Endorfy Fera 5 black – black coat with decent performance

Endorfy, or previously known as SilentiumPC, can be considered budget “kings” with their cases and CPU coolers. To avoid any negative connotations with the term budget, the Fortis 5 Dual ranks among the best air coolers. The Fera 5 is not a new product and has been on the market for several months, even years. It is a novelty now because it is being released in an all-black design.

Endorfy Fera 5 Black - Introduction and Specifications

As far as design goes, the Fera 5 Black doesn’t bring anything new; the only change is its color. The number of heat pipes is the same, the fan is the same, and the performance should be the same as well – I personally don’t expect a thin layer of paint to significantly affect the performance…

The Fera 5 has four heat pipes with HDT (heatpipe direct touch) technology, which is increasingly less visible in CPU coolers, mainly seen in budget coolers rather than “premium” ones…

Specification

Endorfy Fera 5 Black - Design

The all-black version of the Fera 5 is certainly a more attractive cooler than the original version – it looks more premium and better fits… The passive part of the Fera 5 is made up of aluminum fins, which are serrated on both sides, resembling saw blades. The goal is to optimize airflow and the acoustic profile of the air from the fan.

Although the difference between the front and back is hardly noticeable, there are small changes. Endorfy has used graphics to illustrate the optimal airflow. You’ll find an arrow on the black plastic top cover. Since extra clips are included, you can also use the cooler in a push-pull configuration, improving cooling performance by 1-2 degrees Celsius.

I have a small gripe with the plastic backplate for Intel – even though the Fera 5 doesn’t weigh much and the backplate can certainly hold it, it would be better if Endorfy provided a cheaper metal backplate.

Endorfy Fera 5 Black - Installation and Test Setup

Installing the cooler requires several steps:

• Insert hollow nuts into the socket and secure them with plastic, sliding brackets. The depth of the bracket determines the LGA socket.
• Place the bracket on the back of the motherboard and screw in the two-way screws.
• Place the metal pressure frame on the protruding screws.
• Screw in with small screws.
• Screw in the cooler.

Although this installation process seems lengthy, it is not overly complicated, and anyone should be able to handle it with the instructions – though the socket orientation could be better illustrated in the manual…

Testing setup

Endorfy Fera 5 Black - Test Results

According to Endorfy, the Fera 5 is designed to handle 220W of waste heat. I subjected the cooler to a standard test with an overclocked CPU, where the waste heat reaches 220W.

To my surprise, the Fera 5 managed to cool such an overclocked CPU at fan speeds ranging from 8-12V, which translates to 1380 – 1920RPM. At 8V/1380RPM, temperatures rose quite high but remained stable. At 7V, the CPU reached 100 degrees Celsius.

When slightly underclocked to 4500MHz, where the CPU consumes around 130W, the Fera 5 truly excelled…

Endorfy Fera 5 Black - Conclusion

The “novelty” of the Fera 5 Black stands out in black, minimalist setups… however, if you don’t care about this aspect, go for the original version, which is almost 10 Euros cheaper (the Fera 5 costs approximately 27 Euros, while the Fera 5 Black is around 36 Euros). You won’t lose any performance and can invest the saved 10 Euros in a better case.

The only downside of this cooler remains the plastic backplate, but it holds up during installation and the cooler’s weight is not substantial, so this concern is probably just my unnecessary worry about the motherboard.

I can confidently recommend the Fera 5 Black for budget builds and less power-hungry CPUs.