Review: G.Skill Enki 360 LCS liquid cooler

Discussion in 'Frontpage news' started by Hilbert Hagedoorn, Mar 11, 2021.

  1. Hilbert Hagedoorn

    Hilbert Hagedoorn Don Vito Corleone Staff Member

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    Today, we are reviewing an AIO cooler from G.Skill: the Enki 360. It’s a debut for this brand in that sector, just like with Lian Li in July ’20. As for the name, Enki is the ancient Sumerian god ...

    Review: G.Skill Enki 360 LCS liquid cooler
     
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  2. cucaulay malkin

    cucaulay malkin Ancient Guru

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    nice.
     
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  3. tunejunky

    tunejunky Ancient Guru

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    well apparently G.Skill has learned the value of patience and timed entry into a crowded market. the fact there's a technical difference (advantage greater surface area) without the accompanying noise of higher static pressure fans proves the adage of spending wisely. this imho makes the lack of splitters minimal and well worth it. just ask anyone who's gone through differing fans on an aio.
     
  4. Tom Sunday

    Tom Sunday Member Guru

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    Now G.SKILL is jumping onto the already crowded bandwagon. G.SKILL must feel that RGB is a waning unnecessary 'by-product' and as already expressed by many enthusiasts? I however hope that with all of the tech-strides continuing to happen, that a more meaningful overall progress is being made in the AIO field. With most new generation CPU's running hotter and hotter, please give me a constant and 'additional' 20-30 degree drop in temps instead of looks, ease of installation and hose improvements. The other disturbing issue has been (with most AIO manufacturers) the continued inclusion of fans and those being second or even third grade. Supplying cheap fans is a major money maker for the manufacturers but short changing the enthusiast. Manufacturers apparently think that most customers cannot differentiate between fan qualities as they all look the same?
     
    Last edited: Mar 12, 2021

  5. Pictus

    Pictus Master Guru

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  6. CoreyPL

    CoreyPL Guest

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    Fans changed between box/company product pictures and the ones from actual unboxing. Box/company pictures shows high static pressure fans and unboxed fans are clearly airflow ones. Since there is greater density of fins on the radiator you need high static pressure fans for optimal heat dissipation. And it shows in the results. I wonder why they opted out of high pressure fans showed on the box?
     
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  7. AlmondMan

    AlmondMan Maha Guru

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    Cyberpunk fans might take note that Enki plays a central role in the cyberpunk swansong Snowcrash.
     
  8. Tom Sunday

    Tom Sunday Member Guru

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    Good catch! Perhaps in the future all AIO manufactures should just deliver the 'base-unit' and concentrate on the essential things like pump head, hoses, radiator, etc. Leaving the fans separately to be purchased by the customers. For that matter some desktop manufactures gotten that message already many years ago, so enthusiasts could swing for Noctua class fans, etc, and not paying for fans upfront they will never use or have a place for.
     
  9. fry178

    fry178 Ancient Guru

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    @cucaulay malkin
    not sure if i would call a unit with more rad surface, additional fan, almost twice as expensive as the 280 arctic,
    while hotter and louder, nice.
    unless it was about the bling...


    @CoreyPL
    all fans shown here (box/product), are flow (usually between 9-11 blades) not pressure (5-7 blades),
    at least when compared to others enermax/arctic/bequiet etc


    @Tom Sunday
    +80% of ppl buying aio use what comes with it, and would be P!$$@# if no fans were incl,
    possibly delaying install.

    i personally find it amusing that ppl buy an aio that doesnt even allow repair/upgrade, like the Predator or Eisbaer,
    (completely ignoring it probably comes with a "nice" asetek pump), and then turn around and spend half or even the same amount just on the (noctua) fans.
    while i know they are good, they arent doing much better than the Arctic equivalent (usually ~10%),
    are swiss design, and have 6-10y warranty.
     
  10. cucaulay malkin

    cucaulay malkin Ancient Guru

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    arctic is too thick for a lot of standard cases and comes with a laughable 24 month warranty.
     

  11. ChisChas

    ChisChas Master Guru

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    That's what I 'had' to do 7 years ago LOL with my last gaming computer. The 280mm Corsair AIO and the rear 120mm Corsair exhaust fan were very noisy. Corsair now make much quieter fans and my 360mm AIO didn't require me to replace its fans with Noctua ones.
     
