Cooler Master Seidon 120XL

crazyeyesreaper · Mar 21, 2013

In a crowded market where everyone is releasing all-in-one liquid CPU coolers, is Cooler Master's Seidon 120XL different enough to distinguish itself from the competition? The low price point of $89 is certainly enough to attract attention.

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brandonwh64 · Mar 25, 2013

This cooler seems to do quite well against some of the higher priced competition.

erixx · Mar 25, 2013

Hi CrazyEyes,

Great review, first of all, well done. Some comments:

Mounting brackets look like Noctua patent overruns in the pics.
"Fits best in HAF cases" kinda song seems an overstatement, but I may be wrong, never seen one in real life. Looks are neutral to me. No military or macho smells anywhere.

Your OC testing seems conservative, would LOVE to see how it does at 5000 Mhz!

You compare mostly with Asetek and say it is much better. Is deeper comparisons with Corsair not allowed, being a godly brand for many? }

At the end, I feel tempted to try this kit...

brandonwh64 · Mar 25, 2013

erixx said:
Hi CrazyEyes,

Great review, first of all, well done. Some comments:

Mounting brackets look like Noctua patent overruns in the pics.
"Fits best in HAF cases" kinda song seems an overstatement, but I may be wrong, never seen one in real life. Looks are neutral to me. No military or macho smells anywhere.

Your OC testing seems conservative, would LOVE to see how it does at 5000 Mhz!

You compare mostly with Asetek and say it is much better. Is deeper comparisons with Corsair not allowed, being a godly brand for many? }

At the end, I feel tempted to try this kit...

A reviewers job is to show what the product will do with the everyday user, with that being said an OC of 4.1Ghz is just a bonus since most PC enthusiasts that will run this cooler 24/7 will not be doing high clocks like 5Ghz+. This cooler is not designed to do that and since it is not then this is his main reason of not wasting his time doing it.

crazyeyesreaper · Mar 25, 2013

Also if i run 5ghz that means every entry to mid range cooler will fail the tests, yes lets use an overclock that means 50-75% of coolers that sell cant pass the test

3960x ES sample already hits around 150w at load at overclock the Chip is around 175-185w estimated.

I would love to run a higher overclock but it is what it is. 4.1 on all 6 cores is still a 800 MHz overclock compared to Intel stock, granted XMP on my board pushes the chip to 3.6 on all cores regardless its still a 500 MHz overclock.

The chip will definitely go higher so thats not the issue either, but when literally every cooler I have here except the Seidon 120XL, H110, H100 would be likely to fail it loses merit as a comparison.

as for Corsair you do realize Erixx that the Corsair units are made by Asetek, they are Asetek units with a nice logo and a few changes.

example: http://www.asetek.com/corsair-h90.html

erixx · Mar 25, 2013

Thanks for the replies to understand those decisions! I have never used water so i am a newby there. No idea asetek=corsair.

Well I am at 4800 Mhz 24/7 with a Noctua C14 (only 1 fan!) (of course it clocks down to 1600Mhz most of the day, but stays strong during gaming (80ºC) or video conversion(90ºC)

There is another review out there of the bigger brother of this 120XL at http://lanoc.org/review/cooling/6158-cooler-master-seidon-240m?start=4 which is bigger and the outcome is kinda bland.

So for now I am not running to a shop to buy one and start with water...

Thanks!

RCoon · Mar 25, 2013

Glad to see my H100 is still kicking ass.

erixx · Mar 25, 2013

brandonwh64 said:
A reviewers job is to show what the product will do with the everyday user, with that being said an OC of 4.1Ghz is just a bonus since most PC enthusiasts that will run this cooler 24/7 will not be doing high clocks like 5Ghz+. This cooler is not designed to do that and since it is not then this is his main reason of not wasting his time doing it.

Do not agree, sorry

This kind of parts are for enthusiasts not everyday. Most non overclocking friends that come to BBQ or dinner at home do scream like girls at Bieber when they see my big Noctua, they use stock cooling solutions, unless I mantain their kits... so...

