Pros: • Mounting hardware for any modern CPU
• Sleeved/braided cables look nice
• Useful manual with clear instructions
• Great looking pump/block combo
• Included fans move a fair amount of air vs. noise output
• Included fan hub is a nice touch
• Efficient packaging that keeps things nice and safe pre-install (nothing rattling around)
• Reasonable price vs. comparable level air cooling

Cons: • Adding voltage with high ambient temps (hot room) – and you see the cooling power fade pretty fast (far worse than a custom cooling loop)
• Pump is easily the noisiest piece of the equation (par for AIO units)
• Too many reviews citing pump failures to make a person feel long-term comfortable

Other Thoughts: The Captain 240 is easily one of the nicest looking AIO units out there. Good build quality on the pump/block, solid feeling fans with again solid performance, and good enough quality on the radiator paint. I feel the Captain 240 is aimed at the guy running a nice gaming machine, who wants good looks, water cooling “credibility”, and doesn’t want the time/effort/cost associated with a custom loop. I’ve built hundreds of custom loops in my time, and the cost of the Captain 240 gives you solid enough performance to make the need for a custom loop unnecessary. Great value for the money spent.

I went ahead and installed the Captain 240 in two extremes for case size. First off, the block install is really easy, and the clear directions in the manual make this a no-brain install for just about anybody. The slim radiator has a decent FPI ratio, and the fans move enough air to make the unit effective enough as a whole. Installation in the Antec 1900 was a test for the rigid tubing, as that case is absolutely huge, but there was still enough slack to keep the install nice looking. I also installed in a Cooler Master N200 (front mount radiator) and that case was a perfect fit for the Captain 240. Nice looking bends in the tubing, and the slim radiator/fan combo didn’t make things look too crowded.

Performance at stock clocks/1.09vts on a 3570k was comparable to the higher-end air coolers out there, with less overall noise. Load temps with HyperPi drag runs were around 62* Celsius. Running the 3570k at its everyday overclock of 4.56 GHZ/1.32vts was a similar story under heavy gaming/benchmark loads, when compared to capability of most air coolers. Run after run kept the load temps climbing, pushing past 75* Celsius. The smallish tubing runs, coupled with less flow rate, and the lower-end radiator aren’t designed to cope with that kind of heat – so definitely expected, and not a knock on the unit as a whole. I’m just offering an example so expectations are reasonable with what you’re getting. To the Captain 240’s credit, temps dropped quickly once the load was reduced – a definite plus with hot weather hitting the scene shortly. On a side note, a standard application of burned in Arctic Silver 5 netted 3* off the temps, so nothing too earth shattering.

Most of today’s components require such low voltage, that unless you are really pulling for some big over clocks, a unit like the Captain 240 is perfect for a combination of solid cooling performance, and great looks. My only concern is the high number of pump failures reported in the consumer reviews that I’ve read. A lot of the failures appear to have come from earlier units, but with so many AIO units to choose from, it’s definitely something to think about before purchasing. The vast majority of folks that would use the Captain 240 probably don’t disable the shutdown temp limits in the BIOS, so even if the pump did fail (say leaving the machine on all day while at work), the CPU would eventually throttle the clocks, ultimately shutting the machine down before any real damage happened. Despite those reservations over the pump failures, I think the Captain 240 is definitely worth taking a chance on, as it performs good enough, and looks great. Definitely recommended!

Pros: The quality of the components is top notch, they have focused on the pump and bearings quality for certain.
The fans are removable for cleaning ease, the pump flow through piping is clever and looks very cool. The tubing is nicely sorted on the connections and should fit most usage scenarios as far as tubing length. Cooling when running the fans at 1000 rpm is nearly silent and provides excellent temps. The included fan breakout power hub is quite useful when you are limited in fan headers. The price, this cooler is just a bit above what a 140 mm top end air cool heatsink costs. The provided thermal paste actually worked well on the first shot and provided very good thermal coupling. The included hardware is simple to install and mounts firmly to your mobo.

Cons: The pump itself is on the larger side when compared to the competition. The fans can get pretty loud when you have them running at their max speed (2200 rpm), but do provide a great deal of cooling. Having just reviewed the reigning top contender 240mm AIO cooler I did notice that the fit and finish was just a touch cheaper looking. While the breakout fan header component is helpful for plugging in multiple fans when you have limited fan headers, I think that this functionality could have been more integrated in to the large pump surface to reduce clutter.

Other Thoughts: The Captain 240 comes ready out of the box to cool almost any modern CPU on the market. The cooler is going to be focused mainly for the value conscious consumer who is sick of listening to their stock CPU cooler whine away and leave you with high temps, the overclocker/gamer who has a serious interest in keeping your multi-Ghz CPU cool, or the enthuisiast looking to break in to the water cooling scene. I can with out a doubt recommend this cooler as it performs well, can function fairly quietly, is built to last, at a price that makes sense. I found that running the pump at 90% speed using your BIOS setting (CPU fan speed) controls worked best for me as a good compromise between cooling and noise. The radiator is on the thinner side and may be beneficial for mounting in tight spaces. Please reference your case dimensions to ensure that the tubing will reach your optimum radiator mounting location. I found that running the fans in a PUSH orientation provided much more efficient cooling (PUSH required just 1000 rpm to stabilize temps compared to 1600 rpm in a PULL orientation).