  12. fry178

    fry178 Ancient Guru

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    @cucaulay malkin
    so the artic is too big/thick for the same ("standard") case that can fit the 360 rad of the enki?
    lol..
    you do realize they have the same fan/rad thickness, right?


    from 6 asetek based aio i installed in past 3y (not my rig), 2 had a failing pump right out of the box (grinding noise)
    and had to be replaced before they were even installed.

    when you have a proper product, you dont need a long warranty.
    i rather have a non asetek pump without ANY warranty,
    than a asetek unit that has a 50% or even higher chance of a dying pump within a year or two,
    and im stuck for weeks/month until its replaced thru rma.

    so a smaller and easier to install (280 vs 360), that cools better,
    and at almost half the price, i can buy two, and have a brand new backup, if the first one fails.
    yeah, thats really bad.. :rolleyes:
     
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2021
  13. cucaulay malkin

    cucaulay malkin Ancient Guru

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    is gskill 38mm too ?
    specs say 27mm
    so 11mm difference
    check around how many ppl had problems with lf2 to fit cause it's 38mm
    it BARELY fits in my p600s and it's a pretty big case for a mid tower

    so no,it's neither smaller nor easier to install.its thickness actually makes it quite difficult as there's very little if any space between the cooling and the mobo.and you still have to account for cpu 4-pin cables.
    the slimmer the better.lf2 is a friggin cobi block.
    :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
    how about giving me a long warranty nevertheless if the product is so good
    5 years is standard for an aio these days,some offer six.
    arctic is very good and cheap,but 2 years for an aio,just no way.

    goodbye dude,check what you're talking about before you respond.
     
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2021
  14. CoreyPL

    CoreyPL Guest

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    Enki's fans pictured on the box are not flow fans. Number of blades doesn't determine if fan is flow or high pressure. If you check what is available on the market you see that there are 2 popular construction types for HP fans - one that you mention that have 5-7 blades and one that is pictured on the box with a higher blade count. What is common between them is the angle and shape of the blade, that doesn't allow air to escape during blade rotation thus increasing the pressure of air - this is usually a characteristic of high pressure fan. There are also some mixed constructions, like Phanteks ones, that offer good airflow and good static pressure.

    Furthermore, having different fans on the box and in the box is a red flag for me, because you can't believe the technical specs that are poster for this product, since both of those fans differ a lot from each other.

    So thank you for your input, but I will stick to what I've stated before based on my personal experience building custom LCs and PCs.
     
  15. fry178

    fry178 Ancient Guru

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    @cucaulay malkin
    yep, ur right, its 38mm for the lf2.
    my bad, must have looked up the 1st gen or site had the wrong number (wasnt arctic).

    CoreyPL
    sure, doesnt determine it, but an indicator.
    and best example is the P14 series doing 2,4mm @19db with 5 blades, havent seen another fan that does better (without more noise).

    i thought you meant from the review (no difference on fans), as you didnt make it clear you're talking about yours.
     
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  16. cucaulay malkin

    cucaulay malkin Ancient Guru

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    i straight up don't like the sound of pressure fans like ml120s arctic p12 starting form 1100-1200 there's always some buzz

    this might be the right balance for me
    got three mounted as front intake,would put them on a radiator too

    [​IMG]
     
  17. CoreyPL

    CoreyPL Guest

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    I was only referencing review fans (picture on the box versus what was in the box) - could not be clearer about that. Testing once again showed, that combining high FPI radiator with more flow oriented fans is not a good idea. If they would stick to the fans that were pictured on the box, temperatures should (at least in theory) be better. If you can't see the difference between those two type of fans used, you shouldn't comment anymore.

    Arctic P14 pointed by you are also what I'm talking about - they have the distinctive blade shape and angle that makes them high pressure type of fan. Number of blades does not indicate or determine anything.
    There are plenty of 5-7 blades fans that are air flow fans. For example Noctua NF-S12 would perform lousy on a radiator, despite having 7 blades. On the other hand, despite having 9 blades SilentiumPC Corona 140mm is a high pressure fan.

    Once again - blade number is not an indicator or does not determinate the type of fan, since you can find multiple examples of 5-7 blade fans being flow, and 9-11 blade fans being high pressure. Looking at blade design and angle, you can easily tell that fan would be more flow optimized or more high pressure optimized and that is a more reliable determining factor.
     
  18. fry178

    fry178 Ancient Guru

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    @cucaulay malkin
    i just tweak my fan curve to go around it, its barely noticeable for about 2s when booting,
    after that the fans are not humming.

    @CoreyPL
    guess i should have done a proper read, only paid attention to box pic and the generic ones with the right fans on it on the 2nd page.
    what gets me is the cheaper flow fans, but "server grade TP" ..
     
    Last edited: Mar 15, 2021

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