ENERMAX ETS-F40-FS Air Cooler Review

ENERMAX has sent us the ETS-F40-FS CPU air cooler for review. This is a 140mm size air cooler that features a single tower with integrated 4x copper heat pipes. ENERMAX has provided a 140mm size fan with this cooler. Users can also buy a second fan for push/pull configuration. This cooler is available in 4 variants:

• ETS-F40-FS series 140mm CPU air cooler-FS
• ETS-F40-FS series ARGB 140mm CPU air cooler-Black
• ETS-F40-FS series ARGB 140mm CPU air cooler-White
• ETS-F40-FS series 140mm CPU air cooler-Black

We are taking a look at ETS-F40-FS simple version. Its salient features include:

• Superior cooling capacity (200W TDP)
• Silent operation with starting fan speed of 300rpm
• Compact size design to fit in most computer chassis
• Included fan clips for the 2nd fan installation

If you’re looking for a liquid cooler from ENERMAX, then be sure to check out our ENERMAX AQUAFUSION ADV 360mm Review.

Specifications

Dimension

Packaging

Let’s begin our ENERMAX ETS-F40-FS Air Cooler Review with the unboxing experience. The cooler is shipped inside a cardboard box.

ENERMAX has listed feature highlights of this cooler on the box. This cooler is rated to handle loads of up to 200 TDP. ENERMAX is using patented VGF and VEf technologies in this cooler. This cooler out of the box is not compatible with Intel LGA1700 and AMD AM5 sockets. ENERMAX has sent us the required mounting hardware for these sockets separately. Hoping that they will include mounting hardware onwards.

The backside of the box shows VGF and VEF in detail. This cooler uses using Heat-Pipe Direct Touch (HDT) design where copper heat pipes make direct contact with the CPU.

Opening the box shows a user manual placed on top. Accessories are placed inside a brown color box. The fan is also placed in a separate brown color box. All items are tucked inside vertically.

Contents

Let’s take a look at what is provided in the box.

ENERMAX has provided a user guide for installation purposes.

As we have mentioned above, this cooler does not have AMD AM5 and Intel LGA1700 mounting hardware included, which is why ENERAMX sent these kits separately.

Intel LGA1700 kit includes:

• 1x Backplate
• 2x Mounting Brackets
• 4s Pillars/Screws
• 4x Washers or holders

AMD AM5 kit includes 4x screws which will be installed on the stock backplate.

ENERMAX has provided:

• 1x Intel/AMD Backplate
• 1x AMD Mounting Plate or Bracket
• 2x Intel Mounting Brackets

We have:

• 4x Spacers
• 4x Washers/Holders
• 4x Nuts
• 4x LGA20xx Pillars/Screws
• 4x Long Pillars/Screws
• 4x Philips Screws

ENERMAX has provided 4x metal clips for fans. Optionally, users can buy and install a second fan for push/pull configuration.

ENERMAX has provided a Dow Corning TC-5121C thermal paste. This is the same paste that we saw in AQUAFUSION ADV 360 liquid cooler. This thermal paste is rated for 2.5W-mK with a specific gravity of 4.2 and a viscosity average of 60,000 – 100,000 cP.

Design

Let’s take a look at the cooler itself. The ENERMAX ETS-F40-FS is compatible with Intel 1700/1200/115x/20xx/1366 and AMD AM5/AM4/AM3+/FM2+/FM1+ sockets. 750g is mentioned as the weight of this cooler with a fan. This cooler has a dimension of 140x93x156mm. 156mm is the height of this cooler. The heatsink has a dimension of 140x63x155.5mm. Thermal dissipation of up to 200W is mentioned.

The ETS-F40-FS packs 44 aluminum fins. This design is not using v-notches that reduce turbulence and improves airflow. Fin stacking is not dense, and this implies a standard air pressure-rated fan can do the job. Fins are designed in an alternate manner having insets at regular intervals. We can see a deep triangular inset in the center as well. The complete assembly is in silver finish except for the heat pipes.

ENERMAX has used what they call Vortex Generation Flow (VGF) design which is their patented design. ETS-F40-FS can increase air convection around the heat pipe and centralize airflow in the heatsink to provide optimal cooling performance. They have shown a comparison of this design with other coolers’ designs.

This heatsink has identical left and right sides. There is a large size inset area. The protruded sides catch the metal clips of the fan(s).

The large insets on both sides are fully covered. This is where the assembly is joined. ENERMAX is using what they call Vacuum Effect Flow (VEF). This design, in tandem with VGF, provides a performance boost per se from ENERAMX.

We have a similar layout on the backside of the heatsink. Take note of the mounting plate at the base. It sits in the same phase as fin stacking. This cooler uses offset mounting, which gives universal clearance for RAM.

The top plate is also made of aluminum. We can see 4x heat pipes terminating on one side, and the same follows on the opposite side. ENERMAX branding is in the cent with triangular cutouts in opposite directions. Also, take note of protruded mounting plate at the base. There are spring-loaded screws on the mounting plate.

The above picture shows the displacement of the heat pipes in the heat sink. We have a U shape design with pipes covering the heat sink for effective heat dissipation.

ENERMAX is using 4x copper heat pipes. These are 6mm thick pipes.

There is a protective cover on the base of the heat sink. It needs to be removed before installing the cooler. The base of the cooler measures roughly 39×35 if we exclude the large flat surface of copper heat pipes on the base. Including that surface will give a size of 39x50mm.

We have a non-continuous direct contact design here. By non-continuous, we mean there is a gap between any two copper heat pipes. Copper heat pipes are making direct contact with the heat source.

ENERMAX has provided a 140mm fan with a different frame design. It is neither rounded nor square. It has 9x black color blades. There is an ENERMAX branded sticker on the center. We can see a large clearance between the tip of the blade and the frame. A complete frame is black in color.