PD: I mean, a reviewer can (or not) set its own limits and do mainstream or freak reviews...

crazyeyesreaper · Mar 25, 2013

Well let me put it this way Erixx what manufacturer would send me a cooler to review if it was automatically guaranteed to fail the test?

brandonwh64 · Mar 25, 2013

erixx said:
Do not agree, sorry This kind of parts are for enthusiasts not everyday. Most non overclocking friends that come to BBQ or dinner at home do scream like girls at Bieber when they see my big Noctua, they use stock cooling solutions, unless I mantain their kits... so...

PD: I mean, a reviewer can (or not) set its own limits and do mainstream or freak reviews...

Sure a AIO cooler is better than stock and does the job at moderate clocks but if you want full out enthusiast 5Ghz+ then full loop is what you need to find a review of or a phase unit. You are asking for above the comfortable voltages and clocks for a product that is made to tame the mediocre clocker. Sure you get props for a nocuta on a custom build but have you seen many benches were it was used on a 3960X at 5GHz+ (which would probably put the CPU at 250+ wattage)? If so please direct me to this because its a complete waste of the reviewers time.

crazyeyesreaper · Mar 25, 2013

I think he forgets that 3960x is 6 cores 12 threads not 4 cores 8 threads like the 3770k with a TDP that is double the 3770ks

3960x also thermal throttles at 86'C so the C14 and Hyper 212 EVO in my testing were just 1'C away from thermal throttle in a room with ambient temps of 20'C

brandonwh64 · Mar 25, 2013

Even on a 3770K at 5Ghz would still get quite toasty and 5ghz is not guaranteed on any chip. The review is suppose to represent what the average clocker would like to see on a 24/7 rig not a short time bencher of 5Ghz+

erixx · Mar 25, 2013

I didn't know that an AIO water cooler is so much inferior to handmade pipes and tubes stuff (the limit is the sky, isn't it?). 4,1 Mhz just sounded conservative to me, but of course it is the sweet spot of many 3960X.

From now on I will look differently at boxes with AIO waters... No hats off and that...

crazyeyesreaper · Mar 25, 2013

The big draw for AIO kits is they tend to cool reasonable well but they dont block DIMM slots

so you can use whatever ram you want along with ram coolers and all those extra things something thats rather hard to do when using say a Noctua NH-D14

theres also the fact that these AIO kits are mounted to the case so they dont hang off the mobo via backplates etc. So we could say there is less stress on the motherboard,

Overall the big draw for these kits for me remains that you can use any kind of ram you want so if you have Dominator Platniums or the like you dont have to be worried that your heatsink and fan will keep you from using them.

erixx · Mar 25, 2013

Absolutely true!

And -if windowed- you can enjoy the view of the mobo, that uses to be nicer than a big fan and so, specially nicer to the eye than a noctua fan ...

crazyeyesreaper · Mar 25, 2013

Another interesting thing is users can use these AIO liquid coolers from all the various brands in cases where tall giant heatsinks dont work, they make a good pair with Mini-ITX and Small Form Factor builds.

Florentino · Mar 25, 2013

I have to admit that kind of cooling system looks better than it performs

Actually compare to thermalright SB-E

Corsair H100 is an Epic Fail

too noisy&not so cool

Frogger · Mar 25, 2013

Sweet review. :toast:

With that mounting sys this cooler might be of use to modders as a VGA cooler. If you still have the unit could you measure the 2 lines in the pic to compare to the mount holes on the cards. THE RED MOD

Thanks

strait bolt thru

crazyeyesreaper · Mar 25, 2013

yea i can do that

Roughly across the top in the image you posted is

2 1/4 inches
diagonal is 3 1/8 inches

give or take those are rough estimates

cadaveca · Mar 25, 2013

erixx said:
4,1 Mhz just sounded conservative to me,

To you. I senty Crazy that CPU, and it had bee nwell abused by me before he got it. clocks are not important here, what is important is the amount of heat output the CPU gives, and a clock does not say ANYTHING about heat dump. You run 4.8 GHz, but are likely only pulling 125W through your chip. That 3960X pulls an additional 30W OVER your 4.8 GHz IVB, when it's at stock.

In reality, Crazy's overclock is bigger than yours, you aren't looking at the right numbers. He's likely pulling twice as much power through his chip @ 4.2 GHz, close to 250W.

My 3960X does 4.6 GHz with 200W. That's 500 MHz more than Crazy's chip. Clock speed is irrelevant to cooler testing.

erixx · Mar 25, 2013

Thanks again revealing those aspects we ordinary people are unaware off. That is a huge power gap. Great lesson learned! Not that I associated 100% clock speed=power= heat, but somehow that was the idea. Idling I am at 78 W right now.

