Behind the name Enermax is a manufacturer of PC components founded in 1990 in Taiwan. Its portfolio includes PC power supplies, cases, keyboards and other peripherals. But Enermax has also specialized in developing cooling components for PC hardware.
The latest addition to the range of air coolers goes by the name of Enermax ETS-F40-FS and is an asymmetrically designed tower cooler with a 140-millimeter fan. The manufacturer advertises the ETS-F40-FS with a good cooling performance of up to 200W TDP, a quiet 140-millimeter fan with low startup speed and a high RAM compatibility due to the asymmetrical design. Whether the 32 euro (current: € 33.99 *) ETS-F40-FS can convince us, you can find out in this review.
Technical details
Cooler specifications
| Dimensions (with fan) | 140 x 93 x 156 mm (W x H x D) |
| Weight (with fan) | 750 g |
| Material | Copper (heat pipes), aluminum (cooling fins) |
| Heatpipes | 4x Ø 6 mm |
| Cooling capacity | 200W TDP |
| Compatibility AMD | AM2(+), AM3(+), AM4, FM1, FM2(+) (backplate required) |
| Compatibility Intel | LGA2066, LGA2011-0 & LGA2011-3 (Square ILM), LGA1200, LGA115x, LGA775 |
| Price | € 33.99 * |
Fan specifications
| Fan designation | Enermax Silent Fan PWM |
| Bearing type | Hydraulic Bearing |
| Dimensions | 140 x 140 x 25 mm |
| Speed | 300 – 1,200 rpm |
| Volume | 10 – 23 dB(A) |
| Support volume | 30.75 – 126.21 m³/h |
| Air pressure | 0.13 – 2.17 mmH²O |
Packaging & scope of delivery
Packed is the Enermax ETS-F40-FS in a compact cardboard box. This cardboard box is printed in the manufacturer’s colors (black, red) and also shows colored pictures of the CPU cooler. Lastly, on the outside are numerous technical specifications including technical drawings and a listing of key features.
Opening the top flap, you are immediately greeted by assembly instructions and a soft piece of foam. The latter is to prevent the heatpipes from being damaged during transport. The heatsink, the separately packed fan and a box with all mounting accessories are then hidden underneath the mat. The ETS-F40-FS comes with all the parts needed to mount it on various AMD and Intel sockets. To protect the aluminum fins from damage as well, the sides are padded with thin foam strips.
Design & workmanship
Visually, the Enermax ETS-F40-FS is reminiscent of a typical CPU cooler in the 30-euro segment. The heatsink consists of a wide cooling tower with 44 aluminum fins, which stands asymmetrically above the socket. Heat dissipation is supposed to be ensured by four 6-millimeter copper heatpipes. These converge in the socket and lie directly on the CPU’s heatspreader after mounting (Heatpipe Direct Touch). To keep the price low, the manufacturer does not anodize the fins and heatpipes. Their ends protrude from the top of the aluminum fins and are not covered with a cap. The workmanship of the heatsink is on a good level.
The included fan is of the AFS40-14 type, has a frame width of 140 millimeters with 120 holes, and was designed to be very plain. The frame and the nine fan blades are kept completely black. Rubberized rings at the corners are supposed to prevent the transfer of vibrations to the heat sink. The fan is connected via a black 4-pin PWM cable. As a speed range Enermax specifies a range of 300 to 1200 revolutions per minute.
Fully assembled, the Enermax ETS-F40-FS weighs about 750 grams, making it similar in weight to many other coolers in this price range. The maximum height of 156 millimeters and the asymmetrical design of the heatsink should also increase compatibility with smaller cases and taller RAM modules. The basic workmanship corresponds to the targeted price range and is good. However, optical highlights are deliberately omitted in favor of the price.
Assembly
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For the review, we are using a test system on a benchtable. This allows us to rule out factors such as heat buildup in the case. The test system consists of the following components.