The frame has a special design mounting corners. There are anti-vibration pads on the mounting corners.

The frame is quite sturdy. There is ENERMAX branding on the sides. However, we could not find any arrow marking to help novice users identify the direction of blade spin and airflow.

The backside of the fan shows the 4-arm assembly on the main frame, with one arm having an inset on which the wires are routed. The fans are made in China.

The fan has a 4-pin PWM fan connector with a flat cable.

The specifications of the fan are:

Installation

The ENERMAX ETS-F40-FS Air Cooler Review will be incomplete if we don’t install the cooler. So, we have tested the cooler on the AMD AM5 platform using the GIGABYTE X670E AORUS MASTER motherboard and Ryzen 7 7700X CPU.

Install AMD5 screws on the AMD stock backplate as shown.

Place the AMD mounting frame and secure it using thumb nuts.

Apply the thermal paste on the CPU and place the heatsink on the CPU by aligning screws on the mounting plate with standoffs on the mounting frame. The rest is self-explanatory. It was an easy installation comprising 9 items.

Clearance

The height of the cooler is 156mm. This is an important variable as it would tell you if this cooler is compatible with your case or not.

The above picture is clearly showing that the heatsink has an offset design and is likely not obstructing DIMM slots.

Now we can see that this cooler with a fan does not obstruct DIMM slots.

The cooler does not block the first 16x PCIe slot on the GIGABYTE X670E AORUS MASTER motherboard.

We see no issue on the backside of this cooler with respect to the IO frame of the motherboard.

This cooler has a good clearance with respect to the top of the motherboard.

Here are a few pictures of this cooler:

1 of 6

Testing

The following test bench is used in our ENERMAX ETS-F40-FS Air Cooler Review:

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

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 chips category. Hence, it is pertinent to mention the testing methodology along with the specifics.

Results

Be sure to check out our Noctua NH-U12S Review since we are comparing the two coolers.

This cooler packs 4 heat pipes. As such, it needs to be compared with a similar design cooler. We have tested Noctua NH-U12S Redux, which also has 4x heat pipes, but it is 120mm in size. We can see the ENERMAX cooler having a reasonable margin of 2°C over the Noctua cooler.

Noise

The fan on this cooler is silent. We measured its output to be roughly 37 dB(A) at an ambient of 32~33dB(A). This is very impressive.

Conclusion

ENERMAX ETS-F40-FS is a single tower configuration CPU air cooler that comes in a 140mm size. It is compatible with Intel 1700/1200/115x/20xx/1366 and AMD AM5/AM4/AM3+/FM2+/FM1+ sockets. Its weight is 750g with a fan. The dimension of this cooler with the fan is 140x93x156mm. The dimension of the heatsink only is 140x63x155.5mm. This cooler is rated for up to 200W TDP.

This unit comprises 4x copper heat pipes. These pipes have a thickness of 4mm each. This seems to be an unsoldered interface between heat pipes and fin stacking. Speaking of fins, this cooler has 48 fins placed in an alternate manner.

You will find a similar design on the front and back. The center of the stack has a deep inset in a V shape, and the top plate has ENERMAX branding in the center. Additionally, the mounting plate is pre-installed on the base, and it has 2x spring-loaded screws.

The ENERMAX ETS-F40-FS uses HDT technology which stands for heat pipe direct contact. In this design, the heat pipes make direct contact with the CPU. However, this design is not continuous, meaning that there is a gap between any two copper heat pipes. In continuous design, this gap is removed. The base size of this cooler is roughly 39x50mm. ENERMAX is using VGF, and VEF patented design on the heatsink. VGF stands for Vortex Generation Flow, and VEF stands for Vacuum Flow Effect. The ETS-F40-FS can increase air convection around the heat pipe and centralize airflow in the heatsink to provide optimal cooling performance.

ENERMAX has provided a 140mm custom design fan which has a dimension of 140x140x25.5mm. It is not circular in design. This is a non-RGB fan with complete assembly in black color. This fan has a maximum speed of 1200 RPM with a maximum airflow rating of 74.33 CFM and a static pressure rating of 2.17 mmH₂O. The sound rating stands at 23 dB(A) maximum. We are not sure about the bearings of this fan, but it has a good life span of a minimum of 100,000 hours MTTF. A 4-pin PWM connector with a flat cable powers this fan. ENERMAX has provided 4x metal clips. Users can optionally buy another 140mm fan for push/pull configuration.

When it comes to mounting hardware, this particular sample does not have mounting hardware for AMD AM5 and Intel LGA1700 sockets. However, ENERMAX sent us those kits separately. It is likely that these coolers will be equipped with these mounting kits making them fully compatible with these two sockets. We have tested this cooler on the AMD AM5 platform, and installation is actually quite easy and simple. We need 9 items to set up the socket for heatsink installation. Users can easily install this cooler with the motherboard already installed in the PC Case. We did not observe any issues with regard to installation.

From a clearance perspective, this cooler has a height of 156mm. Keep this in mind to be sure that the PC case has clearance for this height cooler. Since this cooler uses offset mounting, it has a universal clearance for RAM. It does not obstruct the first full PCIe slot on the GIGABYTE X670E AORUS MASTER motherboard, and similarly, we did not see any issue towards the rear and top areas of the motherboard.

This cooler has an MSRP of USD 39.99, and ENERMAX is giving 1-year warranty on this cooler. This cooler packs 4x heat pipes, so it is a budget cooling solution for stock cooling at best. One key benefit of this cooler is its utmost silent operations. This 140mm fan is literally silent, and this is where I can see going for a push/pull configuration would be a nice touch. Thermal performance in this size is adequate as well.

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