RGB fans that come with this cooler. Unlike the DC Radiant cooler, these fans don’t come pre-installed. Each fan has 9 blades. There is a darkFlash branding on the hub. Hub has a large size diameter because it has A-RGB LEDs and it has an infinity mirror design as well. This is something new to me. Overall, this cooler is quite something to look for. There are cut-to-size anti-vibration pads on the mounting corners.

We could not find the arrow symbols that help the novice user identify the direction in which the blades would spin and the direction of airflow through the fan. There is a stylish striped design on the sides.

There is a 6-arms assembly on the backside. There are two arms extended from one arm that catches the wires passing from the hub towards the frame. The fans are made in China. There is no power rating printed over here.

darkFlash is using standard ARGB connectors which is a wise move. The fan’s power cable has a 4-pin PWM connector. Salient specifications are:

Installation

We are not covering the details of installation. Please refer to the online user guide for detailed instructions about installing this cooler. We did not notice any observation during the installation.

RGB Lighting

Since darkFlash is using standard RGB connectors, the A-RGB lighting is compatible with RGB sync technologies of motherboard manufacturers. We have tested on GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS ELITE AX motherboard using RGB FUSION 2.0 app and it was found working fine. The lighting solution is compatible with:

• ASUS AURA SYNC
• ASRock POLYCHROME SYNC
• GIGABYTE RGB FUSION 2.0
• MSI MYSTIC LIGHTING SYNC

Here are a few pictures:

Thermal Testing

We have used the following configuration for testing:

• Intel Core i7 13700k
• GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS ELITE AX
• Kingston Fury DDR5 32GB @ 6400MHz CAS 32
• Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 2TB NVMe SSD [For OS]
• GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3060 VISION OC
• Be quiet! Straight Power 11 850W Platinum PSU
• Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition in an open frame layout

The test table for Intel core i7 13700k is:

We have seen AMD AM5 and Intel Alder Lake S CPUs taking more power and this time both sides have aimed at reaching the maximum clocks regardless of thermal limit. In fact, the AM5 SKUs will run into thermal limits right away depending on the cooling solution and the clocks being used. This has made testing of CPU coolers challenging because viewers/readers are not used to a new nomenclature which is what clocks are sustained under a given load using a particular cooler. That is if the cooler is capable of providing enough cooling head to sustain the high frequencies at high package power. Among other reasons is the high thermal density of these new CPUs. Traditionally we are used to going the other way around that is which cooler is better in terms of thermal capacity. Despite this, we are using temperatures as a base for measuring this unit.

The ambient temperature was 27°C. We are reporting absolute temperatures in the graph. The testing is done on an open-air bench system. Once inside the chassis, the temperatures are expected to rise and would largely depend upon the optimal airflow inside the chassis.

Disclaimer: Every silicon is different hence no two same SKUs are likely to take same voltage to yield same performance at same thermals per se but margin would be close. Not every stress test run may yield the same result which could be due to various reasons like thermal paste application, ambient temperature variation, mounting pressure of the cooler, etc. This is why we have listed our variables and their settings. Let’s take a look at the results.

Result

The darkFlash Twister DX360 V2.6 has performed quite well beating the ID-COOLING DASHFLOW 360 XT LITE WHITE by 1°C though this is a marginal takeover. In fact, both coolers are in the same thermal performance range. This is where the darkFlash cooler has a distinct advantage because of its price. It is retailing at PKR 25,000/- whereas the ID-COOLING cooler will be released at 36,500/-.

Noise

This cooler was loud making 55 dB(A) at an ambient of 32 dB(A).

Conclusion

We have tested a 360mm cooler from darkFlash named Twister DX360 V2.6. The version 2.6 is latest and supports Intel LGA1700 and AMD AM5. In addition to this support, the block of this cooler has a rotatable top cover which is a wise decision by the manufacturer. The radiator is made of aluminum material and has a dimension of 394x120x27mm. The total thickness of this unit would be near 53mm or so including the thickness of the fan screw head. Since this is a white edition, the complete assembly is spray color coated in white color.  There are 12 coolant flow channels and fin density stands at 20 FPI. The connections are concealed using white color clamps. The rubber tubes have nylon braided sleeves that run to 400mm in length.

The block has a circular design with a dual chamber design. The top portion houses ARGB LEDs and an infinity mirror finish with a darkFalsh logo on the top. Speaking of the top, it has a glossy finish. Handle it with care since it is a fingerprint magnet. There is a backlit diffuser running across the borderline between the top and the bottom chamber. The lower chamber has a pump and cold plate. We only know that the pump runs at a maximum of 2700 RPM ± 10% at 12VDC. I hope that the pump is using ceramic bearing but can’t confirm since there is no data available. The copper base roughly measures 55×55. The pump is powered by a cable having a 3-pin connector. The ARGB LEDs are powered by standard 3-pin, 5V connectors that make this cooler compatible with the RGB sync technology of major motherboard manufacturers. There are two more cables as well. One is SATA and the other has a large-size connector. These are optional and would come in handy for users who have motherboards without ARGB headers. Those users can optionally sacrifice the reset functionality of their PC Case by connecting the front panel’s reset connector to this header/connector of the cooler and powering it using the SATA cable. Using the pre-programmed RGB modes, one can still enjoy the lighting effects. I am not sure if this is a cost-effective measure or something but it is better than those dedicated ARGB controllers that need to be placed inside the case and there is no access to them. On the other hand, there is no alternative to a proper ARGB controller.

darkFlash has provided three 120mm ARGB fans in white color with this cooler. Each fan has 9 blades. These fans are using Rifle bearings. Their rated speed is between 800 and 1800 RPM generating airflow of 51 CFM ± 10% at a static pressure rating of 1.5 mmH₂O at 12VDC. These fans have a sound output rating of 32 dB(A) ± 10%. Their life span is 30,000 hours MTTF. They have a 4-pin PWM connector and standard 3-pin, 5V ARGB connectors for daisy-chaining. I appreciate the use of standard connectors. There is no 3-way PWM splitter cable. Instead, there is a fan hub included in the box. This is a fancy way of doing the same thing.

We have tested this cooler on the Intel platform on the LGA1700 socket. The installation on the LGA1700 socket is simple and it requires 15 items to complete the block’s installation on the CPU. However, cable management would be challenging because cables are coming out of the pump housing from the front side. The top cover is rotatable hence the orientation of the installation is not an issue.

This cooler is retailing in the local market of Pakistan at a price of PKR 25,000 at the time of this writing. This is competitive and budget-friendly pricing. darkFlash is offering a 3-year warranty on this cooler. This cooler has actually managed to beat the expensive ID-COOLING DASHFLOW 360 XT LITE WHITE that is expected to be released at PKR 36500. The darkFlash Twister DX360 V2.6 white is an effective cooling solution in its price range competing quite well and comes recommended by us.

ID-COOLING has released a new cooler named DASHFLOW 360 XT LITE White. It has quite a long name. This thing is becoming a norm these days with brands coming out with quite lengthy names of their coolers. In case you wondering what LITE means in the name, there is another version of this cooler named DASHFLOW 360 XT. It has better specifications compared to LITE versions and it comes with one extra fan to harmonize the system look plus it has A-RGB fans and those fans have double ball bearings whereas the fans in the LITE versions have fluid dynamic bearings. Anyhow, coming back to the cooler, it is also available in black edition. The following features are listed:

• Advanced Pump Design
• Superb Cooling Performance
• Synchronizes with motherboard RGB
• Stylish Premium Sleeved Tubing
• Universal Compatibility
• Easy Installation

Speaking of compatibility this cooler is compatible with Intel LGA 1700/1200/115x/20xx and AMD AM4/AM5 sockets.