ChaoticG8R · Mar 25, 2013

crazyeyesreaper said:
yea i can do that

Roughly across the top in the image you posted is

2 1/4 inches
diagonal is 3 1/8 inches

give or take those are rough estimates

Might be useful to purchase some digital calipers....for this comment and for future reviews. They are less than $20 nearly everywhere

brandonwh64 · Mar 25, 2013

ChaoticG8R said:
Might be useful to purchase some digital calipers....for this comment and for future reviews. They are less than $20 nearly everywhere

Why?

sneekypeet · Mar 25, 2013

accuracy, and the fact that the industry standard of measurement is in millimeters. They just plain old come in very handy. You can measure fin thickness, you can measure hardware if you have an issue with fit, there are quite a few times where I was very glad I had one handy.

silkstone · May 22, 2013

I've just ordered one of these to replace my V8. Newegg have them for about $50 after rebate.

I'm just looking to replace the V8 with the equivilent cooling potential as having a 1kg heatsink hanging off my board has been worrying me.

Can anyone reassure me that I made the right decision?

Oh, 1 other question. If the pump were ever to fail. The computer would shut down before any damage was done, right?

System Name	Old reliable
Processor	Intel 8700K @ 4.8 GHz
Motherboard	MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon AC
Cooling	Custom Water
Memory	32 GB Crucial Ballistix 3666 MHz
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 3080 10GB Suprim X
Storage	3x SSDs 2x HDDs
Display(s)	ASUS VG27AQL1A x2 2560x1440 8bit IPS
Case	Thermaltake Core P3 TG
Audio Device(s)	Samson Meteor Mic / Generic 2.1 / KRK KNS 6400 headset
Power Supply	Zalman EBT-1000
Mouse	Mionix NAOS 7000
Keyboard	Mionix

System Name	Old reliable
Processor	Intel 8700K @ 4.8 GHz
Motherboard	MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon AC
Cooling	Custom Water
Memory	32 GB Crucial Ballistix 3666 MHz
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 3080 10GB Suprim X
Storage	3x SSDs 2x HDDs
Display(s)	ASUS VG27AQL1A x2 2560x1440 8bit IPS
Case	Thermaltake Core P3 TG
Audio Device(s)	Samson Meteor Mic / Generic 2.1 / KRK KNS 6400 headset
Power Supply	Zalman EBT-1000
Mouse	Mionix NAOS 7000
Keyboard	Mionix

System Name	HP Omen 17
Processor	i7 7700HQ
Memory	16GB 2400Mhz DDR4
Video Card(s)	GTX 1060
Storage	Samsung SM961 256GB + HGST 1TB
Display(s)	1080p IPS G-SYNC 75Hz
Audio Device(s)	Bang & Olufsen
Power Supply	230W
Mouse	Roccat Kone XTD+
Software	Win 10 Pro

System Name	Old reliable
Processor	Intel 8700K @ 4.8 GHz
Motherboard	MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon AC
Cooling	Custom Water
Memory	32 GB Crucial Ballistix 3666 MHz
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 3080 10GB Suprim X
Storage	3x SSDs 2x HDDs
Display(s)	ASUS VG27AQL1A x2 2560x1440 8bit IPS
Case	Thermaltake Core P3 TG
Audio Device(s)	Samson Meteor Mic / Generic 2.1 / KRK KNS 6400 headset
Power Supply	Zalman EBT-1000
Mouse	Mionix NAOS 7000
Keyboard	Mionix

System Name	Old reliable
Processor	Intel 8700K @ 4.8 GHz
Motherboard	MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon AC
Cooling	Custom Water
Memory	32 GB Crucial Ballistix 3666 MHz
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 3080 10GB Suprim X
Storage	3x SSDs 2x HDDs
Display(s)	ASUS VG27AQL1A x2 2560x1440 8bit IPS
Case	Thermaltake Core P3 TG
Audio Device(s)	Samson Meteor Mic / Generic 2.1 / KRK KNS 6400 headset
Power Supply	Zalman EBT-1000
Mouse	Mionix NAOS 7000
Keyboard	Mionix

