Today we’ll be looking at Gamdia’s Chione M3, a 240mm AIO liquid cooler which features LGA 1700 compatibility. We’ll be testing it with Intel’s i5-12600k with results from a few other coolers.
| Cooler | Gamdias Chione M3 240mm AIO Liquid Cooler (Sent by Gamdias) |
| Price | MSRP $94.99 |
| Comparison Coolers | MSI MEG CoreLiquid S280 Liquid Cooler – Previous Review Here Noctua NH-U12A chromax.black – Previous Review Here DeepCool AK400 CPU Air Cooler – Previous Review Here |
| CPU | Intel i5-12600k – Previous Review Here |
| Motherboard | MSI z690 A-PRO DDR4 |
| Computer Case | DeepCool CK560WH – Previous Review Here |
| PSU | DeepCool PQ1000M |
Gamdias Chione M3
The AK400 comes in a medium sized box, with molded cardboard and plastic covers for protection
Included in the box are:
- Chione M3 Radiator & Pump
- Mounting parts for most AMD & Intel platforms, including LGA 1700 & AM4
- RGB Lighting Controllers
- Thermal Paste
- Fan splitter connection
- 2x 120mm fans
Installation
The installation of Gamdias’ AIO cooler is fairly simple. You first have to screw the mounting brackets to the pump. After that press the backplate to the motherboard and secure it with the mounting bolts on the other side. Afterwards, apply thermal paste and then screw the pump to the mounting bolts and you’re done!
Fan Specifications
| Fan | 1x Gamdias 120mm Fans |
| Size | 120x120x25 |
| Max Fan Speed | 800 – 2000 RPM±10% |
| Air Flow | 70.2 CFM |
| Static Pressure | 2.7 mmH2O |
| Noise | 10 – 31 dBA |
| Bearing Type | Hydraulic |
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 included 120mm fans are quiet in most loads, but can get louder in the hottest of workloads.
Cooler Specifications
| Cooler | Chione M3 |
| Product Dimensions | 127×97×155 mm |
| Radiator Dimensions | 277 x 119 x 27 mm |
| Tube Material | Teflon |
| Base Plate Material | Copper |
| Radiator Material | Aluminum |
| Rated TDP | 240W ±10% |
| Fan Support | 120mm |
| MSRP | $94.49 |
Two things stand out with the Chione M3 when compared to other coolers. The first thing you’ll notice is that the entire body of this AIO from the fans, to the tubing, to the radiator – all of it is white . The 2nd thing that pops out is that is the interesting infinity mirror effect of the AIO Pump.
Problems I experienced
No matter which pump header I plugged it into, the Chione M3’s pump ran at 100% speed – and when it runs at 100% it produces a low whine that oscillates. Some folks might not find this too annoying, but as someone who suffers from Tinnitus – I found it extremely annoying. Below is a recording of this sound.
i5-12600k Thermal Results
While Gamdias rates the Chione M3 as being capable of cooling up to 240w, this rating is for a previous generation CPU. As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, it’s a lot harder to cool higher wattage loads on Alder Lake due to the increased density of the Intel 7 manufacturing process.
What this means is a cooler than can handle 240w on a 14nm CPU like the i9-9900k or i9-10900k will throttle from overheating trying to cool the same amount of power using an Alder Lake CPU.
For testing overclocking stability, I prefer to use OCCT’s small set stress test. This is a torture test, and results do not reflect real life performance. I settled on a 4.9ghz overclock at 1.28v, as this was the fastest the i5-12600k could sustain in OCCT’s small set stability test while remaining under TJMax when testing with MSI’s CoreLiquid S280.
Unfortunately, the Chione M3 was not capable of keeping the i5-12600k under TJMax in this stress test while overclocked. While running at stock settings, the M3 was slightly behind Noctua’s NH-U12S in performance.
Cinebench is a less intensive load, using around 130w at stock settings and 160 when overclocked. At stock settings the M3 was a few degrees cooler than Noctua’s NH-U12A, but while overclocked they were equal in performance.
In gaming the Chione M3 had slightly better overall results when compared with Noctua’s NH-U12S, and as this is a lower TDP load – it kept it cool while operating quietly.
Conclusion
I liked the all white design of Gamdias’ Chione M3, the installation process was simple, and the infinity mirror gave the cooler a nice flair. The Chione M3 cools well enough, similar to Noctua’s NH-U12A in performance.
However, I have concerns about the overall QA for these units which prevents me from recommending this cooler: The pump on my review unit would only operate at maximum speed – resulting in a very annoying pump whine.