Product:                                               ID-COOLING DASHFLOW 360 XT LITE WHITE

Price:                                                    Seems like this product is being released in the market at the time of this writing. ID-COOLING has informed us that its MSRP is USD $129. Its PKR pricing would be 36500/-

Specifications

Packaging and Unboxing

There is a paperboard-made outer packing box. The packaging itself is quite stylish and gives a premium feel. There is a picture of the cooler on the front page. Above mentioned features are stated here.

ID-COOLING has listed the main specifications here. There are diagrams of the unit showing dimensions as well. There is a picture showing a stylish pump cover in action. I think the main attraction center of this unit is the block design and the cover on it. This unit is manufactured by Shenzhen Wanjinghua Technology Co. Ltd. If this is not a subsidiary of ID-COOLING or vice-versa, it seems to be OEM of the unit.

There is a white color cardboard box inside the outer packing box.

ID-COOLING has been paying attention to the packing. There is a thick black color Styrofoam pad into which the contents are nicely placed for safe shipping.

Accessories

There is a brown color accessory box placed inside the main box. It has all the mounting hardware and other related items.

ID-COOLING has provided a user guide and they have failed to mention simple information that the pump cover is removable and how to remove it. There is no mention of it in the user guide. You can scan a label and watch a YouTube video about the installation. Ok, sure but why did you not mention it in the user guide where you are precisely mentioning the fan screws and radiator screws. Enlighten me!

There are:

• 2x AMD Mounting Brackets
• 4x AMD Screws
• 4x AMD Red color Spacers
• 2x Intel LGA1700 Mounting Brackets
• 4x Intel LGA1700 Gray Color Spacers
• 2x Intel other sockets Mounting Brackets
• 4x Intel Platform Thumb Nuts
• 4x Intel LGA1200 Gray Color Spacers

There are 4x Intel LGA20xx standoff screws.

The backplate on the left is for the Intel LGA1200 and LGA115x. The backplate on the right is for the Intel LGA1700 socket.

There is a thermal paste tube and two white-colored tube covers or catchers.

There are three separate packages of screws. One is for each fan. Each container has 4x long screws for fans and 4x short screws for the radiator. Sorry, but what a waste when these all can be placed in a single package!

ID-COOLING has provided a dedicated A-RGB controller with this cooler. It is powered by a SATA connector. It has a 3-pin, 5V male connector on the other end. There are three buttons on this controller. M button cycles through the pre-programmed modes. The S button controls the speed of the dynamic modes. The c button changes the colors in static mode.

Closer Look

It is time to take a closer look at each component of the main unit starting with the radiator.

This unit has a 360mm size radiator having a dimension of 396x120x27mm. Here 27mm refers to the thickness of this unit. When you will install 120x25mm fans on this unit, the overall thickness would come to 53mm approximately if we count the head thickness of the screw. This unit is made of aluminum material and has a standard fin stacking. Overall fin stacking job is done satisfactorily. There is a standard 105mm gap between two opposite fan mounting holes and 15mm spacing between any two adjacent fan mounting holes. We count 12 channels through which the coolant flows. The complete assembly has a white color spray paint job. The radiator has a 20 FPI count.

Looking at the far end of the radiator, it has a rectangular outlook and there is no branding of any sort.

Looking at the near end of the block where the tubes make a connection with the radiator, the connection is well concealed using white color clamps. There is a serial number label pasted between the tube connections.

Looking at the side of the radiator, there is a stylish DASHFLOW label in the center of the frame. We can see the rubber tubes as well. These are covered under the nylon braided white color sleeves. These tubes run approximately 465mm in length.

Now it is time to take a look at the main attraction of this cooler which is the block on the DASHFLOW 360 XT LITE WHITE cooler. This block has a dimension of 94x90x62mm (LxWxH). This is quite a large size block compared to other regular-design liquid coolers in the market. It has a height of 62mm. We can see a fan embedded in the housing under the top cover. The top cover is removable ID-COOLING has forgotten to mention anywhere. The white color gives a dope look to this unit and we admire the design.

Now we are looking at one side of the block. There is nothing fancy here and I like how ID-COOLING has kept it simple and plain here. Pay attention to guide vanes here. This is where the air will come out from the embedded fan and will be blown out towards the VRM and near the socket area of the motherboard. This is wisely done by ID-COOLING. I made this observation when reviewing GAMDIAS Chione P3 360U AIO. There are no guided vanes and the cutouts are way up top on the block of the GAMDIAS cooler that it would hardly reach the VRMs. This is not the case with the ID-COOLING cooler.

We are looking at the rear of the unit. There are 90° adapters on which the tubes are installed. They can be rotated (limited movement) like any other AIO in the market. We can see flat white color cables coming out from the upper section of the base.

The pump is powered by a 4-pin PWM connector.

The embedded fan is powered by a 4-pin PWM connector which is another positive of this cooler. There is a socket as well to which the pump’s connector can be connected optionally. There are standard 3-pin 5V A-RGB connectors for daisy-chain capability.

So, it happens that ID-COOLING has mentioned that the pump cover is made of aluminum. It not only adds to the look but has a better thermal conductivity. THEY ARE HALF WRONG.

Take a look at the pump cover. It is made of plastic material and there is nothing aluminum about it. And even if it was made of aluminum, what part of it would have conducted heat from where? ID-COOLING, your Marketing department needs to clear some air.

Now we are showing the embedded fan itself. It is rested right on the pump. This is in part a good move as it would throw fresh air on the pump housing and blow out heat from the warm housing towards the near socket components of the motherboard. There are screws and screws all around. We did not proceed with further dismantling though.

This fan has 11 blades and has the ID-COLING brand logo in the center. There is a ring around the fan itself. This ring has A-RGB LEDs for some lighting effects. The fan’s dimension is 70x70x15mm. Its rated speed is 800 to 2800 ± 10% RPM. Its static pressure rating at 12VDC is 1.90mmH₂O and an airflow rating of 23 CFM with 28 dB(A) noise output. It takes 0.08A. It has a ball bearing.

There is a black color steel plate that sits on top of the copper base plate. We can see two standoffs on this plate which are the terminating ends of the spring-loaded screws. The large-size copper base measures approximately 54x60mm. ID-COOLING has mentioned that copper fin stack density is 0.2mm.

Speaking of the pump, it has a ceramic bearing and is rated for 0 to 2500 RPM. Its power rating is 0.32A at 12VDC. The operating voltage range is 10.8 to 13.2 VDC. Its started voltage is 7VDC with an input power of 3W. The flow rate is mentioned to be 135 L/H.

There are 3x non-RGB white color fans provided with this cooler. These fans combined with the block give this unit quite a good look that is augmented by the white color. Each fan has 7 blades. The center still has relatively a larger diameter and there is a brand logo over it. There are large-size anti-vibration pads on the mounting corners. We have observed that these pads come off when fans are installed on the radiator due to the pressure of the screws. The hint is not to over-tighten the screws. Everything about these fans is white.

