ENERMAX AQUAFUSION ADV 360mm Review

Today, we’re presenting you the ENERMAX AQUAFUSION ADV 360mm review. ENERMAX is a well-known brand engaged in manufacturing PC cooling components, PSUs, PC Cases, etc. Their liquid coolers came under the spotlight some time ago. We have received AQUAFUSION ADV 360mm liquid cooler from ENERMAX for testing. This is a 360mm AIO CPU Cooler capable of meeting 380W TDP requirements. This is quite some rating there since the new generation platforms from both camps are taking more power, resultantly generating more heat. This cooler is also available in 240mm and 120mm variants.

Though little we know about the pump of this cooler, the cooler is compatible with Intel LGA115x/1200/1700/20xx/1366 and AMD AM5/AM4/AM3+/FM2+FM1 sockets. To fully put the cooler’s performance into perspective, Intel has certified the AQUAFUSION ADV to handle their top-tier i9-13900K CPU.

This cooler has a mirror infinity design on the pump’s housing which is surrounded by a diffuser for more vivid ARGB lighting. ENERMAX has provided 3x ARGB fans with a little bit different design element using Vortex Frame Technology and downsized hub design. 

Salient features are:

• Certified by Intel to handle i9-13900K
• Luminous Aurabelt™ and Infinite RGB Reflection
• ENERMAX SquA RGB ADV Fans included
• Supports addressable RGB M/B sync
• Patented Dual Chamber Water block design
• Patented Shunt Channel Technology

Specifications

Dimension

Packaging

Let’s begin the ENERMAX AQUAFUSION ADV 360mm review with the unboxing experience. The cooler is shipped inside a packing box finished black in color. A-RGB illumination on block and fans say it all. On top, there is a compatibility listing of A-RGB lighting.

Specifications of this unit are listed in a tabular format. ENERMAX has listed key highlights of the technology used in this cooler.

The cooler and mounting hardware is tucked inside an egged carton for maximum safety during traveling. The accessories are placed inside a transparent pouch box. A-RGB-related accessories are placed inside a separate transparent pouch. The fans are inside transparent covers.

Contents

Let’s see what ENERMAX has provided in accessories.

ENERMAX has provided:

• 2x Mounting Brackets for Intel
• 2x Mounting Brackets for AMD
• 1x Backplate for Intel

We have:

• 4x AMD AM4/AM5 pillars
• 4x Philips Screws to install mounting brackets
• 4x Intel LGA20xx Pillars
• 4x Pillars and 4x washers for provided backplate
• 4x Pillars for AMD 
• 4x Spacers4x Spring-Loaded Screws
• 12x Long Screws
• 12x Short Screws

ENERMAX has provided:

• 1x SATA powered cable for Pump. This would spare a fan header on the motherboard.
• 3-Way PWM Splitter Cable
• 1x Y-Cable for A-RGB [Having 2x male headers and 1x female header]

ENERMAX has provided a thermal paste which they have mentioned to be Dow Corning TC-5121C. We did a little online search and found that this thermal paste is rated for 2.5W-mK with a specific gravity of 4.2 and has a viscosity average of 60,000 – 100,000 cP.

ENERMAX has also provided a user guide.

Design

Let’s start taking a closer look at the ENERMAX AQUAFUSION ADV 360mm.

Radiator

This cooler has a 360mm size radiator having a dimension of 394x120x27mm. Here, 27mm is the height of the radiator itself. Please, keep in mind that this includes the housing of the radiator. The actual thickness of fins stacking is lower than this rating which is normal. The bundled fans have a thickness of 26mm. After installing them on this radiator, we would get an overall height of 54mm, approximately including heads of screws. When it comes to Fins Per Inch, this radiator has a count of 20, meaning we would need high static pressure fans to main the generated airflow. Complete assembly and stacking are made of aluminum. There is a gap of 105mm between any two fan mounting holes on the radiator.

We have a black color stylish frame on both sides of the radiator. ENERMAX branding can be seen in the center. We can remove the side frames.

The above picture shows the sides of the fin stacking after removing frames. Now, we can measure and see that fin stacking actually has a 25mm thickness.

We are not sure about the OEM of this unit, but we have seen this particular mounting hardware on PCCOOLER and SilverStone liquid coolers. The blocks on both ends of the radiator are not rectangular. This cooler uses two barbed fittings with metallic covers for reinforcement and better aesthetics. There are two stickers here. One has the serial number of this unit, whereas the other has some importer information listed.

We can also see what seems to be a cap over a port. This is probably reserved for factory use only, and don’t attempt to open it by yourself it may eliminate the vacuum pressure of the loop. There is no warranty void sticker over this port.

There are no protective sheets or plating over the fins under the fan mounts. So, take care while mounting the fans, as longer screws could damage the fins, which would hamper the performance of the cooler. It is recommended to use the supplied long screws to mount the fans onto the radiators. ENERMAX has done a good job with fins stacking.

