Fractal Design S24 Overview
The main part of the S24 is the radiator / pump block unit. On thing that is cool about this unit is that it can be expanded. The radiator uses typical G 1/4″ threads so you can open it up and add to it if you want. The S24 is the 240 mm version of the cooler so we have a 240 mm radiator. The radiator itself has dimensions of 31 mm x 284 mm x 122 mm (HxWxD). The size of the radiator is pretty much standard when it comes to all-in-one coolers. On each side of the radiator you have mounting points for two 120 mm fans, so technically you could do a push-pull setup if you wanted.
One of the first things that I noticed about the radiator was that it had a fan hub on it. This means you won’t have a long cable coming from the pump / block assembly back to the fans. We will see if this implementation will be better or worse for cable management once we get into our install. The fan hub does however only have two open ports, so if you wanted to do a push-pull setup you’ll have to connect your two extra fans to your motherboard or directly to your power supply.
Moving on from the radiator to the tubing we can see that it is sleeved with a mesh sleeving. I definitely like this more than the tubing they had on their Kelvin series of coolers and it also appears to be thicker as well.
Coming down to the pump / block assembly you’ll be surprised to find real metal fittings. These are also on the connections to the radiator. I think this is the first time we’ve seen real metal fittings on an all-in-one unit. The tubing goes straight into the top of the block, so you won’t be able to adjust the tubing in any way to route it in a certain direction.
Fractal Design has gone with a circular design on the pump block assembly compared to the square design they were using on the Kelvin series. The top of the block is glossy black has a small half snowflake design on it. There are indication LEDs on the top of the block which will let you know if you are in PWM mode or auto mode. Auto mode will intelligently set your fan speed based on the temperature of your CPU. PWM mode will allow you the users to adjust fan and pump speeds using your motherboards software.
Since there are no software controls and the fan connectors are on the radiator itself you have a single coming out of the pump block assembly. This is the cable that you will connect to the CPU fan header on your motherboard, it is nicely sleeved as well. You’ll notice a rubber layer around the pump block assembly, this is to help out with sound dampening.
Flipping the pump block assembly over we can see that the thermal paste is pre-applied, which is common on most all-in-one units. The base is solid copper and if you are wondering why this base looks familiar it is because the Celsius series was developed by Asetek, who also makes NZXT’s Kraken line, Corsair coolers, and a handful of others.
Taking a look at the two included fans. These are Fractal Design’s own X2 GP-12 PWM fans. They operate between 500-2000 RPM, have a maximum airflow of 87.6 CFM, maximum static pressure of 2.30 mm H20, and a maximum noise level of 32.2 dBA. Being Fractal Design fans you know the fan blades are going to be white!