These fans have a square frame though this is not a closed-frame design. We could not spot arrow directions on the frame. These directions provide a visual aid to novice users in determining the direction in which the blades would spin and the direction of airflow through the fans.

Looking at the backside of the fan, we can see a 4-arms assembly holding the blades and the center. One of the arms is widened to carry the cables. There is a sticker in the center with the power rating of the fan. The fan is made in China.

Each fan is powered by a flat cable having a 4-pin PWM connector and a 3-pin socket to daisy-chain the connection.

The specifications of the fans are:

RGB Lighting

The only element that has A-RGB LEDs is the embedded fan on the block. It has a ring around it that has those LEDs. ID-COOLING is using standard connectors that would work with the RGB sync technology of motherboard manufacturers. Here are a few pictures from the GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS ELITE AX based setup using RGB FUSION 2.0 app.

Installation

We are no longer providing installation steps since the user guide is there for that matter. We only mention observations recorded during installation. The only observation we have about this cooler about its installation is the inability of ID-COOLING to clearly and precisely mention taking the pump cover off in the user manual. You have to lift it off. Yes, you may have to apply some pressure the first time as well but it should come off without removing any screw. Other than that, installation is straightforward and there is no clearance issue either. You have to ensure that your case has clearance and support for a 360mm AIO mount.

Thermal Test

We have used the following Intel-based configuration:

• Intel Core i7 13700k
• GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS Elite AX
• Kingston Fury Renegade DDR5 32GB 6400MHZ @ CAS32
• GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3060 VISION OC
• Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 2TB NVMe SSD [For OS]
• Be Quiet! Straight Power 11 1000W Platinum
• Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition in an open frame layout

Below is the settings table:

Disclaimer: Every silicon is different hence no two SKUs are likely to take the same voltage to yield the same performance at the same thermals per se but the margin would be close. Not every stress test run may yield the same result which could be due to various reasons like thermal paste application, ambient temperature variation, the mounting pressure of the cooler, etc. This is why we have listed our variables and their settings. Variables not mentioned are on the Auto setting. The ambient temperature was 27°C.

Result

There is a 1°C difference between the darkFlash and ID-COOLING cooler that hardly makes either cooler a winner on this platform much thanks to the thermal behavior of this platform. Speaking of which, this is a good performance from both coolers. Here is the summary showing a marginally better performance from the dark flash cooler.

Noise

We measured roughly 54 dB(A) at an ambient sound level of 32 dB(A). There was a whining noise from the block at regular intervals.

Conclusion

ID-COOLING is releasing a new cooler in the market named DASHFLOW 360 XT LITE. This will be available in white and black editions. This is a light version of the DASHFLOW 360 XT with some key differences that are beyond the scope of this content though we have mentioned a few in the introduction. We have tested the DASHFLOW 360 XT LITE WHITE edition. Performance and everything aside, the outlook and aesthetics alone on this cooler are quite appealing and look that good in person. This cooler is compatible with Intel LGA1700/1200/115x/20xx and AMD AM4/AM5 sockets hence we have universal compatibility for now.

Having a 360mm size means it comes with three 120mm fans. The radiator is made of aluminum material and the complete assembly is white color spray painted. The dimension of this radiator is 396x120x27mm (LxWxH). After installing 120x25mm fans, the overall height of the unit would come to 54mm approximately including the heads of screws. It has 12 channels for coolant flow and has a fin density of 12 FPI. ID-COOLING uses rubber-tubing which runs to 465mm in length and has a white color nylon braided sleeve mesh for aesthetics and preventing bending. One good thing about the design is that the clamps concealing the tube connection with the radiator are also white.

Coming to the block itself, man, this is something to speak of. I am sure there will be many other good-looking liquid coolers out there but this design is out of this world for its bold simplicity. ID-COOLING has done a marvelous job here. But like it is said, nothing is perfect, someone from their marketing has wrongly mentioned the pump cover as made of aluminum whereas it is made of plastic material. This is not all, as they have mentioned aluminum having a good thermal conductivity helping heat transfer from the pump. Yes, aluminum has a better thermal conductivity rating but there is no part in the pump housing that has aluminum. At least nothing there passed my magnetic test. There is a plate between the pump and copper block that could look aluminum but it is a magnet lover; there is to that.

I digress, coming back to the main topic, there is an embedded fan having 11 blades measuring 70x70x15mm. It has a rated speed of 800 to 2800 ± 10% RPM and a static pressure rating of  1.90mmH₂O with an airflow rating of 23 CFM at 12VDC. The maximum noise rating is 28 dB(A). It takes 0.08A and has a ball bearing. What I love is how the airflow is directed. This fan takes fresh air through the open area of the top cover and directs it towards the pump housing. There are guided vanes at the bottom of the housing through which the air is exhausted. Going this route, this fan also helps to keep the pump somewhat cool. Having guided vanes at the base ensures that the embedded fan serves its purpose of spreading air towards the near socket area of the motherboard. Job well done, team ID-COOLING though I did not measure the exact impact on the VRM thermals. The pump on this unit uses a three-phase motor for efficient coolant flow. It has a ceramic bearing and is rated for 0 to 2500 RPM. Its power rating is 0.32A at 12VDC. The operating voltage range is 10.8 to 13.2 VDC. Its started voltage is 7VDC with an input power of 3W. The flow rate is mentioned to be 135 L/H. The copper base measures 54x60mm approximately.

ID-COOLING has provided three non-RGB white color fans with this cooler. These fans are using Fluid Dynamic Bearings. This is among the key differences between the DASHFLOW XT V2 and the DASHFLOW XT LITE where the predecessor is using double ball bearings. Each fan has 7 blades. There are large-size anti-vibration pads. Each fan has a flat cable with a 4-pin PWM connector and a 3-pin socket to daisy-chain the fans and connect them to a single header on the motherboard. These fans are rated for a maximum of 2000 RPM±10% speed. The static pressure rating is 2.68 mmH₂O and the airflow rating is 78.25CFM at 12VDC. They use 0.25A.

The only element in this cooler that has A-RGB LEDs is the block. There is a ring surrounding the embedded fan. ID-COOLING has wisely provided standard RGB connectors making it compatible with the RGB sync technology of motherboard manufacturers. They have also provided a dedicated controller that is SATA-powered and has a simple control interface using three buttons. It is pre-programmed. Speaking of the installation, our only observation is that the manual does not speak of how to remove the top cover on the block whereas they have emphasized the fan screws and radiator screws. Installation itself is easier and straightforward. We have tested the cooler on the Intel Z790 platform where a total of 11 items are required to install the block only.

ID-COOLING will release the DASHFLOW 360 XT LITE WHITE in the International market at an MSRP of USD $129 and 36500 PKR in Pakistan. They have informed us that this cooler will come with a 5-year warranty. In our testing of this cooler on Intel’s 13th generation platform, it has managed to handle 250W load and taming the CPU at 90°C at an ambient of 27°C. This is a nice performance from this cooler in its price range.

Solidigm may not be a name you have heard of, but don’t let that put you off. They seem to have hit the ground running with their lineup of SSDs and today, we are taking a look at the P44 Pro. Solidigm has been kind enough to send in a 1TB sample for today’s review and we can’t wait to see just how well this performs.

While Solidigm may not be as well known as other drives to consumers, they have done a great job making sure their drives are easily purchased from various retailers here in the UK. In due time, I would expect this company to be more well known at least here in the UK.

