Montech Air Cooler 210

[crazyeyesreaper]

Montech is breaking new ground with their first CPU cooler, the aptly named Air Cooler 210. This single-tower cooler features six heat pipes, an asymmetrical fin-stack, and an ARGB fan for that little bit of bling. All in all, an appealing option if its performance can rival its looks.

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[Chrispy_]

Companies need to start selling heatsinks without fans.
This here is a decent tower design with a reasonable mounting mechanism let down by a garbage fan that I'm positive I've seen on AliExpress in the "so cheap you daren't touch it" price range.

 

[bonehead123]

hahahaha..... $55 for about the 1,259th rehashed 212 released this year alone, which beats it in every way (according to the posted charts anyways) for about 1/2 the price.....

 

[Udyr]

hahahaha..... $55 for about the 1,259th rehashed 212 released this year alone, which beats it in every way (according to the posted charts anyways) for about 1/2 the price.....

"We made a $10 cooler, that's worth $30, but we want $55" - Montech Marketing Team

 

[Mistral]

I would love to know how this compares to the Scythe Mugen 5, as the tower takes quite a few cues from it.

 

[Caring1]

A 210 should be cheaper than a 212.

 

[eidairaman1]

A 210 should be cheaper than a 212.

Being a 120 mm design and not 210 mm pissed me off in disappointment

 

[Chrispy_]

@crazyeyesreaper
I don't suppose you tested this (unofficially) with any other fans did you? The included RGB fan appears to be a low-grade copycat of a focused-flow case fan. It has 11 blades at entirely the wrong angle to generate any kind of static pressure and all of the leading heatsink/radiator fans have 9 blades or fewer, a much lower angle of incidence, and don't have gaps (negative blade overlap) for air entrainment when viewed head-on.

IMO fans with stators are wasted on a heatsink or radiator since the fins do the job of the stator anyway and the result is that some of the fan's 25mm depth is wasted on useless stators instead of valuable rotors instead. The last thing this fan needs with its short rotors at the wrong angle is a stupid plastic stator ring limiting the blade depth; That's like kicking a man who's already down.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

@crazyeyesreaper
I don't suppose you tested this (unofficially) with any other fans did you? The included RGB fan appears to be a low-grade copycat of a focused-flow case fan. It has 11 blades at entirely the wrong angle to generate any kind of static pressure and all of the leading heatsink/radiator fans have 9 blades or fewer, a much lower angle of incidence, and don't have gaps (negative blade overlap) for air entrainment when viewed head-on.

IMO fans with stators are wasted on a heatsink or radiator since the fins do the job of the stator anyway and the result is that some of the fan's 25mm depth is wasted on useless stators instead of valuable rotors instead. The last thing this fan needs with its short rotors at the wrong angle is a stupid plastic stator ring limiting the blade depth; That's like kicking a man who's already down.

i dont test samples with alternative fans, testing alone as it comes in a box is 18 hrs not counting photos / writting / graphs / etc.. adding a replacement fan would up that work load to 36 hrs. I also work 2 other jobs its just not feasible.

 

[Sodahorse93]

that's really disappointing i was hoping it would perform better.

 

[Udyr]

i dont test samples with alternative fans, testing alone as it comes in a box is 18 hrs not counting photos / writting / graphs / etc.. adding a replacement fan would up that work load to 36 hrs. I also work 2 other jobs its just not feasible.

...and that's the way it should always be. These tests are a base to the cooler's performance according to what the manufacturer offers. Any additional nitpicking should be covered by the user.

Plug in the stock config > test and write down the results.
Change the fans as many times as you like > test and repeat.

 

[Chrispy_]

i dont test samples with alternative fans, testing alone as it comes in a box is 18 hrs not counting photos / writting / graphs / etc.. adding a replacement fan would up that work load to 36 hrs. I also work 2 other jobs its just not feasible.

Fair enough, it was just a point of curiousity to see if the tower's actually any good or not - but even if it was, $55 for a tower that needs you to buy a decent fan is dumb, because Noctua will sell you something better and quieter for that with a lifetime warranty and infinite free socket upgrades.

 

[The red spirit]

Companies need to start selling heatsinks without fans.
This here is a decent tower design with a reasonable mounting mechanism let down by a garbage fan that I'm positive I've seen on AliExpress in the "so cheap you daren't touch it" price range.

Review doesn't indicate that fan is any bad. It performs adequately well. It's only a tiny bit louder than CM Hyper 212's and at reaches less RPM, but the difference is only 100-200 rpm less for 0-6 dB more noise. That's barely any different. The problem with Montech is that they price this AliExpress Special at 55 dollars and you can get Gelid Phantom for 40 dollars and it outperforms Montech and is 15 dollars cheaper. That's not a fan, that's a bean counter fail here.

 

[Chrispy_]

Well, you can't use RPM as a measurement of performance because the actual airflow through a heatsink is down to many more factors than just how fast the fan is turning.

Even if you completely ignore noise, the airflow through a heatsink is dependent on blade angle, blade count, RPM, and how much static pressure is resisted by the heatsink in question at that particular RPM with that particular fan.

For two identical rotor designs, its valid to compare RPMs but when comparing different rotors RPM is useless by itself. Take a 6000RPM V6 petrol engine that can spin faster than a 4000RPM I-4 diesel but the diesel generates twice the horsepower and four times the torque. The things that matter rely on a combination of multiple variables, such as the engine displacement, the gearing, whether it's naturally-aspirated or uses a turbo/supercharger, what fuel it's running etc. Peak RPM is almost irrelevant when comparing two different vehicles designed for different purposes.

 

[The red spirit]

Well, you can't use RPM as a measurement of performance because the actual airflow through a heatsink is down to many more factors than just how fast the fan is turning.

It's generic heatsink, therefore it's comparable. And so is fan, it's a generic 11 blader.

 

[Chrispy_]

It's generic heatsink, therefore it's comparable. And so is fan, it's a generic 11 blader.

It's a generic 11 blader - but generic refers to the lack of branding. The design of that fan is very specifically high-flow, low-pressure, focused air column - the exact opposite of what you need for a heatsink.

A generic static pressure fan would likely do a much better and quieter job at the same RPM.

 

[The red spirit]

It's a generic 11 blader - but generic refers to the lack of branding.

I meant in a way that's it doesn't have any fancy stuff, it's just the most basic 11 blader that you can think off. It doesn't do anything special, but it's a strong basic design.

The design of that fan is very specifically high-flow, low-pressure, focused air column - the exact opposite of what you need for a heatsink.

A generic static pressure fan would likely do a much better and quieter job at the same RPM.

Static pressure is very overrated and I highly doubt that you can get out much more out of same fan area. Airflow is rpms*static pressure*fan scooping volume. I'm not saying that you can't gain anything, but gains are going to be small.

 

[fb020997]

Speaking of non-centered stickers on blade hubs…
My rig has 4x EK Vardar Evo RGB radiator fans, two at the top as exhaust and two at the front as intake. Since the fans at the front have that useless sticker visible through the fan grille, I had to power all 4 of them on my desk and choose the two with the most centered sticker. Of 4 fans, one was terrible, two were not bad and one nearly perfect.