Pros: *The fit and finish on this cooler is top notch, all connections and seals were tight, no leaks. The black finish is attractive, but unobtrusive, keeping everything in your machine looking neat.
* This works with a wide variety of the latest AMD and Intel processors. You will most likely be able to use it when you upgrade your system.
*The install instruction are pictorial diagrams that showed how everything fits together. The instructions were very clear.
*This cooler cools your processor very well. In my case, however, it took some modifications to the installation for it to work .
* The two 120 mm fans move a lot of air and are petty quiet. Even at full speed, they aren't noticeably louder than the case fans.

Cons: * It did not fit my case, when installed according to instructions, even though the case is designed for a water cooling system with a larger radiator. When attempting to install it as directed, the fans interfered with my ram. The fans are 25 mm thick. a 20 mm fan would probably solve that problem. I had to install the radiator inside the case and the fans on top, outside the case, with the airflow from the outside in, to get adequate cooling. The case top cover had to be removed and it will not fit back on the case over the fans, So now I have an ugly case.
*The cooling block/pump mounting screws must be installed from the bottom of the motherboard which meant that I had to remove the motherboard. Not really a con, since it is the better way to mount it. Still, it is something to be aware of.
*The power hub did not provide sufficient power to the fans to cool the radiator. Using the power hub to power the fans, the processor temperature jumped quickly. The temp was 65 C. with the processor running at only 50%. The fans had to be connected directly to the power supply to get sufficient power to run high enough RPM. This of course means that the fans are at full power and you would need a fan speed controller to moderate the speed when full cooling is not needed.

Other Thoughts: *The cooler was tested on an AMD 8-core 8350 processor. It was previously air cooled with a top rated cooler with two 140mm fans.
*CPU burn-in was used to stress the system. HWMonitor was used to read temps.
*Ambient room temp is 85 F 29.5 C
*Air cooled and stressed for 1 hr on 8 cores Max temp was 61 degrees C.
*Water cooled with the Captain 240, Stressing 8 cores for 1 hr the max temp was 60 degrees C.
*Even though it was not a great improvement over the Air cooler. 60 C vs 61 C, both are in the same price range. It is a matter of preference. An air cooler that performs on par with the Captain 240 will be very large and fill up your case. Just something to consider.
*Since I now know what to expect. I would consider this system for a new build and would recommend it to others with reservation. It is a very nice cooler . A recommended case list and a FAQ sheet would be nice to see. Thinner fans would make it much easier to install.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,
Thanks very much for your purchase of CAPTAIN 240, and we are really sorry for all the inconvenience it had caused to you.
Would you please directly contact support@deepcool.com for further Tech&RMA support, thanks!
DEEPCOOL strive to offer the most reliable product and best service, your kindly support is appreciated!
DEEPCOOL Support Team

Pros: Hard covered tubes that can swivel for those hard to reach places.
Reduce noise, Over clock to your hearts/CPU ability.

Large size, be sure to have a proper case with this unit and to be mindful of your RAMS heatsink heights.
Aestetically pleasing.
A nice alternative to the mainstream Corsair units.

Comes with pre-applied thermal compound on the heatsink block.
You may want to scrape that off and use Artic Silver on it.

Cons: Someday, it will die . Human Condition Man...

Other Thoughts: One set of screws, configuration for intake/outtake fans will require additional screws.
But this is so efficient you wont need to too.
Keeps temps down.

If your on the fence go for this.
You won't be sorry.

Pros: keeps my cpu cool enough. cools my cpu fast. Price

Cons: it takes time until you can fully use it to overclock. at first when i tried to OC my FX 8350 to 4.5GHz cpu socket temp went 68C and going so i stopped. But now, it is stable at 65C and thermal margin is stable at 25C as well. Although i think this is the maximum OC i can get my CPU. So, if you are planning on going over 4.5GHz using FX8350, think about it carefully but for me 4.5GHz is fine.

Other Thoughts: mobo: M5A99FX PRO R.2
case: Corsair Carbide 500R
PSU: Thermaltake 650W Smart Bronze Certified
CPU: FX-8350
GPU: MSI GTX 970 GAMING 4G
DEEPCOOL GAMER CAPTAIN 240
MEMORY: 2x 4GB G.Skill Ripjaws X series
OS: WINDOWS 10

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,
Thanks very much for your purchase of CAPTAIN 240, and we are really sorry for all the inconvenience it had caused to you.
Would you please directly contact support@deepcool.com for further Tech&RMA support, thanks!
DEEPCOOL strive to offer the most reliable product and best service, your kindly support is appreciated!
DEEPCOOL Support Team

Pros: - Looks amazing in my red and black themed computer.
- Keeps my AMD FX 8350 from overheating. Stays at a cool 25c idke and 40c heavy load.
- Semi easy to install.