System Name	XtremePC
Processor	i7 3970X
Motherboard	ASUS Rampage IV Extreme
Cooling	wind
Memory	Samsung 4G 1600 x8
Video Card(s)	GTX Titan 4way SLI
Storage	Plextor M5P 256G Raid 0
Display(s)	EIZO SX27
Case	Coolermaster COSMOS II
Power Supply	Antec HCP1000x2
Software	windows7
Benchmark Scores	3D mark 11 X 14658

System Name	MONEY PIT
Processor	i7-3770K @ 4800 1.20v batch #3231B415 Delided
Motherboard	ASrock Z77 OC Formula w onboard waterblocks
Cooling	Apogee HD, MCP655,rad MCR320-XP,Micro Rev2 res
Memory	G,skill Trident X F3-2400C10D-16GTX
Video Card(s)	EVGA GTX 980 Ti Classified with EK nickel/acetal waterblock installed
Storage	2x120gig Wildfire raid0 2x120gig VERTEX3 raid0
Display(s)	3/ Samsung2343bwx + 65in LG 4K
Case	NZXT Phantom White w/red
Audio Device(s)	ReCon3d fatal1ty pro, Logitech z906 THX
Power Supply	corsair AX860i
Mouse	Rat7
Software	64bit ++++ win 10

System Name	ChaoticG8R / Lil'G8R
Processor	Intel i7-970 / Intel i7-4790K
Motherboard	ASUS Sabertooth X58 / ASUS ROG Impact VII Z97
Cooling	Swiftech H220 AIO / Cooler Master Nepton 140XL
Memory	Mushkin Enh. Radioactive 3x4GB DDR3 1600 / Corsair Vengeance 2x8GB DDR3 2133
Video Card(s)	2 x EVGA GTX 680 4GB / Zotac AMP! GTX 980
Storage	240GB Crucial M500 + RAID1 2x2TB WD BlackCaviar / Raid0 3x256 GB Crucial MX100 + 2TB WD BlackCaviar
Display(s)	QNIX QX2710 @ 120hz + 2x Sceptre 20"
Case	Cooler Master Storm Sniper Black Edition / Thermaltake Core V1
Power Supply	BFG LS1200 1250W / Corsair AX860i 860W
Mouse	ROCCAT Kone XTD
Keyboard	ROCCAT Ryos MK Pro
Benchmark Scores	Runs daily @ 4.5Ghz; Runs stable @ 4.8Ghz; Max OC on air: 5.0Ghz

System Name	EVA-01
Processor	Intel i7 13700K
Motherboard	Asus ROG Maximus Z690 HERO EVA Edition
Cooling	ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 with Noctua Industrial Fans
Memory	PAtriot Viper Elite RGB 96GB @ 6000MHz.
Video Card(s)	Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3090 24GB OC EVA Edition
Storage	Addlink S95 M.2 PCIe GEN 4x4 2TB
Display(s)	Asus ROG SWIFT OLED PG42UQ
Case	Thermaltake Core P3 TG
Audio Device(s)	Realtek on board > Sony Receiver > Cerwin Vegas
Power Supply	be quiet DARK POWER PRO 12 1500W
Mouse	ROG STRIX Impact Electro Punk
Keyboard	ROG STRIX Scope TKL Electro Punk
Software	Windows 11

System Name	Gaming System / HTPC-Server
Processor	i7 8700K (@4.8 Ghz All-Core) / R7 5900X
Motherboard	Z370 Aorus Ultra Gaming / MSI B450 Mortar Max
Cooling	CM ML360 / CM ML240L
Memory	16Gb Hynix @3200 MHz / 16Gb Hynix @3000Mhz
Video Card(s)	Zotac 3080 / Colorful 1060
Storage	750G MX300 + 2x500G NVMe / 40Tb Reds + 1Tb WD Blue NVMe
Display(s)	LG 27GN800-B 27'' 2K 144Hz / Sony TV
Case	Xigmatek Aquarius Plus / Corsair Air 240
Audio Device(s)	On Board Realtek
Power Supply	Super Flower Leadex III Gold 750W / Andyson TX-700 Platinum
Mouse	Logitech G502 Hero / K400+
Keyboard	Wooting Two / K400+
Software	Windows 10 x64
Benchmark Scores	Cinebench R15 = 1542 3D Mark Timespy = 9758

Cooler Master Seidon 120XL

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