- AMD Ryzen 5 1400 @ 3.8 GHz at 1.25V
- MSI B350 PC Mate
- Crucial Ballistix Sport LT gray 32 GB DDR4-3000
- Corsair Force Series MP510 960GB Nvme
- Gigabyte AORUS GTX 1060 6G
- LC-Power LC550 V2.31 Platinum Series 550W
- Cooler Master Tech Bench V2.0
Regardless of the socket, a backplate is used when mounting the Enermax ETS-F40-FS. For Intel systems, you have to use the backplate supplied with the cooler. AMD sockets require the AMD retention module included with the motherboard. The backplate included with the cooler is made of metal and painted black.
Assuming a conventional AM4 mainboard, this must first be prepared by removing the plastic brackets on the front. The backplate remains behind the mainboard. Now place the four plastic sleeves over the mounting holes of the backplate and then place the supplied metal holding frame on the plastic sleeves. Then screw the frame to the backplate with the help of four long screws.
On AMD systems, the cooler can only be attached in the vertical orientation. But before this can happen, you have to apply the thermal paste to the heatspreader of the CPU according to the instructions. After that, the heatsink is placed on the CPU and screwed to the mounting frame. The last step is to mount the fan with the appropriate brackets and connect the 4-pin PWM connector to the mainboard.
Overall, the assembly is quite simple and the instructions explain all the necessary steps well. The mounting system used is one of the simpler systems, but it serves its purpose very well.
Loudness and cooling performance
As pointed out in the previous chapter, we use an AM4 system based on the Ryzen 5 1400 and the MSI B350 PC Mate as our test hardware. The Ryzen runs at 3.8 GHz at 1.25V. To warm up the processor, it was loaded with Prime95 for 15 minutes. The CPU’s temperature was then read with the CPUID hardware monitor and the room temperature was around 19 °C during the measurements.
| Cooler | Operating scenario | RPM | temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMD Wraith Stealth | 50% PWM | 1600 rpm | 102 °C (crash) |
| AMD Wraith Stealth | 100% PWM | 2650 rpm | 86 °C |
| EKL Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure | 50% PWM | 1050 rpm | 58 °C |
| EKL Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure | 100% PWM | 1500 rpm | 55 °C |
| Enermax ETS-F40-FS | 50% PWM | 700 rpm | 56 °C |
| Enermax ETS-F40-FS | 100% PWM | 1300 rpm | 54 °C |
That the AMD boxed cooler should not stand a chance against the Enermax ETS-F40-FS, should actually be clear to anyone who has ever installed the boxed cooler. The Enermax ETS-F40-FS does not have to hide from slightly older CPU coolers in the 30-euro class with its performance and can cool the slightly overclocked Ryzen 5 1400 very well overall. The included fan is also praiseworthy. It produces little to no background noise and is not particularly loud even at maximum speed.
Conclusion on the Enermax ETS-F40-FS
Now we have already reached the end of the review. So what is our conclusion on the Enermax ETS-F40-FS? Enermax has definitely put the focus on good value for money with this CPU cooler. The ETS-F40-FS has a simple design and does without RGB effects or other visual highlights. However, the CPU cooler can convince with a good cooling performance and a fairly low noise level at the same time.
The mounting system is simple and straightforward, but not comparable to the systems of other manufacturers such as Noctua. In return, the Enermax ETS-F40-FS costs € 33.99 * but also partly significantly less. If you as a buyer do not attach importance to the appearance and volume or cooling performance are in the foreground, then the Enermax ETS-F40-FS is definitely worth a recommendation. That’s why it will now permanently replace the EKL Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure in our test system.
Enermax ETS-F40-FS
Workmanship
Design
Assembling
Cooling performance
Value for money
87/100
With the ETS-F40-FS, Enermax delivers a low-priced but powerful CPU cooler that should cut a fine figure with almost all mainstream CPUs. However, the buyer has to do without RGB or optical highlights.