Cons: - Very loud. Can't seem to turn fans down, not running with CPU temps.
- Hard to install into NZXT S340 case. A little patience is all you need.

Other Thoughts: Be careful when installing that you don't over tighten the pump. The corners can snap off easy. Didn't happen for me, but for others it did.

All in all, it's an amazing cooler for the price.

Pros: The product when installed looks pretty cool. I’m using an i5 3570K which after stress testing with Prime95 it came in about 30C cooler than the stock cooler maxing at 55C.

I started overclocking my CPU and I haven’t gotten it above 80C yet at 20% CPU increase. The radiator feels very sturdy as do the 2 fans to mount to it. Quality here was excellent. Much cooler for much higher ratings than air cooling.

The configuration is almost a one size fits all and does support newer chipsets which is handy.

Cons: I was using a Zalman quiet cooler which was very noticeably quieter than this system.

I also use an open bench case which doesn’t have a great way to mount the radiator.

The tubing doesn’t flex very well which makes it difficult to install. With my configuration the tubing which is the lower quality portion of this is right next to other components.

Other Thoughts: The instructions could use a few words. I understand the reasoning not to as pictures are universal language wise but I’d have appreciated a couple words to help with the order.

Pros: looks fancy :P

Cons: upon installing the block ontop of the CPU the plastic holes on the side broke off while finger tightening. I took it to the local PC shop for the replacement one... he broke it installing as well. VERY poor quality plastic on the corners.

Other Thoughts: needs metal holes for the brackets so they cannot break by finger tightening.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear valued customer:
Thanks for your purchase of Deepcool CAPTAIN 240 and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience it caused to you!
Would you please directly contact support@deepcool.com for further Tech&RMA support, thanks!
Deepcool strive to offer the most reliable product and best service, your kindly support is appreciated!
Deepcool Support Team

Pros: I like what they are doing with this cooler. it has a lot of really cool features others do not and some cool tech under its hood. first off the radiator is a basic standard 240mm radiator nothing new there but it is quality built. the cool stuff is in the pump and plate and also the fans. in this all in one the plate and the pump are separated the plate is up against the cpu ofcourse but the pump is at the top of housing and they are connected but the clear tube. so the tube isn't just for asthetic's . it also has L.E.D lighting where the tube come's out at the top. the pump is powered off of the motherboard and not off of the powersupply. it comes with a pwm fan hub with up to four pwm fans great for a push pull setup , also include's double sided sticky tape so you can put the hub any where in your case you would like. it has brackets to fit all modern cpu's AMD and intel...including the newest socket 1151from intel. the fans look and feel high quality and also come with a feature for the first time I'm aware of the blades of the fan remove by popping them off for easy cleaning. I had no issue installing the plate to my cpu it was very easy to install overall ...I have the newest 1151 socket of which not all coolers support yet but this one does. and last but not least it comes with one of the coolest case badge's I've seen to date, its an actuall metal plate which I wish more company's would start doing we still love the case badge's just not cheap one's...lol

Cons: the first thing I found I didn't like is the tubing, its small and made of cheap plastic and just like the original h100's I think they should have used a thicker clear tubing and it would have made a big difference. they should also sell other versions with rgb led lighting and different color liquid like blue and green and not just red my system is lit up in blue and the red looks off

Other Thoughts: as far as all in one's go it has some features to set it apart it has a few that help its performance but a few that may hinder it's performance so. it doesn't perform better or worse than any of the others

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Customer:
Thanks for your purchase of CAPTAIN 240 your comments on Deepcool product! And we are sorry that you are not 100% satisfied with it!
Deepcool will always keep improving and stand behind our products! We strive to offer the most reliable product and best service!
If any further questions please don't hesitate to contact us via email: support@deepcool.com thanks!
Deepcool Support Team

Pros: Nice product. Good look. Contains all the characteristics we needed for our gamer pc.

Cons: I bought a DEEPCOOL Gamer Storm CAPTAIN 240 CPU Liquid Cooler to be installed on a Asus Z170-A motherboard but the cooler doesn't fit at all. The tubes are in the DIMM's connectors way (if installed the tubes facing front) or it is totally impossible to install it if the tubes are installed facing backward because the elbows connectors on the pump are not movable. Why it is said that this cooler unit fits with 1151 CPU. It doesn't fit with all motherboard and now I have to be reimburse.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,
Thanks very much for your purchase of CAPTAIN 240, and we are really sorry for all the inconvenience it had caused to you.
Would you please directly contact support@deepcool.com for further Tech&RMA support, thanks!
DEEPCOOL strive to offer the most reliable product and best service, your kindly support is appreciated!
DEEPCOOL Support Team