Cooler Master Nepton 240M All-in-One Liquid Cooler Review

Included Accessories

Included Accessories

Cooler Master includes all mounting hardware and accessories required to install the cooler in your system, including fans, mounting hardware, and thermal compound.

The instruction sheet provided with the Nepton 240M gives you more than enough information to get the unit up and running for any supported processor.

Cooler Master includes a tube of their own branded thermal paste for interfacing between the block and CPU surfaces. The provided tube of grey-colored paste should be sufficient for multiple block mounts.

Included with the Nepton 240M are standoffs, mounting nuts, mounting arms, and a backplate for mounting the unit across all socket types. The unit does not have any mounting hardware pre-installed by default. Both the Intel and AMD-based mounting arms have integrated dual-spring screws fixed in place (two per arm) for fixing the block to the mounting nuts. For use with an Intel LGA2011-type socket, the screw-in standoff is screwed directly into the LGA2011 back plate from the top of the board. The backplate included is used for the other supported Intel CPU sockets (LGA775, LGA115X, and LGA1366) and AMD CPU sockets.

For both the Intel and AMD mounting kit, the mount arms affix directly to the underside of the CPU block using the four Phillips head screws included (two screws per arm). The mount screw go throw the base plate and fix directly into the mounting arm, sitting on top of the acrylic bottom of the assembly as shown. The acrylic lip is above the plane of the copper baseplate, so the contact between the CPU and the copper baseplate remains uninhibited.

The metal back plate is used for mounting the block to an Intel LGA775, LGA115X, or LGA1366 socket or an AMD CPU socket. For an Intel board, the side with the AMD label should be facing towards the board's underside (Intel logo should be visible on backplate). For an AMD board, the side with the Intel label should be facing towards the board's underside (AMD logo should be visible on backplate).

Cooler Master used a three-part design for constructing the Nepton 240M's backplate assembly. The metal threaded uprights are locked in place with plastic fasteners. The metal post threads through the bottom of the backplate arm and is held in place using the plastic fastener. The fastener has two clips on its sides that fit into grooves in the backplate holder arms, locking the assembly in place. The Intel arms have three sets of grooves – the inner set is for LGA775, the middle for LGA115X, and the outer for LGA1366 boards. The AMD arm has a single set of grooves.

The block hold down mechanism consists of the baseplate assembly, the motherboard nuts, and the block mount arms. The motherboard nuts hold the baseplate securely to the motherboard with the mount arm screws holding the block to the CPU through the top of the motherboard nuts. The mounting screws are secure to the mount arms with a locking washer and dual springs, above and below the mount arm surface. The lower spring provides tension to lock the screw to the proper mount point while the upper spring provides downward force for proper block to CPU surface contact. The Intel mounting arms can be configured for use with the supported socket types by lifting the screw and moving it to one of the three supported lock points. The inside lock point support LGA775 sockets, the middle for LGA115X sockets, and the outside for LGA1366 and LGA2011 sockets.

The above board components of the Nepton 240M's hold down mechanism are minimal, consisting of four pass through nuts for each of the four mounting points. This negates the possibility of the hold down mechanism conflicting with components on the board's top side.

The Intel mount plate rests securely on the socket under plate, minimizing the potential for contact with or crushing of any under-board components. The only concern could be with the location of the AMD mounting arms which could come into contact with larger components in close proximity to the socket.

Cooler Master includes two of their 120mm Selencio series fans with the Nepton 240M cooler, rated for run speed up to 2400 RPM with airflow pressure of 76 CFM. The fans are black plastic units with five thick blades custom shaped to increase air pressure at lower run speeds. The fan power cable terminates in a 4-pin PWM connector with the individual cables glued together to prevent cable separation or damage during use. The fans are rated to run at 12V, drawing up to 0.16 amps of power when running at full speed.

Cooler Master includes an assortment of screws for mounting the fans to the unit and the unit to your case. They even include a one-piece rubber gasket that mounts in between the radiator and the fans to minimize transmission of fan vibration to the metal radiator, cutting down the units noise profile. Also includes is a dual-ended PWM power cord for powering the included fans from a single system fan header.