Deepcool Gamer Storm Captain 240 Pro CPU Cooler Review

A Closer Look

As this forms part of the Gamer Storm range, we expected this cooler to have more than a few ticks in terms of the aesthetics and we were not disappointed. While we will look at the individual components shortly, we should note that this design is crammed full of lots of great touches that really make this stand out in terms of presentation from many other coolers.

Fans

As this is a 240mm cooler, you are, of course, provided with 2 120mm fans. While at a glance these may look fairly standard, a closer look reveals a number of little aesthetic and design choices. For example, the fan blades have a lightly ribbed effect to provide from ‘bling’ when the RGB is turned on. Additionally, you will note how the fan provides fantastic coverage for the 120mm design. The circumference of the designs is as close to the edge as possible and, as you can see in the picture below, actually overlaps a little.

This should, therefore, provide excellent coverage over the radiator for optimised removal of the heat.

Each corner of the fan (where you attach it to the radiator) also has some cushioning built in to help prevent any nasty vibrations which can sometimes occur between the two components.

Pump Head

The design of the pump head is certainly something a little different and unique. We have seen this design used in previous ‘Captain’ models and we’re always impressed with it’s look. You’ll note in the image below that fantastic pipe coming from the top and, in addition, the sideways mounted radiator pipes which can make installation massively easier than when they are side-by-side.

You will also note the plastic like strips to the top, this is where the RGB magic happens!

The side of the pump head does have some Gamer Storm branding. In truth though, this is perhaps one of the weakest aesthetic features. The manner in which it has been applied looks very rough. Although as if something wasn’t quite right in the ‘stamping’ process. As such, although the logo is there, it looks a bit worn and weathered.

As this cooler is compatible with the AMD Ryzen Threadripper (TR4) socket, the contact plate at the base of the pump head is huge. Given its size, however, whether you use a Threadripper processor or a standard design, this should provide excellent coverage to get that all important heat away from the CPU.

Radiator

One of the most common things I remark when it comes to AIO liquid cooling radiators is that they are generally rather bland. The vast majority of models I have seen all have one thing in common, they are black, plain and the aesthetics only go as far as having the manufacturers logo somewhere on the side.

The Deepcool Captain 240 Pro, however, is a very different creature. Its radiator is packed full of excellent aesthetics that really make this stand out.

The radiator has a fantastic stainless steel plate to either side which, with the bolt like attachments) really make this look impressive.

On each of these plates, you will find the Gamer Storm logo embossed. This, quite simply, looks absolutely fantastic.

You will also note on the radiator the option to add further components to this radiator, presumably if you wish for a more ‘fully-blown’ cooling experience within your pc design.

I am absolutely delighted that at least one company may have finally started paying attention to the radiators aesthetics when it comes to AIO liquid coolers. As above, it’s often one of my biggest disappointments that despite some impressive looks to the pump head (or in the RGB lighting) the radiators always remain so bland.

These aesthetics, of course, do nothing for the performance, but then neither do the RGB lighting effects. In truth though, I’m honestly really impressed with this! How much? Well, lets put it this way, to date I’ve never felt the feel to include 5 pictures for a coolers radiator. That says it all really!

RGB Lighting And Fan Controller

Although the Captain 240 Pro does come with sync capable attachments, you are provided with a manual controller for the RGB. It’s an option we always like to see with such coolers as although sync capable motherboards are getting more common, they are not necessarily ‘the standard’ in terms of ownership. At least, not yet.

The cabling and connection you need are all provided with the cooler. You are also given an extension cable and fan hun controller to ensure you can cable manage these to put them exactly where you want in your system design.

The controller for the RGB lighting is rather basic, but that’s not a criticism. Connecting via a SATA port, the 2 buttons simply system through the (surprisingly numerous) RGB lighting patterns the Captain 240 Pro has.

If I’m being brutally honest, while the RGB hub may look rather impressive, it feels rather cheaply made. The connectors (which come from the cooler and two fans) do fit into the port slots easily enough, but when it, do not feel particularly well secured. If your cable management doesn’t allow for much ‘slack’ I suspect that you could easily accidentally unplug one of the cables from this.

Something a little more ‘clicky’ with the inputs would’ve given me a lot more confidence.

Conversely to the RGB controller, the fan control port does feel well made and the cables insert to the ports with a satisfying level of grip.

Overall Design

In terms of aesthetics, I absolutely love the Deepcool Captain 240 Pro. At the risk of sounding like I’m fawning, the biggest highlight for me has to be the radiator. I know I keep mentioning this, but it is simply so refreshing to finally see an AIO liquid cooler which has put some effort into how it looks.

The radiator on a cooler is too often a little too bland and generic. It’s like all the major manufacturers buy them from the same supplier and the only ‘process’ they undertake is to stamp their name on the side.

The radiator on the Deepcool Captain 240 Pro, however, goes massively beyond this remit and I love it!

When everything is put together though, this has arguably of the best designs I have seen in a cooler. It’s just crammed full of little (and entirely unnecessary) touches that from a ‘looks’ perspective, really makes this stand out (by a pretty a big margin) from many, many, other manufacturers.

This should act as a reminder to the industry that simply slapping on some RGB lights doesn’t tick the box for aesthetics on its own!

The RGB lighting effects to this cooler are bright, bold, varied and exceptionally vivid. We will look into this further shortly in the review. What we can, however, say at this point is that they’re not shy and based on all the other good things happening in the design, add another amazing dimension to this.

We have included the below picture to give you a better idea as to how the RGB lighting works on the pump head. I think you can agree, it looks pretty awesome!

In Action

It is, of course, difficult to describe in words just what RGB system looks like. For example, how bright and vivid the colour pallet is. As such we have combined a brief video for you below. This shows the pump head and radiator fans in their ‘rainbow’ mode as well as the fan radiators cycling through some of the many patterns you can achieve.

As you can see, the lighting effects are very bold, but at the same time, if boldness isn’t your thing, there are more than a few settings to play around with here. You’re not going to struggle to get these exactly as you want them.