As SSD and Storage prices in general continue to fall, Solidigm seems to be aiming for the lower end of the pricing scale which is great to see. For pricing and availability, please check some of the links below.

Purchase the P44 Pro

Amazon UK – 1TB £67.99 / 2TB £109.98

Ebuyer – 2TB £109.98 

SCAN UK – 1TB £69.98

 CLOSER LOOK

Solidigm has decided to not include a heatsink with their P44 Pro drive. This isn’t really a big issue as most motherboards have their own heatsinks for M.2 drives now and if not, you can purchase an M.2 heatsink fairly cheaply these days.

On the side they are hoping will be in view is a sticker covering most of the drive. This is placed on top of all the chips on this drive. However, we will soon remove it and take a look at just what we have underneath.

The other side of the drive, as mentioned, has no chips on it. Here we can see the info on the drive, confirming it is a P44 Pro 1TB model.

Solidigm has gone for the SK hynix triple on this drive. Yes, the controller, DRAM, and storage chips are all made by SK hynix.

The 1TB model is rated for read speeds of up to 7000 MB/s and write speeds of up to 6500 MB/s.

The controller is a SK hynix ACNS075 which is codenamed Aries. It is an 8-channel controller where each channel has a maximum transfer rate of 1600 MT/s. It is manufactured on a 12nm process and uses a quad-core Cortex-R5 architecture and also allows support for AES 226-bit encryption.

The DRAM is a 1GB LPDDR4-4266MHz chip which will allow for faster file transfers.

Solidigm has gone with 2x 512GB SK hynix H25T2TC88C 3D 176-layer chips. On the 2TB P44 Pro, you will notice there are 2x 1GB chips instead of 4x 512GB. This allows Solidigm to keep everything on one side of the PCB.

TEST SYSTEM AND PERFORMANCE

TEST SYSTEM

• Motherboard – ASUS ROX Strix Z69-E Gaming WiFi
• CPU – Intel 12600K
• RAM – OCPC PISTA DDR5 5600Mhz 16GB (2x8GB)
• SSD – Solidigm P44 Pro
• Graphics – Zotac 3060
• Power Supply – be quiet! Dark Power 12 750W

BENCHMARKS

To test the performance, I ran a few of the more standard benchmark programs used for testing storage devices.

• AS SSD – Test the sequential or random read/write performance without using the cache. AS SSD Benchmark reads/writes a 1 GByte file as well as randomly chosen 4K blocks. Additionally, it performs the tests using 1 or 64 threads and determines the SSD’s access time.
• Anvil – Anvil’s Storage Utilities is a powerful tool that was designed to provide you with a simple means of assessing the read and writer performance of your Solid State Drive or Hard Disk Drive. The benchmark tool helps you monitor and check the response time of your unit as well as view the system information collected using Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI).
• ATTO – As the industry’s leading provider of high-performance storage & network connectivity products, ATTO has created a widely-accepted Disk Benchmark freeware utility to help measure storage system performance. As one of the top tools utilized in the industry, Disk Benchmark identifies performance in hard drives, solid-state drives, RAID arrays as well as the host connection to attached storage. Top drive manufacturers, like Hitachi, build and test every drive using the ATTO Disk Benchmark.
• CrystalDiskMark – Another benchmark program designed to measure the read and write speeds of storage drives.

AS SSD

ANVIL

ATTO

CRYSTALDISKMARK

FINAL WORDS

VALUE

Solidigm has hit it out of the park with the first offering that we have seen. Coming in just shy of £70 at the time of review, the P44 Pro offers some of the best performance we have seen so far this year!

While I may have only tested 5 drives so far on our Z690 test bench, this one is the top drive and is just a smidge faster than the ever so slightly higher-priced Verbatim Vi7000G. If Solidigm can keep this type of pricing up, it will soon be a very big competitor in the NVMe SSD market.

It does raise the question though if they purposely left out the heatsink so they could be just that little bit more cheap than their competitors. Either way, well played Solidigm.

PERFORMANCE

We have already let the cat out of the bag that this is the fastest overall drive we have reviewed so far this year. Is it due to the fact they have used all SK hynix chips? Or, is Solidigm really just that clued up and knows what they are doing?

Whatever the case may be, there is no denying the sheer performance that the P44 Pro drive has to offer. Generally, the bigger the drive the faster it is, and with this being said, it would be great to see just how well the 2TB version performs.

The performance here is truly special and we look forward to seeing what else Solidigm has in store for us in the near future. They seem to be on the right track so let’s hope they can keep up the good work!

The P44 Pro drive is going to be a perfect match for everyday users, enthusiasts, and PC Gamers alike!

Following on with our storage reviews this week and today, we have the OCPC MBL-400 1TB NVMe drive. OCPC or OCPC Gaming as they are also known is another of those brands that may not be as widely known as they should be. While they are fully established in America and other countries, they are only now in the process of making their way to the United Kingdom.

OCPC has a wide range of products including both memory and storage. They also offer peripherals, chairs, desks, cases, coolers, fans, and more!

We worked with OCPC back in 2019 but recently just linked back with them at this year’s Computex 2023! It was great to chat with them face to face, hear their upcoming plans and, of course, talk them into sending us some samples to test. We will soon also be taking a look at one of their kits of DDR5 RAM in the coming weeks.

OCPC MBL-400 CLOSER LOOK

This SSD is listed as their black-label NVMe drive. This is due to the heatsink it comes with. While thin, it adds an extra layer of heat dissipation to the MBL-400 NVMe drive.

The drive has all the chips on one side. The other side is completely bare with just a small sticker. This sticker confirms the size, model, and part/serial numbers.

Taking the heatsink off reveals all the chips. We can see the controller and 4x storage chips. As this is a 1TB drive, we can guess that each storage chip is 256GB in size.

OCPC has gone with the InnoGrit IG5220 (RainerQX). The IG5220 is based on a 12nm FinFET CMOS process. It features a DRAM-less architecture with full support for the HMB function.

The MBL-400 comes with what appears to be 4x 256GB YMTC SYMN09TC1B1HC6C 128-layer chips.

TEST SYSTEM AND PERFORMANCE

TEST SYSTEM

• Motherboard – ASUS ROX Strix Z69-E Gaming WiFi
• CPU – Intel 12600K
• RAM – OCPC PISTA DDR5 5600Mhz 16GB (2x8GB)
• SSD – OCPC 1TB MBL-400 NVMe
• Graphics – Zotac 3060
• Power Supply – be quiet! Dark Power 12 750W

BENCHMARKS

To test the performance, I ran a few of the more standard benchmark programs used for testing storage devices.

• AS SSD – Test the sequential or random read/write performance without using the cache. AS SSD Benchmark reads/writes a 1 GByte file as well as randomly chosen 4K blocks. Additionally, it performs the tests using 1 or 64 threads and determines the SSD’s access time.
• Anvil – Anvil’s Storage Utilities is a powerful tool that was designed to provide you with a simple means of assessing the read and writer performance of your Solid State Drive or Hard Disk Drive. The benchmark tool helps you monitor and check the response time of your unit as well as view the system information collected using Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI).
• ATTO – As the industry’s leading provider of high-performance storage & network connectivity products, ATTO has created a widely accepted Disk Benchmark freeware utility to help measure storage system performance. As one of the top tools utilized in the industry, Disk Benchmark identifies performance in hard drives, solid-state drives, RAID arrays as well as the host connection to attached storage. Top drive manufacturers, like Hitachi, build and test every drive using the ATTO Disk Benchmark.
• CrystalDiskMark – Another benchmark program designed to measure the read and write speeds of storage drives.

