Endorfy Fortis 5 Black ARGB: (Quite) a bit of light in the dark

Conclusion

With the Fortis 5 Black ARGB cooler, it’s not enough to just note that it has a backlit fan compared to the Fortis 5 Black. There are more specifics that shape its characteristics. It’s not visible on the external features, because the stated parameters are the same as those of the non-ARGB model, but we’ve come across a few differences when dissecting the results. And we can certainly write about remarkable differences that are worth reflecting on.

Conclusion

First of all, simply: the Fortis 5 Black ARGB is an efficient mid-range cooler also suitable for high-performance processors in today’s mainstream platforms. The Fortis 5 Black ARGB cooler can hanndle the Ryzen 9 9950X (AMD AM5) even at low noise levels, where it can still maintain very high CPU core clock speeds of up to 5 GHz.

At the threshold of audibility, at even lower speeds, the R9 9950X’s all-core boost clock speeds are already relatively lower (with correspondingly lower recorded CPU performance), but even that’s a good result.

The Fortis 5 Black ARGB’s specifications list a TDP of 220 W, but this is a figure referring to maximum cooling performance at the highest speeds accompanied by relatively higher noise. Just like with the Fortis 5 Black variant without lighting, with higher performance, this cooler (Fortis 5 Black ARGB) scales better with Intel processors on the LGA 1851 (or possibly LGA 1700) platform. This is also due to the fact that the available heatpipes are in better contact with the larger IHS of Intel processors.

With the AMD platform (with a smaller IHS), the efficiency of the two outermost heatpipes decreases because they are already off-axis of AMD Ryzen processors. They are not completely useless, of course, and they also contribute to cooling, but relatively less heat is transferred to the heatsink through them, which is then reflected in the results, or in the lower “coolable” consumption. The latter can be higher on the LGA 1851 platform in the case of its most powerful processor (Core Ultra 9 285K). However, the temperatures are significantly higher than with tested 360 mm AIO coolers (the Endorfy Navis F360 or the Fractal Design Lumen S36 V2), which is also matched by the lower processor core clock speeds.

The measured power consumption with the Fortis 5 Black ARGB is the highest among all tested coolers, but this value is largely due to the higher temperatures. In other words, the highest wattage here doesn’t mean the highest performance, but that’s still high even when paired with Intel Core (Ultra) 200S processors.

We don’t recommend the Endorfy Fortis 5 Black ARGB cooler for more powerful Intel processors without power limits, but for those with power limits it will be fine. Or then possibly for lower-end models that have lower power consumption (relatively, compered to the CU9 285K, for example) even without power limits. Buying the Fortis 5 Black ARGB with a CU5 265K will definitely be a good idea, no matter how the CPU or the cooler itself is set up. With such a combination (with the CU5 265K), operation at very low noise levels will also be possible. The tested Endorfy cooler has excellent predispositions towards it, which comes from the fact that its fan can be controlled over a wide speed range, which includes even super-low speeds.

Just like the Fortis 5 Black cooler, we tested this variant (with ARGB LEDs) with fan mounts without anti-vibration pads. This means that a greater amount of vibration was transmitted to the heatsink through the fan frame (than is t´he the anti-vibration pads were used), which can result in higher secondary noise and thus higher overall noise level of the cooler.

In the quieter modes, distortion at this level won’t interfere too much (at low fan speeds, vibrations are negligible), but at higher speeds it can. The difference in temperature of the noisier modes is also higher compared to the Fortis 5 Black because the fan of the ARGB variant vibrates less (you already know this from the separate test of the Fluctus 140 PWM ARGB), thus, the overall noise level is lower and the backlit cooler is allowed higher fan speeds, with which a higher airflow is achieved. However, the differences in cooling performance between the Fortis 5 Black and Fortis 5 Black ARB coolers are also there at low speeds, where higher manufacturing tolerances may play the biggest role. For example, of the heatpipes. This is something we’ll be looking at in more detail with the Fortis 5 Black (ARGB) coolers – two more samples (for a comparative analysis) are already on their way.

Of course, here we have already got to the more complex, more scientific and regardless of the results of the mentioned later tests, we can recommend the Fortis 5 Black ARGB cooler with a clear conscience. It is also efficient on high-end modern Intel or AMD processors. Among backlit, more affordable coolers, the Fortis 5 Black ARGB is an aspirant for a more valuable editorial award than “Approved“. Consider this a stopgap until we have a comparison with directly competing coolers. We already have the Jonsbo CR-1000 V2 Pro ARGB Black in our testlab. So let’s see how much weaker this cheaper cooler will be… or does it have the potential to be “stronger”?

English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš

Endorfy coolers are also available in the Datacomp e-store

• Contents
• Endorfy Fortis 5 Black ARGB
• 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)
• Conclusion