The tubing has a length of approximately 400 mm. The soft material tubing is flexible and doesn’t produce kinking, which is always a plus. ENERMAX is using mesh sleeves on the hoses to give them a clean look

Pump/Block

Let’s take a look at the main element of this cooler. It is the pump and its housing.

The housing has a dimension of 69.5×68.5×54.5mm. Here 54.5mm is the height of the housing, excluding the copper base. The housing is finished in black color. Its top has a relatively large size compared to the base. Looking at the side of the housing, we can see two screw holes near the base. This is where the mounting brackets are installed using Philips screws. ENERMAX has mentioned that this unit uses using dual-chamber design.

The above picture illustrates the inner design rendering of this unit. This is ENERMAX Patented Dual-chamber Mechanism. This helps isolate the pump from the heat. ENERMAX believes that this would significantly increase the cooler’s lifespan without compromising efficiency. Let’s hope this will have addressed and improved the earlier pumps issues.

ENERMAX is using patented CCI + SCT technology in this unit. Central Coolant Inlet (CCI) technology injects the coolant at the hottest spot to prevent heat surges. Shunt-channel Technology (SCT) design shortens the coolant flow path, resulting in faster heat transfer.

The opposite side has the same layout, except that there is a power cable coming out from here. Take note of a rubber cover. Take note of a thick diffuser at the top. It houses A-RGB LEDs for some vivid light shows.

There is a proprietary 4-pin port under there. Users can connect bundled A-RGB cables with this header. I am not sure what is the reason for this particular implementation as ENERMAX could have made the A-RGB cable a permanent part of the housing like that pump’s power cable.

The tubes are installed in a 90° mount on the base of the block so that they can be rotated as per the requirement to the left or right side position. There is no cable connection here.

The pump housing has a 3-pin power cable to power the pump.

Top of this housing is a highly reflective surface. ENERMAX has implemented an infinity mirror design here, which looks good in person. However, there is a catch. This infinity mirror has ENERMAX branding written on it. We can’t change the direction of this text; hence block can only be installed with tube side-facing DIMM slots. ENERMAX refers to this as Luminous Aurabelt™ technology and unique Infinite RGB Reflection for a visually stunning experience.

This pump uses ceramic bearing and is rated for 50,000hrs MBTF. This is a low rating. Its rated voltage is 12VDC, taking 0.7A current. The A-RGB LEDs take 0.42A at 5V.

Let’s take a look at the base of the block. The base has a size of approximately 55x55mm, which is quite large given the size of the CPU IHS that we will be using for the testing. The copper plate has a thickness of 3mm. There is a protective cover on the base that needs to be removed before installation.

Fans

ENERMAX is using 3x 120mm fans. They have a thickness of 26mm, which is 1mm above the standard size. The forward edges of 9x blades have insets or line patterns. These blades are translucent. There is an ENERMAX branded sticker in the center. ENERMAX calls these fans as SquA RGB ADV Fans. ENERMAX is stating that these fans are designed for optimal cooling performance using Vortex Frame Technology and a downsized hub design. There is a ring in a pattern on the top frame for A-RGB lighting.

Each mounting corner has an anti-vibration rubber pad in black color.

The frame of these fans is black in color and sturdy. There is ENERMAX branding in the center. However, we could not find any arrow markings to help novice users identify the direction of airflow and the blades’ spin direction.

There are 13 arms or guides, whatever you call them, on the back, which helps move airflow in the alternate but focused pattern. One of these is not angular and has a base to catch wires on it. These fans are made in China.

There is a 4-pin PWM connector with a flat cable.

There are 2x A-RGB connectors using a standard 3-pin interface at 5V.

The salient specifications of the fans are:

A-RGB Lighting

ENERMAX has provided an A-RGB controller with this cooler.

The control box has a slim design. It has 3 buttons. The m button changes the RGB mode, whereas the arrows change the brightness/speed of the dynamic light mode.

One end of this box has a 2-pin port. This is where a SATA-powered cable is connected to.

The other end has a standard 3-pin, 5V connector (fixed to the frame).

The above picture shows the box with the SATA cable attached to it.

ENERMAX has provided cables for RGB. The top cable is connected directly to the pump’s housing, the middle cable is for the previous generation of GIGABYTE motherboards, and the bottom is a SATA cable to be connected to the control box.

The terminal connectors are 3-pin, 5V, and A-RGB. The A-RGB lighting is compatible with:

• ASUS AURA SYNC
• GIGABYTE RGB FUSION 2.0
• MSI MYSTIC SYNC
• ASROCK POLYCHROME SYNC
• RAZER CHROMA RGB

Installation

The ENERMAX AQUAFUSION ADV 360mm review will be incomplete if we don’t install the cooler.

We have tested the cooler on the AM5 platform using the GIGABYTE X670E AORUS MASTER Motherboard and AMD Ryzen 7 7700X CPU. The installation is simple and convenient. We need 10 components to set up the mounting hardware for the block.

First, install AM5 screws on the AMD stock backplate after removing the stock mounting brackets.

Install AMD brackets on the pump’s housing as shown.

It would be wise to connect the A-RGB cable to the header, as shown before installing the block.

