This year, you can surely say “And you, Brutus?” about the Be Quiet! company. Fortunately for lovers of lights, and unfortunately for non-lovers, the range of the German vendor has included products with illumination. The company timed the new models with the FX prefix, which means the presence of backlight, for its 20th anniversary. Getting it for free during the contest (until September 30, 2022) is a great idea, but whether it is worth buying for your relatives we will find out below. As a test subject we have a 240-mm Be Quiet liquid cooling system! Pure Loop 2 FX.
Fans of the brand and hardware connoisseurs must have noticed that in addition to FX, a deuce appeared in the marking. And indeed, the difference between the original Pure Loop and the Pure Loop 2 FX is not only in the presence of illumination. You can’t call it the brand-new second version, basically everything is the same, but the adjustment of the speed of rotation of the pump in a small range was added, and the ceiling of fan revolutions was also increased.
Anyway, there is no need to talk about the increase in efficiency and/or the reduction of the noise level, which is discussed in the corresponding section. However, these small bonuses did not affect the price tag too much, which is also discussed in the appropriate section, namely in the next one.
Market positioning and price
As a rule, adding lighting has a negative effect on the cooling system. In the sense that it does not improve performance, but adds up to the price. Sometimes adds too much, and a well-balanced product turns into a suboptimal one from the point of view of price/performance. This “sickened” the production of Be Quiet! with backlight, but with Pure Loop 2 FX 240 the situation is different.
There are no prices for this model on aggregators yet, but a bird whispered to me that the average price tag will be around $145 for the 240 mm version. The ‘plain’ Pure Loop 240 mm costs around $130. That is, $15 overpayment for the lighting of two propellers, for adjusting the pump rotation speed, and for the fan hub. A very good offer. Especially taking into account that often a processor cooler with illumination of a single propeller receives the same +$15.
There are, of course, cheaper 240-mm ‘water coolers’ in absolute terms, and there are quite a few of them. At the same time, those models are practically clones of each other (almost all of them are on Asetek platforms of different generations), and there are questions about reliability. Well, you know, the cheapest liquidd cooling system is a time bomb.
After all, the price tag of Be Quiet! can even be praised. In general, we should be glad to have a local representative office that keeps prices in check as much as possible.
Package vand delivewry set
Be Quiet! The Pure Loop 2 FX 240 is delivered in a typical box. Although usually Be Quiet! directly indicates in Watts how much heat the cooler can dissipate, but not this time.
There are technical specifications on the side. The manufacturer forgot to mention that the rotation speed of the pump is not constant (5500 rpm), but adjustable in the range of 4000-5500 rpm. And also not the maximum fan speed (2500 rpm), but the range (700-2500 rpm).
Inside, everything is packed in a form a la egg tray, the radiator is additionally protected by cardboard, everything else is in a film. The delivery set includes:
- Installation instructions for Intel and AMD sockets
- Fastening sets
- A tube of branded thermal paste (0.5 g)
- Several plastic screeds
- A bottle of 100 ml of refrigerant
- Hub for fans and lighting
As you can easily see, the configuration differs from that typical for an inexpensive liquid cooling. I’m not happy with the open snobbery about the thermal paste (it’s very little, enough for only a couple of times, and the cooler is not cheap), but I’m happy with the hub for fans and lighting and 100 ml of liquid for topping up. In general, simple distilled water from the pharmacy will do, but the pedantic approach is worth noting.
The fan hub is cool. It is designed to be installed in a 2.5-inch slot, that is, in an SSD slot with a SATA interface. This will allow it to be successfully placed in the case. You can also simply stick it on some wall inside.
The hub is powered by SATA, the PWM signal is received from the motherboard, and the backlight is controlled from it. There are 6 ports for fans and the same number for lighting.
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Design
The composition of Be Quiet! The Pure Loop 2 FX 240 is almost classic. There is a water block, a radiator and a pump and a pair of tubes. However, it differs from competitors in details.
Here it is worth taking a step back and talking about the godfather of 90% of water systems on the market, the Danish company Asetek. Almost every water cooling system is made at the production facilities of Asetek (or its contractors) according to the developments of this company. They are all the same face, the only difference is the fans and the plaque on the lid of the water block.
And Asetek loves patents very much. Therefore, if other manufacturers combine a water block and a pump in one case, they always do it with some inversions. For example, Cooler Master evades with a two-chamber water block + pump design, and in its first water cooling system Be Quiet! used a clever reverse flow technology.
Recently, a pair of know-how has appeared – a pump in the radiator and a pump on hoses. In both cases, there is a theoretical plus: the pump is far from the hot processor, so it heats up less, that is, the resource will be greater. After all, most often it is the pump that fails first. I repeat, this is theoretical, but it sounds sane.
In Be Quiet! The Pure Loop 2 FX 240 pump is rigidly attached to one of the hoses, and slides along the other. It is unpleasant that the wire sticks out directly from this design, and it is problematic to arrange it beautifully and conveniently in the case.
Hoses are quite long – 400 mm. On the side of the radiator, they are fixed rigidly, and on the side of the water block they are rotatable.
The radiator has a standard thickness of 27 mm, of which the working body is about 20 mm. There are a pair of expansion tanks on either side. Interestingly, there is a hole for topping up the refrigerant, which is very convenient. Be Quiet! recommends topping up the liquid once every 2 years, I agree from experience.