AS SSD

ANVIL

ATTO

CRYSTALDISKMARK

FINAL WORDS

The OCPC MBL-400 does what it says on the tin. According to the specs page, it offers read speeds of up to 5000 MB/s and write speeds of up to 4600 MB/s. In our in-house testing, we were able to surpass both the read and write speeds at 100+ MB/s. This slight extra performance is going to allow this drive to offer more performance for the money, making it a more viable option.

The MBL-400 comes back with a 3-year warranty, is compatible with Windows, Linux, and MAC operating systems, and is available in multiple capacities. The MBL-400 is a more than capable drive from OCPC. We wish them the best in the ventures of coming to the UK and can’t wait to see what products they come out with next.

The Verbatim Vi7000G is a PCIe NVMe M.2 2280 SSD that comes in multiple capacities. Today, we are taking a look at the top-of-the-range 2TB version which should offer some pretty impressive speeds. Verbatim may not be a name you have heard of lately, but they are still going strong.

When I saw they were still around, I was very interested in working with them. Back when I was young, Verbatim was the go-to for CDRW and DVDRW products. It’s always great when a company can stay with the times and update their products, especially when they are well known. Verbatim going this long selling Storage Products as an amazing feat and they probably don’t get quite enough recognition for it!

SSD prices have been continuing to drop recently and Gen4 PCIe drives are becoming quite affordable.

The 1TB version of the drive can be had for £74 on Amazon UK. The 2TB is currently available for £125.46 on Amazon UK.

Vi7000G Specifications

CLOSER LOOK

The Verbatim Vi7000G comes with a preinstalled heatsink. It is nice and thick and has thermal pads on both sides to offer optimal cooling for the drive itself. On the front of this heatsink, which is likely to be on show in systems is a small Verbatim logo.

The other side of the heatsink has a sticker on it with all the info companies are forced to include on such electronic products. We can also see the URL of their website – www.verbatim.com and a reminder that this is the 2TB Vi7000G PCIe NVMe M.2 2280 SSD.

The heatsink comes off rather easily. There are a total of four screws to remove, two on each side. Once they are removed, you simply pull the heatsink apart. It may stick a tiny but in most cases, you should be fine to just pull it apart without having to worry.

The Vi7000G features DRAM cache and an Innogrit IG5236 controller to offer blazing fast speeds. The DRAM chip is made by Micron and has an 8GB DDR4 density. Verbatim has used two of these chips on this SSD to offer even faster speeds.

The InnoGrit IG5236 is one of the best SSD controllers out there. It delivers up to 7400 MB/s of linear read speeds and 1 million IOPS read performance.

The Verbatim Vi7000G uses four YMTC SYMN09TC1B1RC6C 3D TLC 4Gb NAND Flash chips

When it comes to NVMe SSD, you will see a lot of the same surface layer components used by brands in different and/or similar configurations. Every company wants to add its special little touch to things and try to get the most performance possible out of these components.

TEST SYSTEM AND PERFORMANCE

TEST SYSTEM

• Motherboard – ASUS ROX Strix Z69-E Gaming WiFi
• CPU – Intel 12600K
• RAM – OCPC PISTA DDR5 5600Mhz 16GB (2x8GB)
• SSD – Verbatim Vi7000G
• Graphics – Zotac 3060
• Power Supply – be quiet! Dark Power 12 750W

BENCHMARKS

To test the performance, I ran a few of the more standard benchmark programs used for testing storage devices.

• AS SSD – Test the sequential or random read/write performance without using the cache. AS SSD Benchmark reads/writes a 1 GByte file as well as randomly chosen 4K blocks. Additionally, it performs the tests using 1 or 64 threads and determines the SSD’s access time.
• Anvil – Anvil’s Storage Utilities is a powerful tool that was designed to provide you with a simple means of assessing the read and writer performance of your Solid State Drive or Hard Disk Drive. The benchmark tool helps you monitor and check the response time of your unit as well as view the system information collected using Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI).
• ATTO – As the industry’s leading provider of high-performance storage & network connectivity products, ATTO has created a widely-accepted Disk Benchmark freeware utility to help measure storage system performance. As one of the top tools utilized in the industry, Disk Benchmark identifies performance in hard drives, solid-state drives, RAID arrays as well as the host connection to attached storage. Top drive manufacturers, like Hitachi, build and test every drive using the ATTO Disk Benchmark.
• CrystalDiskMark – Another benchmark program designed to measure the read and write speeds of storage drives.

AS SSD

ANVIL

ATTO

CRYSTALDISKMARK

FINAL WORDS

VALUE

As we have seen, SSD prices are getting better and better every day. The Verbatim Vi7000G is a bit more on the expensive side for a 2TB NVMe drive. However, this is due to the faster speeds it offers than standard drives. When looking around, it is similarly priced to other drives of the same spec, so overall it is fairly priced.

It will all come down to what you need it for, do you need up to 7400 MB/s read? Or, are you ok with up to 3500 MB/s read speeds if they are significantly cheaper? As always, just make sure to do your research to help you make a better-informed decision.

Performance

This is where the Vi7000G really shines! In terms of read speeds, this is the second fastest drive we have put on our current Z690-based test bench! In CrystalDiskMark it was only 8MB/s slower than the Solodigm P44 Pro and on a different system, this could have gone either way.

Being that close in performance just shows how much they really are pushing the components on these SSDs. At the end of the day, the real-world difference would be NIL so I wouldn’t worry too much about it.

The write speeds are right on par as well and again, the top 3 drives we have tested are all neck in neck. The Verbatim Vi7000G offers a great amount of performance.

The 1TB version of the drive can be had for £74 on Amazon UK. The 2TB is currently available for £125.46 on Amazon UK.

In recent weeks and months, storage products have started to drop to an almost normal price. Yes, storage products are just about affordable and we are seeing some great deals on products, such as the Netac NV7000-T 2TB NVMe SSD that is on review today. Netac may not be a name that many have heard of, but they are definitely hitting the ground running with their latest products.

The NV7000-T 2TB NVMe SSD comes with a 3D NAND FLASH, read/write speeds of up to 7300/6700MBs, and supports S.M.A.R.T/TRIM Command/NCQ all while being backed by a 5-year limited warranty.

The NV7000 is compatible with Laptops, Desktops, and even the PS5. Should you go for the 2TB model, it features a TBW (Total Bytes Written) of 1280 which should be enough for most users.

Currently, the NV7000-T 2TB NVMe SSD is available on Amazon UK for £101.99 though there is also a 10% voucher currently available for some, further lowering the price.

On Amazon US, the 1TB model is $70.99 and has a $15 off voucher while the 2TB is currently $112.99

Netac NV7000-t CLOSER LOOK

The NV7000-T packaging has a nice rainbow effect to it when the light hits it. This doesn’t make any difference to the performance but if you were shopping in a brick-and-mortar store, it would definitely help it stick out a bit.

On the front is a nice image of what the SSD will look like and we can see that we have the 2TB model.

Getting everything out of the box and we have the installation instructions, a couple of mounting screws, a heatsink/cover, and the drive itself.

