Testing
The following system was used to test the cooler:
– Processor: Intel i9 9900K @ 5GHz
– Motherboard: ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming X
– RAM: GOODRAM IRDM PRO 16GB DDR4-3600MHz
– GPU: MSI GeForce RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio
– SSD: Crucial p5 500GB
– HDD: GOODRAM IRDM 1TB SSD
– PSU: Seasonic Snow Silent 750W Platinum
– Case: be quiet! Silent Base 802 White
– Thermal compound: Noctua NT-H2
Software used for testing the cooler:
– AIDA64 Extreme Version: 6.32.5600
– Intel Burn Test v2.54
– Prime95 29.1
The cooler was tested with the CPU at the default turbo frequency of 4.9 GHz and overclocked to 5 GHz with a core voltage of 1.261 V.
Also, the included fans have been used at their maximum speed.
The room temperature was approximately 26°C (78°F), with 2°C margin of error.
The idle test consists of the CPU sitting idle at the desktop for 30 minutes, the temperature was measured at the end of the test.
The settings of the software used are the following:
Intel Burn Test v2.54 – Stress level: Maximum
Prime95 29.1- small FFT
AIDA64 Extreme Version – FPU Benchmark & Temperature monitoring.
Each test was conducted for 40 minutes.
Idle
Full Load – IntelBurnTestV2
Full Load – AIDA64 CPU, FPU & Cache
The noise level was measured at three different distances from the fans (10cm, 20cm, 30cm.) the noise was measured with a margin of error of ± 2 db.
Final thoughts
The be quiet! Pure Loop 280 is a bigger alternative to the already good Pure Loop 240 cooler. The Pure Loop 280 offers a good cooling performance, and more importantly, the pump is very quiet. However, the cooling performance could have been better if be quiet! would have used fans that spin faster and perhaps had more static pressure.
The build quality of the Pure Loop 280 is very good, although making the body of the water block from plastic is unnecessary and does not inspire quality.
The installation process is very easy thanks to a mounting system that has been refined and that uses metal made components. If there is something to add regarding the mounting system used on these coolers, is that it uses too many components, which over-complicate the system.
The inline pump is very silent even when spinning at its maximum speed of 5500 RPM. To complete the package, be quiet! has fitted an air bleeding port on the radiator. This will help with the maintenance of the cooler and make the process of air removal a breeze.
The Pure Loop 280 is available for around 105 USD, this price makes the 280mm model just 10 USD more expensive than the Pure Loop 240.
In conclusion, the be quiet! Pure Loop 280 is a good liquid CPU cooler that will offer a good cooling performance, and has a low noise output from the pump. The build quality is good and the same can be said for the mounting system. The included 140mm fans are silent at normal speeds, but if you decide to use them at their maximum speed, then the noise output will increase.
