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The outer packaging of the Castle 280EX uses the same theme as other Deepcool products with a familiar green and grey appearance. On the front of the box is a large image of the cooler, various Deepcool logos and trademarks. Around the rear is a list of specifications, technical drawings of the cooler and a brief description of features.
A welcome addition to the packaging is the dense internal foam protection, the Castle 240EX we reviewed last year came with an internal cardboard crate protection which suffered slight damage during transit, the 280EX should be better protected. Inside the packaging are two TF140-S fans, two Ziplock bags containing mounting hardware and accessories, a user manual/installation guide as well as the cooler itself.
Found inside the two ziplock bags is all the mounting hardware needed to install the cooler on AMD and Intel platforms including AMD Ryzen Threadripper, a bunch of fan/radiator mounting screws, a two way PWM fan splitter cable, an RGB adaptor cable, RGB controller hub as well as a self-adhesive GamerStorm emblem and a blank CPU block logo disc.
The aluminium core radiator of the Deepcool Castle 280EX is covered with a smooth satin finish black coating, a warranty void caution sticker is applied to where the Anti-leak bag is located to discourage tampering and the tubing at the radiator side is attached in a fixed position.
Along the entire length of the tubing is a premium braided sleeving which is found on most AIO coolers these days. The reinforced tubing feels durable while still being flexible enough to allow for tight radius bends. At the CPU block side, the tubing is equipped with articulating 90-degree fittings to allow for easy positioning and mounting the CPU block with the tubing in different orientations.
An extra tall-and-wide design gives the CPU block a rather chunky appearance. The CPU block/pump housing features a rather simple design with a cylindrical shape and a silver coating. Beneath the mirror glass top cover is an RGB lighting zone that extends to the perimeter of the pump housing.
With the top cover removed, access to the rotatable and interchangeable logo is possible. The GamerStorm logo disc can either be placed in four different orientations or swapped out for the blank disc bundled with the cooler. For an extra level of customisation, the user could apply their own logo to the blank disc.
At the base of the CPU block is a pre-applied thermal compound coating, with the coating removed, the copper cold plate surface looks smooth and accurately machined. Also at the base are the mounting holes for both the Intel and AMD upper mounting brackets that are fixed in position with four screws.
We have seen the TF-S series fans that come with the Castle 280EX before but in 120mm form. The 140mm versions look almost identical with the understated all-black design, GamerStorm lettering moulded into two sides and matching intricate detailing around the fan frame and fan blade tips. The fans are outfitted with anti-vibration dampers around the mounting holes and have a speed range of 400-1600 RPM controlled by PWM.
Overall, we are pleased with the built quality, the understated appearance of the fans and the quality of materials used during construction of the Deepcool Castle 280EX. The fact that the user has the choice of connecting the RGB either directly to the motherboard or to a simple RGB controller is great and the use of standard 3 and 4-pin cables means that installation should be quick and neat as there are no additional fan controllers to be installed.
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