Apply the thermal paste on the CPU and place the block on it by aligning the mounting holes of the bracket with threaded portions of screws. Use thumb nuts to complete this part of the installation.

For more detail, please refer to the user guide.

Clearance

The cooler has no clearance issue for the RAM and PCIe slot. However, make sure that your case supports 360mm AIO. The dimension of the radiator without fans is 394x120x27mm (LxWxH). With fans, the dimension is 394x120x54mm (height is increased).

Also Read: ALPHACOOL CORE OCEAN T38 CPU AIO 360mm Review

Testing

Now comes the important part of the ENERMAX AQUAFUSION ADV 360mm review, the testing. Here’s the test bench we used:

• AMD Ryzen 7 7700X
• GIGABYTE X670E AORUS MASTER
• XPG Lancer RGB 2x16GB @ 6000MHz
• Colorful GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4G [For Display]
• Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 2TB NVMe SSD [For OS]
• be quiet! Straight Power 11 1000W Platinum PSU

Here are some pictures:

1 of 8

Here is the settings table for testing:

Not every run of the stress test may yield the same result. This could well be due to many factors like mounting pressure, thermal paste application, and varying ambient temperature. Not to mention the silicon differences even among the same category of chips. Hence, it is pertinent to mention the testing methodology along with the specifics.

Results

Be sure to check out our similar, in-depth review of the GIGABYTE AORUS WATERFORCE X 280 Liquid Cooler and the DeepCool LT520 240mm AIO, as we will be comparing the three coolers.

This cooler has almost a similar performance as we saw on GIGABYTE WATERFORCE X280.

Noise

These fans were making roughly 51 dB(A) at 32~33 dB(A) ambient. As of August 2023, ENERMAX is also giving a free noise reducer adaptor along with the AQUAFUSION ADV 360mm. The result? Around 16% less noise. Refer to the below table for the complete breakdown of how the adaptor affects the overall performance and noise output:

Conclusion

We have taken a look ENERMAX AQUFUSION ADV 360mm cooler. This is a 360mm liquid cooler for the CPU. It is also available in 120mm and 240mm versions. This unit has an aluminum-made radiator and housing measuring 394x120x27mm. After installing the 26mm thick fans of this cooler, this unit will stand at 54mm, including heads of screws. The actual thickness of fin stacking is 25mm. Since users can remove the sides of the main housing, this was an easy measurement. Any error in measurement is regretted. This is a dense radiator with a fin count of 20 and 11 channels for coolant flow.

This would mean users would need high static pressure fans, and ENERMAX was paying attention to this aspect. They have provided 3x SquA RGB ADV Fans with this cooler. These fans have a maximum airflow of 79.8 CFM with a maximum air pressure rating of 3.6 mmH₂O. Fan’s motor takes 0.38A at 12VDC. The ARGB LEDs take 1.08A at 5VDC. They are rated for 2000 RPM max. These fans were reaching the 2100 mark in this regard. Their maximum noise rating is 32.6 dB(A). In our environment, they were peaking at 51 dB(A) at an ambient of 32~33 dB(A). ENERMAX has not mentioned bearings but has mentioned that these fans are rated for a minimum of 100,000 hours MTTF.

Coming back to pump and housing, there are many implementations from ENERMAX. ENERMAX is using patented CCI + SCT technology in this unit. Central Coolant Inlet (CCI) technology injects the coolant at the hottest spot to prevent heat surges. Shunt-channel Technology (SCT) design shortens the coolant flow path, resulting in faster heat transfer. I am not sure if this is a response to early issues with the pumps or not, but there is hope that they will have addressed and fixed those issues. ENERMAX has used a patented Dual-chamber Mechanism. This helps isolate the pump from the heat.

ENERMAX uses a thick diffuser on the top frame of the housing, and the top plate has an infinity mirror design. ENERMAX refers to this as Luminous Aurabelt™ technology and unique Infinite RGB Reflection for a visually stunning experience. There is one catch to this design. ENERMAX text is used in that infinity mirror design, and users can’t change the direction of this text conveniently. This would mean, out of the box, this cooler needs to be installed in one orientation only, which is tube side facing DIMM slots. There is a 3mm copper base measuring 55x55mm. ENERMAX uses mesh-sleeved rubber tubing. This tubing runs to approximately 400mm and does not kink.

The installation is simple, and we have to deal with 10 components to install the pump block on the AMD CPU (AM5 platform). We have a lot of cables to deal with, and users are required to connect an A-RGB cable to a 4-pin header in the pump’s housing. I did not check the effect without connecting this cable, but it seems like it is needed to sync the overall lighting.

The ENERMAX AQUAFUSION ADV 360mm has an MSRP of USD 119.99. ENERMAX is giving a 5-year warranty on this cooler. The performance of this unit is quite good and comparable to many mainstream coolers out there. Since we are now on (Intel Z790 and AMD AM5) platforms, we could not find time to test more units for proper graphical presentation. Fans at full speed are a bit noisy, and we would suggest using a custom fan curve or Auto settings.

We are thankful to ENERMAX for the provision of the testing unit.