It is nice to see the heatsink not being applied as a lot of motherboards are now coming with their own heatsinks. This means any pre applied M.2 heatsinks will normally be removed to make full use of the motherboard heatsink. However, having it included is a nice touch for those that will want to use it as it only takes a couple of seconds to apply to the drive.

The good thing about NVMe drives is there are normally hidden out of the way so it really doesn’t matter much what they look like.

The image below shows what the side of the drive that will be up against the motherboard in most scenarios looks like. We can see the model, size, and serial number.

TEST SYSTEM AND PERFORMANCE

TEST SYSTEM

• Motherboard – ASUS ROX Strix Z690-E Gaming WiFi
• CPU – Intel 12600K
• RAM – OCPC PISTA DDR5 5600Mhz 16GB (2x8GB)
• SSD – Netac NV7000-T 2TB NVMe
• Graphics – Zotac 3060
• Power Supply – be quiet! Dark Power 12 750W

BENCHMARKS

To test the performance, I ran a few of the more standard benchmark programs used for testing storage devices.

• AS SSD – Test the sequential or random read/write performance without using the cache. AS SSD Benchmark reads/writes a 1 GByte file as well as randomly chosen 4K blocks. Additionally, it performs the tests using 1 or 64 threads and determines the SSD’s access time.
• Anvil – Anvil’s Storage Utilities is a powerful tool that was designed to provide you with a simple means of assessing the read and writer performance of your Solid State Drive or Hard Disk Drive. The benchmark tool helps you monitor and check the response time of your unit as well as view the system information collected using Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI).
• ATTO – As the industry’s leading provider of high-performance storage & network connectivity products, ATTO has created a widely-accepted Disk Benchmark freeware utility to help measure storage system performance. As one of the top tools utilized in the industry, Disk Benchmark identifies performance in hard drives, solid state drives, RAID arrays as well as the host connection to attached storage. Top drive manufacturers, like Hitachi, build and test every drive using the ATTO Disk Benchmark.
• CrystalDiskMark – Another benchmark program designed to measure the read and write speeds of storage drives.

AS SSD

ANVIL

ATTO

CRYSTALDISKMARK

FINAL WORDS

VALUE

Compared to other similar drives on the market and the NV7000 seems to be fairly priced. It is on the higher-end performance-wise for Gen4 drives so it is not the cheapest. However, as mentioned compared to similar performing drives and the price is right on the mark. Currently around £/$100 the NC7000 is worth the money, especially when you consider it is backed by a 5-year warranty.

PERFORMANCE

Looking at our performance graphs and the Netac NV7000-T 2TB drive is one of the better-performing drivers. In CDM, it is right on the mark with two other drives, all pushing past the 7000MB/s read speeds and hitting over 6600MB/s write speeds. The difference in speeds wouldn’t even be noticeable across these drives and on another day, could really go either way.

Where the NV700 really shines is in the IOPs performance. It was the fastest in both read/write with the write speeds beating out the competition by a good margin. The IOPs are important as they allow for faster transfers of data to and from the drive, essentially meaning the task you are executing on the PC should be quicker than if the IOPs were lower. For more info on IOPs, please check this article on What IOPs Really Are.

The Zhiyun Fiveray M40 Fill Light is destined to be your new travel lighting solution. Its small and compact size is going to make it a great option to take with you wherever you go. However, don’t let its size fool you, it is easily more powerful than some lights that are bigger in size.

The M40 is essentially a 40W pocket lamp that will brighten up anything you need it to. If complete brightness is not what you are after, it has a color adjustments range of 2700k-6200k. From white light to yellow, the M40 will save you a lot of time and hassle. It is rechargeable VIA an included USB-C cable and can even be mounted to a tripod for hands-free use.

Zhiyun Fiveray M40 Specifications

> Power: 40W
> Color temperature range: 2700K~6200K
> Number of lamp beads: 176, 88PCS cold light +88PCS warm light
> Power supply: Built-in lithium battery 2S/2600MAH
> Charging time: 1H50min, 12V/1.12A 13W, maximum support for 15W fast charge
> Duration: 29min
> Product size: 136.5*77.8*29 (W*D*H)
> Net weight: 320g

Availability: The Zhiyun Fiveray M40 Fill Light is currently available for just $99.00 from Vlogsfan.com.

Fiveray M40 Closer Look

On the front of the box, we have a couple of nice images. One is of the front and the other is of the rear of the light. These give a good indication to what the portable light actually looks like.

Getting things out of the box and there is the Fiveray M40 light, a manual, and a USB charging cable.

Taking a closer look and we can see the different LEDs which are going to allow us to go from yellow to white light. I also noticed just how many LEDs there are – 176 in total!

You will also notice the orange turn knobs. The top one is going to allow you to adjust the light’s color from 2700k-6200k and the bottom turns it on and lets you set the brightness. Yes, you can actually dim the LEDs as well so you don’t have to use them at full power all the time. Not only will this help with lighting, but the less power being used will also prolong how long the battery will last.

On the back, we can see some ventilation, this is for the internal fans that will help keep this cool when using it at full power. When using it at the 100% setting on either color, it will hit the 40W rated output. This will, after a short period of time require the fans to kick in to keep things cool and operating as intended.

There is some more ventilation to the side to ensure that the hot air has somewhere to dissipate to.

Moving this black bar on the side will reveal the charging port. You can also use this to mount the Zhiyun Fiveray M40 to a tripod for hands-free use.

The below images really don’t do it any justice but we have to include some sort of photos on the light on. As mentioned, this light is brighter than some that are bigger in size. I really was very impressed with the light.

Conclusion

The Zhiyun Fiver M40 Fill Light is an adaptable light that will help you in any lowlight situation. It is easy to use and lasts hours from a single charge so anyone will be able to benefit from it.

Being able to easily switch from yellow to white and even change the overall brightness is great. I know it sounds like I have been paid for this review, but I can assure you I have not. I am really just amazed by what the M40 has to offer. It has become my new go-to portable light and always finds its way into my bag whether I am planning on taking photos/videos or not.

Coming in at just shy of $100, the M40 isn’t the cheapest of lights out there. This is not an issue as the performance it offers outweighs many other lights, cheaper and of similar prices. Should you decide to purchase one, I have a good feeling that the M40 will find its way into your day-to-day tech items as well, as it really is just that good.

At the end of the day, I was not expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised and as such, this is going to be awarded our Must Have award. This light has become a daily part of my life and I use it for all my reviews now here at Enos Tech.

Availability: The Zhiyun Fiveray M40 Fill Light is currently available for just $99.00 from Vlogsfan.com.

be quiet! is always a name we like to see here at Enos Tech. They have a good reputation and we have seen first hand that they offer quality products that can be trusted. They also offer products across multiple categories which include Cases, Coolers, Fans, and Power Supplies.

be quiet! has been a staple in the industry for many years now and as such, they even attend events like CES and Computex to show off their new and upcoming products. We have seen quite a bit from them recently and do hope they keep up the good work.

The Pure Power 11 FM is now end of life, but still a more than capable PSU should you come across one.

Pure Power 11 FM Specifications

For a full list of specs and details please visit – be quiet! Pure Power 11 FM Product Page.

Closer Look

Starting with the box and we can tell this is a be quiet! product from miles away. We have a nice image of the Pure Power 11 FM in the middle. We can also see the 80 PLUS Gold rating logo that this PSU carries and below the image, we can see that this is the 1000W variant of this power supply.

