Enermax is a company well known amongst enthusiasts, and has had a bit of controversy in the past due to various issues with some of it’s older AIO coolers. Today we’re looking at their newest Aquafusion ADV 240mm AIO Liquid Cooler, which retails for $99.99 USD – firmly in budget territory when it comes to liquid cooling.
The AquaFusion ADV is said to be redesigned as to address the problems that faced past coolers and to be capable of cooling today’s most demanding CPUs. We’ll put that claim to the test by pairing it with Intel’s i9-13900K, which can challenge even the strongest of coolers.
I’ve changed the way I’ll be testing coolers on this site to match how I’m also testing coolers on Tom’s Hardware. This will allow you to compare the results I’m showing here to other coolers I’ve tested, despite that data not being shown here. My latest review on Tom’s Hardware is available at this link and has results from 7 coolers in total. Where applicable, I’ll include comparison data from the tests I did previously posted on this website.
Packaging
Enermax’ Aquafusion ADV 240mm comes in mid-sized box, with molded cardboard, foam, and plastic for the protection of the inner contents.
And here’s a view of all of the included components, laid out on a table
| Test Configuration | |
| CPU | Intel i9-13900K |
| Motherboard | ASUS Z690 PLUS WIFI D5 |
| Computer Case | Cooler Master HAF 700 Berserker, system fans set to 35% |
| Storage | 1TB Micron P3 Plus, 1TB Micron P3 |
| GPU | Intel ARC A770 LE |
| RAM | 32GB (16gb x2) Crucial DDR5-4800 |
Specifications
| Compatibility | Intel® LGA 1700/1200/115x/2066/2011/2011-3/1366 AMD® AM5/AM4/AM3+/FM2+/FM1 |
| Heatsink | Copper |
| Pump | Dual-Chamber with CCI + SCT Technology |
| TIM | Dow Corning® TC-5121C |
| Radiator Dimensions | 274 x 120 x 27 mm |
| Radiator Material | Aluminum |
What’s unique about the AquaFusion ADV?
Fans
There’s more to a cooler than just it’s heat sink. The fans included have a huge impact on cooling performance and noise levels. The AquaFusion ADV includes 2x 120mm ENERMAX SquA ADV Fans. These feature Vortex Frame Technology and a downsized hub design for optimal cooling performance.
| Fan Model | Enermax SquA ADV |
| Rated Noise Level | 3.6 mm H20 |
| Fan Size | 120 x 120 x 26mm |
| Speed | 500-2000 RPM |
| Bearing | Ceramic Bearing |
| Connector | 4 Pin PWM + 3 Pin RGB (W/ extension adapter) |
Patented Dual-Chamber Pump & CCI + SCT Technology
The Aquafusion ADV features a redesigned, dual-chamber design which isolates the pump from the CPU’s heat to increase the cooler’s lifespan. It also features Central Coolant Inlet (CCI) technology which “injects the coolant at the hottest spot to prevent heat surges” and Shunt Channel Technology (SCT) to shorten the path of the coolant, resulting in more efficient cooling.
Enermax RGB Control Box
Some Liquid Coolers require downloading and installing bloated software to change lighting settings – but not this one.
Enermax provides two options – you can connect the aRGB headers of the AquaFusion ADV to an aRGB port of your choice, or you can use the included RGB Control Box to modify lighting settings with the click of a button! The Control Box has 10 preset lighting effects and the ability to modify brightness and speed.
Full Copper CPU Plate
Mid-thickness radiator size
The radiator included with Enermax ADV isn’t the thinnest or thickest radiator we’ve tested, and should be compatible with most cases on the market.
Infinity Mirror CPU Block
Installation
The installation of this cooler is fairly simple, much like many other coolers on the market. I’ve included relevant images from the user manual below.
Thermal Performance
For thermal tests, we’ll be using Cinebench R23’s multi-core benchmark with power limits set to 3 different configurations.
- Power Limits Removed
With power limits removed, Intel’s i9-13900K can consume over 350W in this scenario and is extremely difficult to cool. Every cooler I’ve tested thus far has throttled to some extent in this scenario. Because of this, we’ll be judging the results in this by two measures : total watts cooled, and loudness of the fans.
- 200W
200W is still fairly demanding, but much easier to cool. In theory, this should also be comparable to Ryzen 7000 CPUs when pushed to their maximum power consumption. The vast majority of coolers should be able to keep the CPU under TJMax with a 200W power limit, so we’ll be judging this scenario with a typical delta over ambient thermal measurement as well as the loudness of the fans.
- 125W
125W is very easy to cool. While we will look at thermal performance by measuring the delta over ambient temperature, noise levels are more important at this low power limit.
In terms of total potential cooling performance, the AquaFusion ADV does fairly well. The best cooler I’ve tested – DeepCool’s LT720 360mm AIO – can only cool 315W on average in this scenario, and most air coolers can only handle around 250W in this scenario.
While the Enermax AIO does very well in terms of total cooling potential, it achieves this at the cost of noise. While this isn’t the loudest unit I’ve tested in this scenario – it is the 2nd loudest I’ve tested. I’d have preferred if Enermax had chosen to pair this cooler with quieter fans, but I suppose you can’t complain too much considering it’s budget $99 price.
When restricted to 200W, Enermax AquaFusion kept the CPU at 50c over the ambient room temperature (74c actual temperature). This is a better thermal result than you’ll see from any air cooler, and in line with most 360mm liquid coolers on the market.
However, as with the previous results, it achieves this at the cost of noise. With a total system noise level of 50 dBA, it isn’t horribly loud in real life – but it’s amongst the louder units I’ve tested in this scenario.
Finally, we’re looking at 125W. This is the lowest level I test at because lower TDP power settings because anything less would not be a challenge to cool at all – and many coolers run whisper silent at this setting.
In this scenario, I consider noise levels more important than thermal performance. With a total system noise level of 44.9 dBA – it isn’t loud by any stretch of the means, but it’s a bit louder than other coolers on the market.
Looking at the thermal performance here, a 33c delta over ambient is amongst the best results I’ve seen in this TDP restricted scenario.
Conclusion
Enermax claim of upgraded performance is indeed true. The AquaFusion ADV series is a well performing AIO cooler and is much better performing than past generation coolers. The only downside to this cooler is that its fan run a bit louder than competing coolers on the market. At $99 USD, it’s on the lower end of the price range for liquid coolers.
