Montech HyperFlow ARGB AIO Review

1. Montech HyperFlow ARGB AIO2. Test Results3. Closing Thoughts4. View All Pages

Montech’s new HyperFlow AIO coolers come in 240 and 360mm sizes, in black or white colour schemes and with 28mm thick ARGB fans. The 240mm is priced at £70 while the 360mm is a mere £85. So with those specifications and prices do you need to know more about these coolers before going out and buying them? Well, we think you do, so let's take a closer look at these coolers and stick them on our test systems.

Timestamps:

00:00 Start
00:43 The coolers and pricing
01:33 Details
02:10 Out of the box / Fans / RGB
03:42 Radiator
04:26 CPU block
05:42 Daisy chained fans cabling
06:26 James thoughts and accessories
08:09 Installation on Intel and AMD platforms
09:59 Noise, Clocks PBO and Thermal testing
13:13 Closing Thoughts

Features:

• HyperFlow AIOs are equipped with Montech Metal Pro 12 120mm ARGB fans, pre-assembled to the cooler with daisy-chained smart connectors and a thickness of 28mm.
• Available in 240mm and 360mm sizes and either black or white colour schemes.
• The HyperFlow range features a powerful pump with a max speed of 3100RPM, providing efficient cooling while the pump top cover features a gemstone design with ARGB lighting effects.
• Montech HyperFlow coolers are compatible with all current Intel and AMD desktop sockets and come with a 6-year warranty for peace of mind.

Specifications:

• CPU Socket Compatibility: Intel LGA115X/1200/1700/20XX, AMD AM3/AM4/AM5
• Radiator Material: Aluminium
• Radiator Dimensions: 397x120x27mm (360mm) / 277x120x27mm (240mm)
• Radiator Tube Length: 400mm
• Pump Unit Dimensions: W:68.8mm x L:68.8mm x H:53mm
• Pump Speed: 3100RPM±10%
• Cold Plate: Copper Micro-Skived
• Pump Connector: 4-Pin PWM
• Pump Noise: 28dBA
• Pump LED: ARGB
• Fan Dimensions: 120 x 120 x 28mm
• Fan LED: ARGB
• Fan Speed (PWM): 2200RPM±10%
• Fan Max Airflow: 76.2 CFM
• Fan Max Air Pressure: 3.81mmH2O
• Fan Noise: 29.1dBA
• Fan Bearing: Fluid Dynamic Bearing
• Fan Connector: 4-Pin PWM
• Warranty: 6 years

Test System Specifications:

AMD Test System

• CPU – AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
• Motherboard – Gigabyte X670 Aorus Elite
• Memory: 32GB (2 x 16GB Modules) Kingston Fury DDR5-6000
• Graphics card: MSI Radeon RX 6600XT Gaming X
• Storage: 500GB Corsair MP600 PCIe Gen4 NVME M.2 SSD
• Power Supply: Seasonic Prime TX-1000
• Chassis: Open Test Bench
• Thermal Compound: Arctic MX-6
• O/S: Windows 11 Version 22H2

Intel Test System

• CPU: Intel Core i9-13900K
• Motherboard: Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Master
• Memory: 32GB (2 X 16GB Modules) Kingston Fury DDR5-6000
• Graphics card: MSI Radeon RX 6600XT Gaming X
• Storage: 500GB Crucial P3 NVMe M.2 SSD
• Power Supply: Seasonic Prime TX-1000
• Chassis: Open Test Bench
• Thermal Compound: Arctic MX-6
• Operating System: Windows 11 Version 22H2

Testing Methodology:

We are primarily focussing on the performance of each cooler at 100% fan speed and also when locked to 40dBA noise output. We will focus on cooling performance using a manual overclock with all-core frequency and VCORE locked to 5.2GHz/1.3v (AMD) and 5.5GHz/1.3v (Intel) and Precision Boost Overdrive performance.

• The test data is logged using HWINFO and the final 10 minutes of the data is calculated to find the average CPU temperature and CPU clock multiplier (AMD PBO Test) and then plotted in the charts.
• For testing, we use a 30-minute looped run of Cinebench R23 and record the steady-state CPU temperature at the end of the test. This ensures that the CPU has had ample time to warm up and reach a steady state under all of the coolers.
• The ambient is maintained at 19-21 degrees Celsius. Where there is variation beyond this temperature range, we add extra repeated tests to ensure consistency. However, this is well controlled now with A/C.
• We also test each cooler with at least two fresh installs (typically three) to mitigate the likelihood of poor mounting spoiling results.
• Ambient temperature and humidity are controlled via a mini split air conditioning system inside the test room. Ambient temperature is maintained between 19-21C, Temperature delta figures are shown in the charts (ambient temperature is deducted from the measured component temperature).

Test Results:

Acoustics

We’ll start by looking at noise output as this will give us a good indication of performance based on noise.

