# 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.

*Show full review*


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## brandonwh64 (Mar 25, 2013)

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


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## 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...


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## brandonwh64 (Mar 25, 2013)

erixx said:


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



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.


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## 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


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## 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!


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## RCoon (Mar 25, 2013)

Glad to see my H100 is still kicking ass.


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## 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...


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## 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?


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## 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.


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## 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


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## 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+


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## 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...


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## 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.


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## 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 ...


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## 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.


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## 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


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## Frogger (Mar 25, 2013)

Sweet review. 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


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## 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


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## 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.


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## 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.


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## ChaoticG8R (Mar 25, 2013)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> yea i can do that
> 
> Roughly across the top in the image you posted is
> 
> ...



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


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## 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?


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## 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.


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## 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?


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## crazyeyesreaper (May 22, 2013)

should be able to set a thermal shutdown temp in your bios, Im not the motherboard reviewer tho so cant tell you for sure on that what I can tell you is the 120XL should cool FAR better than the V8. It will be a little loud on the fan front but if left in PWM mode it should be fairly quiet most of the time and perform better.


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## silkstone (May 22, 2013)

It's good to know that i'll be able to keep my mediocre overclock without having to mess around too much.

The only other thing I am worried about is leakage. How often do these AIO water coolers leak? Is there anything I can do to minimize the risk?


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## crazyeyesreaper (May 22, 2013)

So far I have had

1x Thermaltake Water 2.0 PRO = 1.5 years no leaks
1x Corsair H90 no leaks
1x Corsair H110 no leaks
1x Corsair H100 no leaks
1x Cooler Master Seidon 120XL no leaks

easiest way to avoid leaks? dont grab on to it expected hoses to hold all the wait, essentially common sense man just plain old common sense. Dont hit it with a hammer, Don't use it as a flail, Don't use it as dogs chew toy, Don't use it to hit people and most importantly Don't throw it at walls or kick it like a soccer ball.


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## silkstone (May 22, 2013)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> So far I have had
> 
> 1x Thermaltake Water 2.0 PRO = 1.5 years no leaks
> 1x Corsair H90 no leaks
> ...



Damn. I'm not sure if I want to buy it any more. You just took all the fun things to do with a water cooler of my list 

Seriously though, I did hear somewhere that the do, very occasionally leak, I will assume from your post that it is only when people abuse them tho.


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## crazyeyesreaper (May 22, 2013)

they can leak if your worried plug in the fan headers and just let the thing run for 24 hours while sitting on paper towels  aka leak test it like you would custom water


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## George_o/c (May 29, 2013)

Great review! As I've seen in other reviews as well, the performance of the Seidon 120XL is on par with the Corsair H90 (or even a bit better), while the H90 is more quiet. So after all, it comes down to price when the end-user has to decide which one should he buy.



Frogger said:


> Sweet review. 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 MODhttp://img.techpowerup.org/130325/Capture4.jpg
> Thanks
> strait bolt thru http://www.overclock.net/content/type/61/id/1347877/width/350/height/700/flags/LL http://www.overclock.net/content/type/61/id/1347879/width/500/height/1000/flags/LL



w00t


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## silkstone (May 30, 2013)

I have got 3 more weeks until it arrives. The XL that I ordered when I found the deal at Newegg was only $15 more than the 120M that I was going to order. The 240M, in turn, is only $15 more than the 120XL.
I'm thinking now, that I should have gone for the 240M, but it is very difficult to know when to stop.


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## silkstone (Jun 3, 2013)

Another quick question about the cooler. I thought I would double post rather than edit the one before as i'd like to bump the topic. I hope that is ok mods.

What is the thermal compound like? I have a tube of MX-2, but it's about 4 years old. Should I use the compound that comes with the Seidon, the MX-2 or get some new stuff?
Also, is the pump a 3-pin or 4 pin connection? I've been a little worried about how the fan header on my mobo is actiing, so I want to be careful and not blow the thing up.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jun 3, 2013)

Pump header is: 3-pin
As for thermal paste I can't comment on how good or not the CM paste is what I can tell you is I suspect that it is better than the Ceramique I use for testing.


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## silkstone (Jun 3, 2013)

Thanks. The cable doesn't look too long, so I may just get an extender and route it behind the mobo  and to my fan controller rather than having it on the mobo header. I just need to fully check all the fan headers on my controller as it is a few years old.


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## sangarraj (Jun 20, 2013)

*seidon 120 xl lealing*

my seidon 120 xl fan is greasy...why is it like that ???is it leaking ???

pls reply fast


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## Deleted member 24505 (Jul 16, 2013)

I'm using a very old, CM Aquagate R80, and it's still fine, no leaks.







Nice review, and not a bad cooler as compared to some of the others.


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## silkstone (Jul 16, 2013)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> Pump header is: 3-pin
> As for thermal paste I can't comment on how good or not the CM paste is what I can tell you is I suspect that it is better than the Ceramique I use for testing.



Both my pump and fan headers are 4-pin for some reason. I don't think it'd be a problem as they are both set to run at 100%, I think.



sangarraj said:


> my seidon 120 xl fan is greasy...why is it like that ???is it leaking ???
> 
> pls reply fast



Mine is a little greasy too, the tubes at least. I don't think mine is leaking though, it's been about 3 weeks and I haven't had any problems.


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## mattcecc (Sep 22, 2013)

*nice test*

Thank's for this test. I'll keep my 212 Evo !


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