SilentiumPC Spartan 4 MAX EVO ARGB Cooler Review

Installation

Starting with the instruction manual, which is always generally a good place when installing a CPU cooler, while the information provided is fairly light in terms of written instructions, the diagrams provided are excellent giving you a clear and concise idea as to what you need to do and what goes where.

Thankfully, as noted earlier in the review, you don’t actually have that many parts either so less bits and bobs makes for an easier installation… right?…

Mounting

In something that has likely resulted from the minimal parts while still offering both AMD and Intel compatibility, installing the mounting plate to the motherboard is a moderately tricky affair. It’s not like you don’t know what you have to do, but the screws to the top have to affix all the way through the top bracket, spacers and then screw directly into the backplate as a ‘one-piece’ design. It’s not impossible, but it’s one of those jobs that is massively easier when the motherboard is outside of a chassis.

Additionally, and in a criticism we also made for the standard Spartan 4, while those spikey radiator fins certainly add a solid level of aesthetic eye-candy, there are every bit as pokey and sharp as they appear. Although wearing gloves is often not a bad idea when handling air cooler radiators (as the fins can often be thin and invite paper cuts) you’re just going to find this more than a little uncomfortable in the hand if you don’t.

Overall Thoughts

From out of the box and onto our test bench, the SilentiumPC Spartan 4 MAX EVO ARGB took us roughly 10-15 minutes to install. While a little longer than average for most relatively compact air-cooling designs, that time was mostly taken by the motherboard mounting bracket that made me wish, at more than a few points, that I had a third pair of hands.

With a little patience, however, and thanks to the excellent manual and simplistic design, this cooler is not entirely difficult to live with and, when installed, it actually carries a very strong aesthetic. Looks are, however, only one part of the jigsaw here. It is, of course, vitally important that this product can still do an effective job as a CPU cooler. So, onto the testing!