On the back of the box and we have a bit more info about be quiet! as well as some of the power ratings.

This is a fully modular power supply and all of the cables are flat except for the 24-pin power connector. It also comes with mounting screws and a couple of zip ties to help tidy up your cable management.

The Pure Power 11 has more than enough cables for most builds. They are also long enough to fit in most cases that aren’t overly massive.

As always, we have one side of the PSU that has all the technical information on it. As it is an electrical item and there is a chance of being shocked, this is all necessary especially the do not open warning!

Moving our way around the Pure Power 11 and we have the power cable input which also has an on/off switch.

The other side of the PSU has a nice be quiet! logo. The logo is the same color as the PSU and is just ever so slightly raised to make it more noticeable.

All of the cable inputs are labeled nicely to give you the easiest chance possible of installing this PSU. Also, as you can see all of the connectors are different sized so will only fit where they are designed.

The Pure Power 11 features a silence optimized 120mm fan to make it as quiet as possible while still providing optimal airflow for cooling.

Final Words

While the Pure Power 11 may be at its end of life cycle, there is no denying that there will probably still be a good few out there in the wild. Should you come across one of these, don’t be afraid to pick it up.

Originally, it came with a 5-year warranty which says to me that be quiet! has faith in it. While this is not the longest warranty we have seen on a power supply, it is still more than adequate. Most people will likely change their PSU in this time frame so should be nothing to worry about.

As always, be quiet! has given us another great offering. The flat black modular cables are a nice touch and should blend in with most builds. It’s also nice to see that companies such as be quiet! are not including some zip ties as you can never have too many when it comes to trying to keep your cables as tidy as possible.

At the end of the day, if you do not need the latest and greatest and aren’t worried about ATX 3.0 capabilities, then this is a great power supply for your needs.

The Thermaltake CTE T500 TG ARGB PC Case is a full tower case under Thermaltake’s new CTE form factor which includes support for E-ATX motherboards. It comes in both white and black and while all current models for sale in the UK come with three fans, you can choose from ARGB fans or save some money and get the normal fan version.

THE CTE T500 comes with the motherboard tray flipped 90° allowing for an even more aesthetically pleasing build. It also has plenty of room for cooling whether you are a fan of air cooling or water cooling. I must also tell you, it is rather heavy and as it features a couple of TG panels, you will want to be rather careful when unboxing this bad boy.

In the last couple of weeks, we have looked at the TOUGHFAN 14 PRO and the GF3 Power Supply, and now the CTE T500. It is easy to see that Thermaltake is really trying to take things to the next level. Hopefully, soon we will be able to bring you some reviews on their custom water cooling gear as it looks absolutely phenomenal.

The Thermaltake CTE T500 ARGB model is currently available on SCAN UK for £149.99 in both black and white. The standard version is available from SCAN UK for £129.99.

Closer Look External

It is hard to see just how big the CTE T500 is in pictures but it comes in measuring 615 x 275 x 516 mm (24.21 x 10.83 x 20.31 inch). This appears to be one of those cases that can easily fit an E-ATX motherboard and still have plenty of room left for cooling hardware.

Thermaltake has been listening to consumers. While the front TG panels look lovely, they were blocking the front fans from being able to pull in some intake airflow to help with cooling. However, on the CTE T500, Thermaltake have made the TG panel smaller, allowing it plenty of room to pull air from outside the case.

The front TG panel is easily taken off the case by pulling it from the top or bottom. This then reveals a dust filter which was also easy to take off. Once both of these are off, you can get a look at one of the preinstalled CTE 140 ARGB fans.

Case fans sure have come a long way in the last few years. What seems like ages ago, they were all black, cheap, and really not great at providing airflow for the case. However, companies have started upgrading the case fans and now as we have seen with Thermaltake, you can get some nice CT140 ARGB fans that come preinstalled in your new case.

Another thing I am here for is the USB Type-C ports on the front IO. Alongside this, we have a pair of standard USB-A 3.0 ports.

The CTE T500 is designed to offer optimal cooling performance through all the perforations on each panel. The top is no different and as you can see, the perforations pretty much take up the whole top of this case.

As we mentioned, the motherboard tray is rotated. So, on the top, we have what is generally known as the rear IO.

Here we can see the second preinstalled fan, and the rear expansion bays and there is even a removable bay that you could mount a fan onto. This would provide a second fan for even better thermals and heat dissipation.

The TG side panel covers most of the side of the case, from the bottom almost all the way to the top. It offers plenty of room to show off the build inside and make sure you are getting the most from all your RGB components.

While the other side panel is no TG, it does have a perforated area that is just big enough to help either pull in the air or exhaust it depending on how you install things inside.

I still have a hard time getting my head around the below image. I know it is the rear of the case, but my brain just doesn’t want to accept it.

As you can see, there is plenty more perforation offering a lot more airflow. This is going to be where our last preinstalled fan is located and as we saw with the other CT140 fans, there is room to add another fan here for even more cooling. The amount of fans you can install in this thing is absolutely amazing!

At this point, I do believe the CTE T500 can fit up to 11x 140mm fans!

The power supply is still located on the bottom of the backside if that even makes sense at this point. As you can see, it has its own mounting system and is completely covered by a PSU shroud on the front side.

On the bottom of the case are four rubber feet to help with vibration and make sure the case doesn’t move around easily if put on a smooth surface.

The dust filter covers the perforated area and is also easily removed so it can be cleaned with ease.

Closer Look Internal

Taking both the side panels off and the top panel, it is now time to see what the internal of the CTE T500 has to offer.

On first look, there sure is a lot going on inside this absolute monstrosity. There is more than enough room in this case for almost anything you could want to put in it.

Let’s take a closer look and see just what the CTE T500 has to offer!

There is another small removable panel in the upper right of the image below. This can have a 140mm fan mounted to it. We can slo see the fan mounting for the front. As you will see, there are plenty of mounting locations so you can install numerous fans or a radiator of your choosing and easily get it into the exact spot you want.

To the left, we have another removable part. Removing this would allow you access to change CPU cooler brackets without having to take the motherboard out. If you leave it in, it offers storage mounting on the backside of the motherboard tray which we will look at in just a moment.

The black grommets on the bottom are going to allow you to route your 24-pin power cable and any other cables you may need to give access to that side of your motherboard.

Looking at the top and from this angle, we can actually see all three of the preinstalled fans and get an idea of the airflow they would offer.

There are seven PCI expansion bays and again, we see the removable fan mount should you want to add another fan to the top to help exhaust the heat from the case.

Towards the back of the case, there are a few more holes so you can manage your cables between the front and rear of the CTE T500 case.

More holes for passing cables through on the bottom of the case as well. To the left, we have the PSU Shroud with a perforated top.

On the right, we have a removable HDD case shroud I guess you could call it. Below, is the HDD cage, and on top, you can mount a fan. However, as mentioned, it can also be completely removed if you’d rather install a reservoir or something else in its place.

I must say, I was rather impressed by the backside of the motherboard tray on the CTE T500 from Thermaltake. The number of velcro zip ties is great to see and really makes cable management about as easy as you could want.

Here we can also see the two removable panels on the motherboard tray as well as all the wires. Fortunately, the wire situation isn’t too bad.

The bottom of the case features the HDD Cage and a nice space for your PSU. As mentioned, the HDD cage and cover can be completely removed if you have no interest in using it.

