A Closer Look

Overall, the heatsink has a very straightforward design as it is a standard single-tower cooler with U-shaped heat pipes. The heatsink itself is comprised of 45 aluminium fins with saw-tooth cut outs near the center of the fins. Heat is transferred to the fins via four heat pipes. The SE 224 XT ARGB shown here also has a black coating, which certainly looks nice and reminds me of past Enermax designs.


The SE 224 XT Basic is functionally identical to the ARGB with the same number of fins and layout. Rather than going with a black coating for the Basic, ID-Cooling opted for nickel-plated heatpipes.


Looking at the top of the cooler, it's easy to spot the different designs. The Basic model uses a simple black top fin with the ID-Cooling logo, while the ARGB model features a chunkier design with heatpipe caps, which gives the design a higher-quality aesthetic.


As for the heatpipes, the arrangement and size is identical, as previously mentioned with the bare copper exposed to make direct contact with the CPU IHS.


In regards to the base, it feels smooth on both, and the gaps between the heat pipes and the aluminium base are tiny. It should also be noted that like many coolers, some minor machining marks are visible. However, they are completely undetectable to the touch.


The fans are where the biggest differences can be seen. The SE 224 XT ARGB has the ID-12025M12B fan, which spins at 900–2000 RPM and has a maximum airflow of 56.5. Meanwhile, the SE 224 XT Basic has the ID-12025M12S fan with an RPM range of 700–1800 and an increased CFM of 76.16 due to its smaller hub. When looking at both coolers, I expected the Basic to perform slightly better, which our test results confirmed—more airflow typically means better cooling.