Page 2 - Physical Look - Hardware, Installation
Like most of the liquid coolers we have reviewed in the past, the GAMDIAS CHIONE M3-240W is a closed-loop cooler, which means the whole cooling loop comes in one piece. The radiator sports a white finish that is sure to stand out, even if the RGB LED lighting on the fans and water block will do this job too. It measures 277mm in length, 119mm in width, and 27mm in height. The radiator is generally symmetrical, with the only outstanding element being an extra tab on one side. Two cables are fed out from the water block: One of them being the pump cable and the other being the ARGB cable. The radiator is made out of aluminum, which has a thermal conductivity of 237 W/mK. Aluminum is a good choice here due to its relatively lower weight, even if it has a lower thermal conductivity than other metals such as copper.
The CPU water block also has a white finish. The top surface has an "infinity" mirror that will display the GAMDIAS logo and RGB LED ring, although the GAMDIAS logo is not rotatable. There is a part of the rim on the water block surrounded by a plastic translucent RGB LED diffuser that further reveals the illumination. I would have liked it better if the top mirror surface was rotatable as we have seen on other AIO liquid coolers. This would give users more mounting options while keeping the GAMDIAS logo right side up.
The radiator fins are arranged in a typical wave pattern. This pattern comes from the fins being placed in a way such that they come into contact with the liquid flowing through the radiator. When the fins come into contact with the liquid, the heat is transferred from the liquid to the fins, which are cooled by the fans attached to the radiator. There are two sleeved braided tubes at the top that connect directly to the CPU water block to transfer coolant. These tubes are flexible and easy to bend. Along with the hinged connection at the water block, there is a decent amount of flexibility when routing the tubing around your chassis. The tubes are made out of Teflon and are 320mm in length, which falls on the shorter side when compared to other liquid coolers like the Thermaltake TOUGHLIQUID Ultra 240. While you should be able to mount it on the top or side of most mid-tower chassis, you might run into length issues on larger cases or in different orientations.
The photo above shows a closer look at the contact base of the CPU water block. This measures 84mm in length, 79mm in width, and 50mm in height. The contact base is flat, which should help in exerting a reasonable amount of contact with your processor. The finish is very smooth with no bumps or abnormalities on the surface. There is no pre-applied thermal paste, as GAMDIAS has provided thermal spread for users to apply to the processor separately.
The water block is rated at 6W with the power being supplied by the 12V 3-pin header on your motherboard. The contact base is made out of copper, which has a high thermal conductivity at 401 W/mK. Copper is heavier than aluminum, but we do not need to worry as much about the weight of the pump, as it is smaller in size compared to the radiator. A nickel-plated contact base would have been nice to have as nickel and nickel-base alloys can withstand corrosive environments and high temperatures, which can be advantageous. Overall, the GAMDIAS CHIONE M3-240W is solidly built with good build materials used throughout.
The 4-pin PWM radiator fans have 3-pin ARGB headers for its ARGB LEDs. These fans use hydraulic bearings internally. The blades have a frosted look and are angled at approximately 44 degrees from the center. These fans run at a maximum speed of 2000 RPM ± 10%, which produces a static air pressure of 2.7 mmH2O, 70.2 CFM airflow, and maximum noise output of 31dBA.
The installation process for the GAMDIAS CHIONE M3-240W is fairly simple. The installation tools are divided into separate bags for Intel and AMD, although they are not labeled to differentiate between the two. The installation manual can be found on GAMDIAS' website's product page. While this online installation guide provides clear step-by-step instructions along with detailed pictures, I wish GAMDIAS had included a physical manual or a QR code on the box like the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 280 A-RGB, so we could have a quick link to the guide. The installation process begins with attaching the required backplate onto the back of your motherboard. Intel users can use the provided backplate, while AMD users are required to use the original backplate that came with their motherboard. Afterward, you must attach your respective screws into the required backplate through your motherboard.
The radiator is simple enough to install and will likely not require any manual for users. Each cooling fan can be attached directly to the radiator through the four long screws. Eight smaller screws are included for mounting the radiator directly. Once the radiator and the respective fans are installed, it is just a matter of routing the different cables in an efficient manner.
Placing the water block over the top of the processor was as simple as the rest of the installation. This can be done after applying an appropriate amount of thermal paste to the processor. The thermal paste comes in a plastic bag instead of a tube, unlike what we have seen with many other coolers in the past. A plastic thermal spreader is also provided. I used it for the sake of fully utilizing all the tools given to me, but spreading did get a bit messy, as shown in the photo above. You must also install the mounting brackets on the water block first, which is different between Intel and AMD processors. Once you place the water block with the attached mounting bracket on top of the processor, you just need to screw in the double-threaded screws. Once that is done, you can proceed with connecting the rest of the cables to the appropriate headers on your motherboard.
The installation process was very simple with no troubles at any point. There are a lot of cables that you will have to deal with, so be sure to think through the cable management beforehand.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware, Installation
3. Test Results
4. Conclusion
