techETA » water cooling

CoolIT ECO A.L.C. CPU Water Cooler matches up with the high end

Rafael Hernandez — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 01:56:28 +0000

The benefits of water cooling a PC have been known for quite some time in enthusiast PC user circles but the expense and painstaking setup is more than enough to scare off the timid at heart. Fortunately there are companies that will craft easy to install alternatives.

The CoolIT ECO A.L.C. CPU Water Cooler puts together a potent set of features and, unlike previous designs, it allows for some added cooling potential with a second fan mount. Bjorn3D has the review:

The A.L.C. is also extremely versatile. It will fit on the back exhaust vent of just about any mid tower or larger case, and it fits a large variety of different CPU socket types. These include Intel’s newest sockets 1156 and 1366 as well as all of the AMD sockets going from 939 to AM3. This will allow you to install the cooler on just about any system that isn’t obsolete, and a few that are, but enough talking lets get a closer look at this product.

Corsair Hydro Series H50 Water Cooler handles your thermal cooling needs

Rafael Hernandez — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:45:28 +0000

With CPU manufacturers pushing increasing heat loads on to system heatsinks you’re going to have to make choices between a hefty chunk of aluminum and heatpipes or an all-in-one water cooling system.

The Corsair Hydro Series H50 CPU Cooler utilizes the now familiar pump over waterblock design all piped up to a simple radiator for some inspired cooling performance. TweakTown has the review:

Corsair offers a full two year warranty on this system. Being completely sealed, there should be no reason to tamper with it. The pump and fans do require either 12V direct or in the case of the fan, can be motherboard controlled. Just like I said with the ECO, I’m sure the fan that Corsair chose is just fine, but most, if not all buyers will be looking for a way to make it better and a dual fan setup is one of the easiest ways I can think of, or even a swap for a stronger single fan. Either way, I plan to give an accurate baseline for you to make a decision off of.

Dual fan setups are fun and handy in the performance department.

CoolIT ECO A.L.C. ECO-R120 CPU Cooler simplifies water cooling even more

Rafael Hernandez — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 20:35:21 +0000

Water cooling setups can be unwieldy to set up and an expensive (and addicting) hobby to get into. There’s little room for error and plenty of case modification to be done if you’re serious about going that route.

Or you could go with the CoolIT ECO A.L.C. ECO-R120 CPU Cooler which comes pre-assembled and should handle the thermal output of even the beefiest of processors. Benchmark Reviews puts it to the test:

The ideal cooler would be inexpensive, quiet, easy to install, and keep your CPU icy cold under all loads and conditions. But of course, in the real world it’s always a balancing act among these various parameters. CoolIT Systems’ new ECO A.L.C. ECO-R120 CPU cooler aims to balance these requirements by offering an easy-to-install sealed liquid cooling system for your CPU. Using both stock and high-speed fans, Benchmark Reviews compares it to the top air coolers and the Corsair H50 liquid cooling system on an overclocked and overvolted Intel Core i7-920 processor.

The most exciting thing about the cooler, aside from its performance, is its ability to mount a second fan.

CoolIT ECO A.L.C. CPU Watercooler continues the pre-assembled trend

Rafael Hernandez — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 12:30:26 +0000

While custom built water-cooling setups can offer very impressive performance there’s quite a bit of effort and money to be sunk into such systems. Going the pre-built route can save you that headache and still offer commendable results.

The CoolIT ECO A.L.C. CPU Watercooler sees the company move away from the pump attached to the radiator method for the pump on the waterblock approach which should ease installation and could allow for a second fan to be mounted. Overclockers Club has the review:

The installation process is pretty straight forward, and is as simple as installing a fan and bolt on heatsink. Once the board is in, I installed the radiator into rear 120mm exhaust fan location. Then I removed the protective cover on the pump/heat exchanger and mounted it to the board using the thumbscrews that thread into the backplate. Plug in the power wire for the fan to the CPU fan header and the pump to an available header or a 3 pin power connector and you are ready to enjoy the benefits of a liquid cooled system.

Well that was easy enough and there’s no need to worry about clearance issues or the like as with high-end heatsinks.

Larkooler Liquid Cooling Kit attempts the whole-system cooling approach

Rafael Hernandez — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 05:36:34 +0000

Putting together a liquid cooling system requires some careful planning and the right selection of components which will properly cool your hardware…a maddening array of choices await!

Or you can go with the Larkooler Liquid Cooling Kit which supplies processor, GPU, northbridge, and mosfet cooling blocks and all the necessary gear to get it going. MADSHRIMPS has the review:

Performance wise the CPU only block setup could keep in touch with my daily air setup. The IOH and GPU block also lowered temps drastically once installed. I haven’t tested this kit with the CPU any higher than 3.8Ghz, this to keep it in touch with the other I7 water blocks tested. Even though its performance isn’t stellar compared to a normal WC setup. You still have to keep in mind the price of this kit. Weighing in at 180 dollars and providing a full thermal solution for the vital hot components, it’s quite affordable. A normal WC solution will set you back sometimes at least twice the price. Of course cooling performance will be better, but it might require case modding or other craftsmanship to get it working.