CTE T500 Final Build & RGB

We have thrown our Z690 with a 3060 into the CTE T500 and as you can see, the amount of room left over is absolutely nuts! While our components are the biggest in size, it is still a full-sized ATX motherboard and it looks absolutely dwarfed here in the CTE T500.

Even with the TG side panel on, you can just see the enormous amount of room left for whatever you want.

I am not generally one for cable management but it is so easy in the CTE T500. While it likely could have been better, I didn’t actually spend much time on it and just used the preinstalled Velcro bits and got to work as and when needed.

Building in this case was fun, easy, and took no time at all. There is plenty of space to install any components and connect all the cables and wires for the build. Then around the back as you can see there is plenty of options to route your cables and help keep them out the way.

Really happy with how this build turned out and the added RGB is nice. While I didn’t change the fan settings, the RGB on default is not overpowering and while it is nice to look at, it’s not overly bright.

I definitely need to get some bigger components in the near future and water cooling gear so I can make full use of cases like this when they come in for review.

The CTE T500 case is a combination of massive and beautiful all at the same time!

I took a couple of extra pics that I didn’t need for the review, so go ahead and enjoy them before we get into my final thoughts on the CTE T500 TG ARGB PC Snow Chassis.

Final Words

The CTE T500 is an absolute behemoth of a PC Case. It has almost everything you could want in it in my opinion except for one main thing. Thanks to the amount of wires fans may now come with, both RGB and PWM, we have seen a lot of companies start to include hubs. Yes, preinstalled hubs for both RGB and PWM connectors. While Thermaltake has made sure all their fan cables can be daisy chained, there is no central hub which I find odd for a case that has so much to offer.

Performance

I mean, have you seen all the perforations in this case? The CTE T500 has holes in every single panel, both internal and external to allow for as much airflow as possible. Not only that, but it has space to install a bunch of fans to further help with its cooling performance.

Even the design leaves you with extra options to further the performance on hand depending on your own individual needs. All in all, the CTE T500 has about all the performance from a case you could ask for.

Design

While I do feel it fell short in one small area, I am really not going to hold that against Thermaltake as their CTE T500 has so much to offer. I would have really liked to see a fan hub of sorts but as the fan cables can all be daisy-chained with ease, I will not make a fuss.

First, all the panels allow for airflow which is amazing. Next is the fact that there are removable parts for added performance. Some of these make life easier and some allow you to mount extra fans if you should so choose to do so. Lastly, this case is humungous and will allow for an amazingly pleasing aesthetic build with compatibility for loads of different hardware.

Value

The Thermaltake CTE T500 TG ARGB Version is available from SCAN UK for £149.99. This is a great price for all it has to offer, what is even better is the fact that if you are not fussed about RGB, you can save a couple of pounds and buy the version with the standard fans.

For the price, this case has a lot to offer in terms of flexibility and functionality. Building in this case is as easy as anything I have ever built and the amount of included velcro zipties made doing cable management a breeze. Honestly, you will be lucky to find a similar case that has all of this to offer at this price point!

The Thermaltake TOUGHPOWER GF3 1200W PSU is a Modular 80 PLUS Gold, ATX 3.0 / PCIe 5.0 single rail power supply that should be more than enough power for most Gaming PCs. When building or buying a new PC, the power supply is one thing you don’t want to cheap out on. Considering this is going to power up all your other components, it is better to go with a well-known high-rated PSU.

This power supply is designed to power some of the most powerful Gaming PCs and workstations alike. Yes, that is a lot of power but nothing that the GF3 range can’t handle, especially as the one we are looking at today is 1200W. While it is designed to with newer hardware and graphics cards in mind, it can still power older hardware so worry not if you haven’t completed all of your upgrades yet.

The TOUGHPOWER GF3 Power Supply is currently available from SCAN UK for £199.99 at the time of review. Click Here to purchase. 

TOUGHPOWER GF3 Specs

TOUGHPOWER GF3 Closer Look

Packaging

Taking a quick peak inside the box and we can see everything is very well protected.

The GF3 power supply itself comes in a sleeve which is then pretty much fully covered on all sides with protective foam. This will ensure the PSU gets to you with no damage! While this is the norm now, I can still remember when PSUs were just thrown in a box and shipped with no real protection at all!

The cables come in a plastic bag which then comes inside a black portable carry bag. There is not too much worry of the cables getting damaged but it is still nice to see that they are packaged nicely.

Cables

There are more than enough cables to power your system, we have the following:

PSU Unit

The TOIUGHPOWER Gf3 features a 135mm fluid-bearing fan that is fully protected with a covering. This grill also has more than enough holes in it to allow for the PSU to pull in air to keep the internal components cool and running as intended.

As always, the fan grill is easily removed by taking out a couple of screws. However, we don’t recommend doing this unless you are 100% positive about what you are doing as you could easily damage something.

As we saw, there are several cables and of course, they need to be plugged in somewhere! Now, as you can see in the below image, everything is labeled properly and as all connectors are different, you really shouldn’t have any issues connecting things.

All cables are also labeled on their plastic connectors and generally will only fit where they are designed to.

Around the other side of the GF3 and we have the mains cable input and power switch. There is also a Smart Zero Fan which will make the fan stay still and not spin at all unless the PSU load hits 30% or above. This will help with noise and increase the longevity of the fan which is a nice bonus.

Both sides of the TOUGHPWER GF3 1200W feature the same writing on them. This is a bit more writing than I would care for personally. I don’t mind a bit of branding, but generally speaking, just the company name would be more than sufficient here. There is no need for putting the model/series twice – it’s a bit redundant.

As always, we have this lovely sticker with all the technical details on it. There used to be a time when this was on the side of the PSU for everyone to see. Now, it is on the top and in most cases, will not be visible in your standard PC build.

However, this has one thing on it we’ve not yet seen. The TOUGHPOWER GF3 series of PSUs come backed with a 10-year warranty. This is nuts and means this PSU will be able to be used for multiple upgrades for years after you first buy it.

Well played Thermaltake, well played.

Final Thoughts on the TOUGHPOWER GF3 1200W PSU

Currently available for £199.99 from SCAN UK and backed by a 10-year warranty, the GF3 series of PSU from Thermaltake has a lot to offer. While we don’t have a load tester, I have used the TOUGHPOWER GF3 1200W PSU for a couple of weeks now and ran my normal tests on it. I have a small PSU tester that measures the voltages at idle and lets me know if they are within their given standard, and they were. Aside from this, I do check some software to make sure everything seems OK.

For me, the main selling point of this power supply is going to be the 10-year warranty. Most companies don’t offer such warranties on any products, let alone a power supply. This ultimately means that Thermaltake has the utmost faith in their GF3 series and while things can happen, they hopefully shouldn’t. However, if they do, you have one of the industry’s best warranty periods in place.

The rather simplistic design is also refreshing to see. Too many times now we are having RGB thrown down our throats or some random and crazy design. Now and again, it is nice to see something simple and plain that will fit in with most other products without having to worry too much about a color scheme or any of that!

Pros

+ ATX 3.0
+ PCIe 5.0
+ Great Quality
+ Fully Modular
+ 10-year warranty

Cons

– None we can see

The TOUGHPOWER Gf3 1200W Power Supply is going to be a great option for any PC Build. It offers all of the connections you will need including 12VHPWR and is backed by a 10