I like the design of the water block, which only performs the functions of the water block. Unobtrusive and strict, moreover, the fastening is elegantly implemented.
There is a nickel-plated copper plate on the reverse side. It is covered with a sticker from the start, and there is something to protect here.
It is polished to a mirror state, but there is a small taper visible in the center.
Along the axes, the flatness is decent, one edge went down a little. However, given the design and the location of the mounting points, I think that it will still press tightly when installed.
A pair of 120-mm Light Wings 120 PWM fans in High-Speed modification, i.e. with increased minimum and maximum revolutions, is responsible for blowing. They are based on a sliding bearing with a screw thread (Rifle Bearing). This is a simple sliding bearing, but with a groove to improve the flow of lubricant. As a result, the resource is increased. Be Quiet! claims a fair 60,000 hours in total. The fan is rotated with a 4-pole motor, not a 6-pole one, as in the ‘swag’ Be Quiet! models.
The spin on the original Be Quiet! Pure Loop was increased for a reason. The illuminated ring ate several millimeters of the diameter of the impeller. And a few important millimeters. The actual size of the impeller is about 103 mm (usually ~112 mm).
Therefore, Be Quiet! declares only 89 m³/h of air, although an ordinary 120 at 2500 revolutions would produce under 140 cubic meters. Moreover, a 92 mm propeller of similar thickness pumps approximately 85 m³/h. Simply put, Be Quiet! Light Wings 120 PWM is actually closer to 92mm fans than 120mm.
I liked the implementation of mounting fans. Anti-vibration rubbers are very soft. The cap of the screw sinks directly into them.
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As for the backlight, it is quite smooth and even excessively bright, in my opinion. You can see an example of work in the video from Techpowerup:
Testing
SRO Be Quiet! Pure Loop 2 FX is compatible with all current and not so AMD and Intel sockets. Including Intel’s new LGA1700 and HEDT platform, but not AMD. For AMD Threadripper chips in general, the entire mounting system would have to be redone, and therefore the entire water block.
The installation process for different sockets is well illustrated in the paper manual, in the electronic manual, as well as in the video:
The mounting system is standard for Be Quiet! It is convenient to install, a third hand is not needed, nothing scratches the board, the pressure is very powerful. In the case of Intel platforms, a booster plate is used for the rear side of the board from the cooler kit, in the case of AMD – “native” from the motherboard.
Usually Be Quiet! directly indicates how voracious the processor the cooler can handle. But not this time. There are no tables of compatibility with processors either.
The temperature of the hottest core was entered into the graphs. During the tests, the ambient temperature was 22 degrees.
Usually, a “water bottle” with a 240-mm radiator can compete with the best supercoolers on an equal footing. For example, Noctua NH-D15. Be Quiet! The Pure Loop 2 FX 240 compromises with fans pumping almost half as much as typical 120mm 2500rpm models. As a result, the overall cooling efficiency is lower. However, the noise level is lower than usual. The system copes with the Core i5-12600K in very difficult tests, but with an effort.
Performance was also tested with the pump operating at maximum and minimum rpm. The difference in temperature was only one degree, but the difference in noise is more significant. I recommend immediately reducing the pump speed, the 240 mm version does not need 5500 rpm. This test was performed with the fans locked at 2000 rpm.
Conclusions on Be Quiet! Pure Loop 2 FX 240
SRO Be Quiet! Pure Loop 2 FX 240 is original thanks to the unusual lighting. And no, the thing is not in its beauty, but in its implementation and consequences. Ring illumination ate away the diameter of the impeller, which caused a drop in productivity. As a result, the upper bar of revolutions had to be raised to 2500 rpm. But even with such a trick, the plain performance of local propellers are comparable to 92-mm rather than to 120-mm models.
Therefore, I would recommend this model for relatively cool processors. To be honest, it will not handle powerful chips. On the other hand, the Pure Loop 2 FX 240 fully lives up to the name of the manufacturing company.
Having dealt with the key moments, now a little about the details, pleasant and not so pleasant. Absolutely cool appearance, including when the backlight is off. At maximum revolutions, the pump is somewhat noisy, especially in the first few hours of operation, but it is good that they can be reduced to an acceptable level. By the way, it was also possible to do this in the first Pure Loops, but only if the motherboard is able to reduce the revolutions by the DC-DC method (that is, by voltage), and not only by PWM. And I strongly recommend reducing the pump speed to the minimum, this is not the bottleneck for Be Quiet! Pure Loop. The base is very good, convenient fastening, the set is chic.
As for the pump on the hose, I consider it a minus. It clearly does not work for the sake of aesthetics and cleanliness of the assembly, especially with a wire that is not clear how to lay. Advanced vibration isolation does not help, the main source of noise is the vibration from the pump itself. If you hold it in your hand, the system becomes noticeably quieter. Pumps in the water block are usually quieter.
In the dry residue, Be Quiet! Pure Loop 2 FX 240 – SRO is good, but relatively weak. There is simply nowhere to get the performance from (the radiator is thin, the fans have little flow). It is created for quiet work, not for productivity. As a result, the i5-12600K and Ryzen 7 5800X are the ceiling of its capabilities.
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