Cooler Master Nepton 140XL Review

Cooler Master is a manufacturer widely known for its cooling solutions for computers, as well as their enclosures and power supplies. Today we are going to present the analysis of one of the latest additions to its range of liquid cooling solutions, the Cooler Master Nepton 140XL, which stands out for having an unusual size, since the radiator and fans are 140mm, as the name suggests.

This Nepton 140XL features a pump with a unique design that maximizes performance and minimizes noise, and also includes two JetFlo 140 fans next to the radiator. Although the radiator and the cooling fans are 140mm, 120mm fans can be installed, and in some cases, you can install the sink in cases with holes for 120mm, although this depends on each case. Moreover, Cooler Master has improved the ease of installation of this sink, so it can be installed with virtually no tools.

SPECIFICATIONS

Removed from the manufacturer’s website.

The fans features in this Nepton 140XL offer a speed between 800 and 2000 rpm, pretty high figures for their size. This means they’re likely to get noisy when operating at maximum power. The average life of the pump is 70000 hours, over eight years working nonstop.

EXTERNAL ANALYSIS.

The Cooler Master Nepton 140XL comes packed in a nice-looking case with the black and purple colors the brand is known for. On the front side of the packaging, you find a picture of the product and a list of its main features. On the rear, there’s an overview and exact product dimensions, and on one side the technical features we have seen above.

Inside the packaging we find the well protected and packaged product. Besides the Nepton 140XL and two fans, Cooler Master included all necessary accessories for installation including the backplate and thermal paste, as well as a comprehensive instruction manual.

The fans are the new JetFlo 140 models, designed specifically for radiators since they are capable of generating a static pressure. They have a 4-pin PWM connector, and anchors with rubber to absorb vibration.

Below you can see the Nepton 140XL. The radiator has a large size compared to other devices, since this is 140mm, but it is a little thicker than normal. The tubes are flexible and 1mm thick, although somewhat shorter for installing this radiator in large boxes unless. In the radiator you can see an additional sealed entrance, used to refill the coolant liquid if necessary.

As you can see, the radiator has anchors on both sides of both 120 and 140 mm fans.

The pump has a considerable height, and the Cooler Master logo is located on the front. When turned on, this area is backlit, as we mentioned. The base is copper for maximum heat transfer with the IHS of the processor, and has a 4-pin connector to power the pump which can be controlled by software and even automatically controlled via PWM.

INSTALLATION.

In our case, we installed the Nepton 140XL on an Intel Socket LGA1155 platform, but this cooler is compatible with all current sockets on the market (even some older ones like the LGA775). In any case, the installation is quite similar in all platforms, and just as easy.

We started preparing the backplate by placing the anchors on their corresponding place and securing them. This process is done by hand and it’s very simple to do.

Then we prepared the base also using the corresponding anchors of our socket. In this step, a screwdriver becomes necessary.

Once we had prepared both sides, we turned the backplate around and held it hold with insulating tape or something similar, because it may fall down otherwise. The next step is to put the black plastic caps included.

Then we put the thermal paste on the processor and install the pump. Next, we installed the other screws that will make it fixed on its place. They can be installed manually, but we recommend using a flat screwdriver to make sure the base is secured as tightly as possible.

It’s time to install the radiator. Cooler Master has included screws that can also be tightened by hand, which is a nice feature since this is probably the most difficult task because we have to install a fan, then the radiator, and then the other fan. Not very complicated at the end of the day, but Cooler Master has done it even easier.

Once anchored to the first radiator fan, all that’s left is installing the second JetFlo 140 and connect everything.

As we mentioned earlier, the pump has LED lights to show when the system is on.

TESTING.

To test this Cooler Master 140XL Nepton, we have used the following hardware:

Intel Core i7-2600K @ 4,4 Ghz 1.32V.
Asus Sabertooth P67 B3.
2 x 4 GB Kingston HyperX 2400 Mhz Beast.
Cooler Master Silent Pro Hybrid 1050W.
Cooler Master HAF XM.
Corsair Neutron GTX 240GB SATA3.
2x WD Black 2TB.

First, we have the performance test. Before testing the thermal performance, we let the thermal paste settle between the processor and the heat sink for 48 hours in a normal operation. The temperature data shown is the delta temperature, that is, the measured temperature minus the ambient temperature. Thus, the ambient temperature does not influence the result. To put the processor to its limits, we ran the Prime95 64-bit test for one hour.

This graph shows the temperature data is displayed with the fans and the pump of the Cooler Master Nepton 140XL running in automatic mode (every component connected to the plate), and with the fan running at min (800 rpm) and max speed(2000 rpm).

Below you can see compared to some market sinks that have passed through our hands (the data shown is the fan on automatic).

As you can see, the thermal performance is quite acceptable, superior to the Kühler Antec 920 V4, yet inferior to the air cooler Noctua NH-D14. When we kept the fans at 800 RPM, the Nepton 140XL is very quiet and you hardly hear anything. The same happens when we are in automatic mode and the device is inactive. In contrast, when the device is working slight hard, the fans are kind of noisy, and at 2000 RPM, the device sounds like an aircraft turbine. While Cooler Master has certainly improved this in regards to other devices, there’s still work to be done.

CONCLUSION

The Cooler Master Nepton 140XL is a great option for users looking for an all-in-one cooling system with space for 140mm radiator. Naturally, its performance is superior to other 120mm models, and the pump is very quiet. However, the fan can get very noisy depending on the working conditions (this only applies for the fans, the pump is fabulous).

Furthermore, it features one of the easiest installations to date in regards to this type of sinks, especially thanks to the screws Cooler Master has included, which can be manually installed.

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