Performance
All tests were performed on the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, one of the more demanding processors on the market. Additional components contain MSI X570 Unify motherboard, HyperX Predator 16GB DDR4-4600 memory kit, and ASRock RX 6800 XT 16GB graphics card.
There are three tests. The first is simply called Idle, so an operating system without additional load besides standard processes in the background. The second test is based on the PCMark 10 Extended benchmark, which simulates daily work and simple games. The last one is a high CPU load tested with AIDA64 and AVX instructions.
The same as in previous cooler reviews with the Ryzen 9 5900X CPU, I have to add that the presented results are not fully clear. The full story includes the CPU frequency, which depends on the cooling potential of the used cooler. In this case, Enermax ETS-F40 series coolers were keeping about 100-200MHz (depends on used core) higher frequency during work than Noctua NH-U9S. Their performance was about as high as that of Noctua NH-U12S redux/chromax.black. At the same time, we could see a bit higher frequency on Noctua NH-D15 or AIO coolers with 360mm radiators like Enermax LIQMAX III.
One of the strong points of the ETS-F40 is generated noise. The cooler is so quiet during a typical work that we couldn’t register any significant noise above the ambient. During full CPU load, the fan was about 2dB louder than the ambient, which was around 34dB.
During most tests, the fan was spinning at around 800RPM. It was enough to keep the CPU at its optimal temperature. Overall results are around that of Noctua NH-U12S or even slightly better. At the same time, the cooler is significantly cheaper in most stores what makes it a very interesting option.
Even though I feel that the Enermax air cooling solutions are not the most popular, then I’m sure that all who decide on this cooler won’t be disappointed. Enermax liquid coolers proved high-performance many times, so it’s time on air coolers.
