Introduction

From the Deepcool website:

Deepcool was founded with the mission of providing the best performance and humanized thermal solutions for worldwide customers. Established in 1996, Deepcool originally produced desktop and server coolers for ODM partners. With the rapid development of personal computers, Deepcool expanded the business into desktop cooling products and laptop cooling accessories.

Deepcool has built up its distribution network in over sixty countries all over the globe, by which end-users can purchase Deepcool products online or in their nearest local stores. With more and more media exposure and publication, such as awards from renowned websites and magazines like Pure Overclock, Tom's Hardware, Guru3d, CHIP, etc., Deepcool now enjoys a good reputation among daily computer users, gamers, and overclockers.

We will always spare no effort to maintain customer satisfaction by serving our customer's ever-changing thermal needs and providing the quickest and most comprehensive service available. As our slogan goes, we wish you all "Enjoy your cool life!"

With the release of many exceptional cases, coolers, fans, and more, Deepcool has continued to gain popularity over the last year or so. That said, the company has been around since 1996, which is certainly a while. They have offered a wide range of products from the very beginning, paired with a drive to satisfy their customers by providing an excellent experience. With that in mind, it is no wonder the company always seems to have a new product on the horizon.

Deepcool really does offer some great products, like the Gamer Storm series of CPU coolers, which includes the Assassin and Lucifer, and the Maelstrom series of all-in-one liquid coolers. They have expanded into power supplies with the Quanta series, while also introducing cases like the Steam-punk-inspired Steam Castle. With such a strong and growing stable of exceptional products, it is also no wonder Deepcool's popularity is growing.

In today's review, I will look at the all-new Deepcool Gamer Storm Captain 360 all-in-one liquid CPU cooler (how is that for a mouthful). Unlike the Maelstrom series I reviewed some time ago, the new Captain series sets a new benchmark for looks when it comes to AIOs. Not only that but this particular model also offers a 360 mm radiator for top-tier performance. Will some fancy looks and a larger radiator propel it to the top of the charts? Let's take a closer look and find out!

Update: 2/20/2015:

Due to performance not being as expected, Deepcool sent me a new sample to re-evaluate the Gamer Storm Captain 360's performance. As such, cooling performance and noise levels were re-evaluated and added to the charts.

Packaging and Contents

The Deepcool Gamer Storm Captain 360 features a rather large radiator, which has the box measure in at roughly 47 cm in length, 13.65 cm in width, and 19.7 cm in height. The front of the box showcases a large image of the cooler and its unique pump. The left side shows a few of the cooler's features, such as its 120,000 MTBF, FDB fan bearings, powerful motors, and, of course, the fact that it is overclocking friendly. On the back of the box are the cooler's specifications, or at least some of them. The radiator's and pump's dimensions and a list of supported AMD and Intel sockets is all you will find there.


The right side is the same as the left, though it comes with a black rather than gray backdrop. The bottom is much the same as the right and left sides. It's not until you get to the top of the box that you find a short list of the cooler's features and some more specifications.

Contents

Opening the box, I found the Gamer Storm Captain 360 safe and sound, secured inside a cardboard tray like every other all-in-one liquid cooler that has come before it. Suffice it to say that Deepcool's packaging is, once again, more than adequate as it does provide the necessary protection the product needs.


Deepcool made sure to support all modern AMD and Intel sockets with the Gamer Storm Captain 360. The Universal backplate and simple, easy-to-use mounting hardware should make installation a breeze. Like other AIO CPU coolers, the radiator Deepcool has used can support three extra fans for a total of six fans in all. However, additional fan screws have not been included. Other than that, everything you will need to mount the Captain 360 has been provided; that is, except for a chassis with enough room.

Common parts supplied for mounting include:

• 12x Radiator screws
• 12x Fan screws
• 4x Screw bolts
• 4x Screw posts for LGA2011
• 4x Black plastic buckles
• 4x Mounting bracket screws
• 4x Thumbscrews
  [*[4x Rubber washers
• 3x 120 mm GF120 fan
• 2x AMD mounting brackets
• 2x Intel mounting brackets
• 1x PWM fan hub
• 1x Backplate
• 1x CLC unit
• 1x User's manual
• 1x Metal logo sticker