SilentiumPC Navis EVO ARGB 280 AIO Liquid Cooler Review
Mike Sanders / 5 years ago
How Much Does it Cost?
Although there is currently a limited retail presence at the time of writing, the SilentiumPC Navis ARGB 280 costs in the region of £80. For a 280mm AIO cooler, this represents some decent value. Particularly given the overall scope of the product, the fact that its larger than a standard 240mm AIO (which often retails around this price) and what it can offer in terms of the customizable ARGB features.
It isn’t perhaps as inexpensive as you might hope, but you do get a lot of cooler and functionality for your money here!
Overview
The SilentiumPC Navis ARGB 280 gives every indication that this is a well-designed product. All the components both look and feel solid and a constant feeling of reassurance that this has been designed to a solid specification for (or despite – depending on your opinion) the price point it is retailing at.
While the ARGB features are nice, we would perhaps have liked to have seen some bolder and brighter lighting effects. They are, perhaps, a little too understated. In addition, as shown in our tests, there isn’t much potential offered here in terms of overclocking. Not if you value low noise levels at least.
For an AIO liquid cooler, however, there’s very little to fault here and SilentiumPC has definitely created a solid cooler in the Navis ARGB 280.
Should I Buy One?
It’s not as if you’re currently struggling for choice when it comes to AIO liquid cooling and many do prefer them to the older (and bulkier) air cooler designs. Both in terms of performance and aesthetics.
The real question is, however, does the SilentiumPC Navis ARGB 280 stand out from the pack? We think it does!
While on the whole, it does carry most of the aesthetics of your ‘average’ 280mm cooler, the ARGB features make this stand-out from its competitors who often only offer this feature at a much higher price point. In addition, the 280mm design offers that something a little different that might be the perfect compromise for those looking for a higher level of performance, but within a limited chassis.
The SilentiumPC Navis ARGB 280 aims to achieve something on a budget that is usually the reserve of coolers in the £100+ price bracket. It’s shooting for the moon and while it doesn’t quite make it, it comes bloody close! For this price though, we can’t say that it’s not a worthy contender!
Pros
- Solid and reliable design
- Easy to install
- Excellent performance at stock levels
- Good ARGB options to suit all systems
- 280mm design offers a little extra performance on the 240mm while still being good for most chassis designs.
- Excellent price point for what’s on offer
Cons
- None
Neutral
- Very limited overclocking potential (due to noise levels)
- ARGB lighting is nice but perhaps too understated for its own good
- SilentiumPC does perhaps slightly overstate the brightness of the ARGB lighting in their marketing images.
- Manual RGB controller feels cheap
- Despite the TR4 compatibility, I can’t say I’d feel comfortable using this for a Threadripper.