Duel: Endorfy Navis F360 vs. Fractal Design Lumen S36 V2

The Endorfy Navis F360 cooler, in detail...

We start the new stage of CPU cooler tests on HWCooling with a duel of two AIO liquid coolers. Both the Navis F360 and the Lumen S36 V2 represent the cheapest coolers with a 360mm radiator that Fractal Design (Lumen S36 V2) and Endorfy (Navis F360), respectively, have. Sure, these aren’t downright cheap coolers, but both are associated with very high cooling performance.

Endorfy Navis F360 cooler details

The design is built on a fairly traditional 360mm long radiator, on which three 120mm fans are pre-installed. These are the Fluctus 120 PWM, which we have also discussed in detail separately, as standalone fans. So we can say that these are some of the most efficient 120mm fans on radiators. In this type of use, they safely stick in the top ten, from low noise levels all the way up to higher ones.

In addition to the distinctive curved blades, the Fluctus 120 PWM fans are also characterised by their “serrated” leading edges. These are one of the elements of psychoacoustic optimizations on which Endorfy, or the company (Cooling) that owns the brand, collaborated with Synergy Cooling. Also based on our tests, it is likely that these fans will be ones that will improve the cooling performance to noise ratio, rather than worsen it.

The radiator doesn’t stand out that much from models on competing solutions. The fins are aluminum and the number of fins per inch (FPI) is 30. Such a structure can be classified as being on the denser side, although it is nothing unusual for AIO coolers. On the contrary, a statement about an ordinary structure is in place. Not only in terms of FPI, but also in terms of thickness/height of the profile (of the radiator), 27 mm. You will commonly encounter radiators that will have very similar parameters on other AIO coolers. The one from Endorfy as a whole (radiators + fans) often undercuts comparable models with 360mm radiators in price, the Navis F360 is cheaper.

The cover of the CPU block is mostly plastic, but the plate on top is already aluminium, with a brushed surface. The other side – the bottom – is copper, with a rather large contact area (for a processor) of 58.0 × 52.5 mm.

The coldplate area thus significantly exceeds even the IHS of Intel processors (up to LGA 1851/1700), which are larger compared to the IHS of AMD AM5 processors. On the longer side, the coldplate area is slightly convex. This is in order to provide more pressure (and thus better contact) where the heat flux is highest. Such elements also contribute to the overall cooling performance.

What it looks like inside the block, especially in terms of the microchannel structure, is not known from the available materials (and without disassembly). However, according to Endorfy’s words, you’re dealing with a silent pump and the bearings used are ceramic. The control is then via PWM (with a 4-pin connector) with possible SATA power supply.

The cooler comes with pre-installed fans on the radiator, and it is especially commendable that the cables are properly fixed and do not interfere with the space outside the cooler. There is a connector sticking out of the interconnected fans on one side for connecting a 40cm long extension cable (included). This conveniently reaches even the more distant headers on the motherboards.

And one more thing that definitely deserves praise with the Endorfy Navis F360 – the metal backplate. This is quite rare in AIO liquid coolers, as they usually use a plastic structure with sliding nuts, which, among other things, have a rather fragile nut sleeve and are almost unsuitable for repeated mounting. The backplate of the Endorfy cooler is considerably more robust, even in terms of flexural strength. This is also enhanced by the contour reliefs, which ensure that there is no warping along with the motherboard and thus better contact is ensured at this level (than with coolers with more flexible backplates). This may not affect cooling performance, but on the other hand, it can, and in any case, the extra-stiff backplate design certainly doesn’t hurt.

• Contents
• The Endorfy Navis F360 cooler, in detail...
• ... and details of the Fractal Design Lumen S36 V2 cooler
• Testing methodology
• Results: Maximum cooling performance
• Results: Higher performance (45 dBA)
• Results: Medium performance (42 dBA)
• Results: Lower noise level (39 dBA)
• Results: Low noise level (36 dBA)
• Results: Very low noise level (33 dBA)
• Results: Threshold of audibility (31 dBA)
• Results: Pump noise
• Conclusion