Both the 360mm and 240mm HyperFlow coolers are loud at maximum fan speed. The 360mm version will be very distracting for some at 54dBA, so tuning fan speed will be needed to get the best noise-to-thermal performance ratio for most users.

Thermal Performance

AMD Ryzen 9 7950X:

With the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X CPU manually overclocked and all cooler fans running at maximum speed, the Montech HyperFlow coolers perform excellently, keeping the average CPU temperature at 64°C over ambient for the 360 and 69°C for the 240mm.

Not quite chart-topping results but for the 360mm cooler at least it's in the top five coolers that we have tested on the Ryzen 9 7950X.

Reducing the cooler's fan speed to hit the 40dBA target means the HyperFlow fans are running significantly slower than the 2200RPM max speed. This affects the thermal performance, dropping the HyperFlow 360 out of the top five, but it still outperforms several more expensive 360mm competitors.

The 240mm HyperFlow produces similar performance to other 240mm AIOs that we have previously tested.

In the AMD PBO test, clock speed is the important metric as the CPU adjusts clock speed based on a target temperature, so the best coolers will produce a higher clock multiplier.

Like in the manual overlock test, both of the Montech HyperFlow coolers perform OK here, at 51.1x clock multiplier it's not the highest clock speed from the 360mm but performance is on par with other similar-priced coolers,

The 240mm HyperFlow does particularly well here, in fact, it’s the best PBO clock multiplier we have seen from a 240mm AIO. So overall thermal performance on the Ryzen 9 7950X is solid.

Intel Core i9-13900K:

Moving on to our Intel test system we start with a fixed clock speed and VCORE with the cooler fans at maximum speed. The performance of the HyperFlow 360 is good with an average of 65°C over ambient.

It's difficult to measure the performance of the 240mm as it’s the first of its size to be tested on this system, so there's nothing similar to compare it to, but at just 3°C higher than Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360 we think that’s solid performance.

However, on the Core i9-13900K pulling 300W+ package power, the HyperFlow coolers seem to hit a wall and we see a significant drop in thermal performance when the fan speed is reduced to meet the 40dBA noise target.

At 74.5°C over ambient the 360mm is running hot but still just within Intel spec. The 240mm HyperFlow running at 80°C over ambient means we see actual CPU package temperature consistently exceeding 100°C, which is far from ideal.

Performance of the HyperFlow 360 improves at fixed 1400RPM fans and moves it closer to the top performing 360mm coolers again at 72°C over ambient, which is ok but the 240mm still struggles to keep the CPU at a safe temperature. At 79.9°C over ambient the actual CPU package will still be hitting 100°C.

Taken as a whole Montech’s first attempt at an AIO cooler is a very solid effort. The HyperFlow line offers a choice of radiator size and colour scheme, a known OEM supplier, ARGB lighting, good performance especially on high-end AMD CPUs as well as a 6-year warranty and an ultra-low price. In the UK this is one of the cheapest AIOs from a reputable name, at £84.99 the HyperFlow ARGB 360 is superb value for money.

HyperFlow does have some negatives though such as the less-than-optimal performance on high-end Intel CPUs, more so when the fan speed is reduced to a tolerable noise level. The noise output of the fans at maximum speed can be very distracting, the 360mm HyperFlow records a maximum noise output of 54dBA which makes it one of the loudest AIO coolers that we have ever tested, so tuning fan curves will be necessary to reach satisfactory noise levels.

Installation of HyperFlow coolers on either Intel or AMD platforms is very quick and simple, AMD installation utilises the stock motherboard backplate while a Montech backplate is required for Intel installs, which increases installation time a little. However, the coolers use standard motherboard headers and don’t require any additional fan hubs or ARGB controllers to work so they connect directly to the motherboard which again makes installation very quick and simple.

The Build quality of the coolers seems to be good too, we have tested and used Apaltek OEM coolers for several years now and never found any issues with the manufacturing so HyperFlow coolers should prove to be reliable. Montech must be confident in the reliability as they offer a 6-year warranty with HyperFlow which should give the consumer some peace of mind when purchasing, which is another reason why we think they are worth buying.

The Montech HyperFlow AIO is available to purchase now from Scan priced at £84.99 for the 360mm HERE and £69.99 HERE for the 240mm.

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Pros

• Available in black or white colour schemes and at very competitive prices.
• RGB lighting effects are good, the RGB is bright and well-diffused.
• Installation on AMD is rapid, but it's a simple process on both Intel and AMD.
• Extremely low price.

Cons

• Loud at max fan speed.
• Thermal performance suffers when limiting noise and reducing fan RPM, quite drastically on Intel LGA1700 CPUs such as the 13900K.

KitGuru says: Montech HyperFlow offers great value for money. AMD customers will find the 360mm HyperFow extremely good value for money at its super low UK price of just £85, so will you be buying one?

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