A nice entry solution for complete system cooling with solid performance

CoolIT Systems Domino A.L.C. (DM-1000) Water Cooling Kit Review

Rafael Hernandez — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 06:30:00 +0000

Cooling off your computer’s processor provides plenty of benefits, namely extending the chip’s life and, for the enthusiast, a bit of extra headroom before a processor overheats during yet another overclocking session. Years ago, most people struggled with massive air-cooled heatsinks but, increasingly, water cooling is entering as a solid cooling alternative that is nearly free of the fear of liquids mingling near expensive electronics.

CoolIT Systems specializes in creating pre-assembled water cooling kits. The company’s Domino A.L.C. is an entry level kit designed to cool off your system’s processor and represents an interesting and inexpensive introduction into the water cooling world. We’ll be taking a look at the cooler and what it can do for your PC.

Attempting to ease the cooling pain

Water cooling, or to be more precise liquid cooling, was once the sole endeavor of the tweaker and PC enthusiast dedicated to improving their systems performance which the cooling method easily afforded. Air cooling is limited by the fact that it requires an insanely large surface area in order to work properly and it eventually hits a point where there’s too much heat for the fins and heatpipes to dissipate without resorting to insanely large, loud, and fast fans to get rid of the heat.

On the other hand you have water cooling which forgoes the less effective heatpipe method of…well heat transfer in favor of whatever coolant one finds worthwhile. That coolant is then pumped through a series of tubes into a radiator, which offers far more cooling surface area than most air coolers could ever hope to offer, giving off its heat as it flows through which a cooling fan can more effectively remove.

The downside was finding the right mix of radiator, pump, water cooling blocks, reservoir, and tubing size then trying to cram it all into your PC then test the whole thing for leaks. It’s not a process too high on instant gratification but its benefits were clear.

The case for simplicity

CoolIT Systems managed to come up with the Domino A.L.C. which combines all of those components, and a few extra touches, into a pre-assembled kit which eases installation and has you up and running much quicker. The first thing you’ll notice on the unit is its plastic cladding which, inventively, hides the “ugly” parts of the water cooling setup for those with see through windows on their computer’s side panel.

The plastic shell holds the Domino’s pump and latches on to its radiator. The radiator itself is designed for a 120mm fan, which is included, and the whole setup is powered off a single 3-pin power connector designed to plug into your system’s CPU fan header.

Taking another look at the good old plastic shell you’ll find an LCD display which sports a blue back light and offers up information on the pumps current speed, coolant temperature, fan speed, and fan setting. The unit’s different settings are controlled by a simple button on the side which allows you to choose from three different fan speeds and, by holding down the button for three seconds, a choice between Celsius and Fahrenheit coolant temperature readouts.

As far as the unit’s fan goes you’re looking at three options: a low speed setting which is whisper quiet and runs the fan at around 1000RPM, a high speed setting which is obnoxiously loud and runs the fan around 2900RPM and offers the best performance, with the third option offering the a great combination of the two. The “performance” setting automatically adjusts the Domino’s fan which, in general usage, stays at around 1400-1800RPM although higher heat loads will no doubt spin the fan faster.

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The good old contortionist act

The Domino supports a wide range of modern processors and includes mounting hardware for Intel LGA775 and LGA 1366. AMD users have AM2+ and AM3 support to look forward to. If you’re an LGA 1156, aka Intel Core i5 owner, you may have to spring for the company’s LGA 1156 retention kit at least until they work something into their retail product.

Prepping the device for installation can be tedious. You’ll have to take apart your PC and apply a rear plate mounting plate to your motherboard. That task is easy enough and requires you to peel off the protective paper on the pieces of sticky tape and slipping the screw posts through the appropriate mounting holes on your motherboard. As for the bracket on the cooler’s water block, you’ll want to be careful removing the retention bracket if you’re going to use the pre-applied thermal paste.

Swapping the retention bracket is easy in and of itself, a wide screwdriver or coin should remove the plastic screw easily, take note that there is a spacer underneath the screw that you’ll need when it comes time to replace the bracket. Since the Domino comes with the spring loaded screws mounted for LGA1366 motherboards you’ll have to remove them in order to switch to LGA775 support or use your AM2+ retention bracket.

Moving the spring loaded screws is a bit of a pain and will require you to remove the C-clips holding them in place, that task is easy enough but you’ll likely have a few issues putting them back in as it requires a little leverage to push the C-clip back in between the screw and the bracket. Patience is key.

Now you’re ready to mount the cooler. That entails cleaning any old thermal paste from your CPU and clamping the waterblock on. It takes a bit of effort as the tubes are stiff and that hunk of radiator hanging over your precious motherboard is a little disconcerting but eventually you’ll be able to screw down the cooler taking a few turns on each screw at a time in a diagonally alternating pattern.

Mounting the radiator will require you to ease the tips of the “anti vibration” rubber mounts through the rear 120mm fan mount holes on your system’s case. Once added, expect a little bit of sag as the unit stretches the top two mounts a bit. If you’re leery of those rubber mounts, the company does supply four mounting screws that should keep a tight grip on the cooler. Your last task is to plug in the cooler’s power cord into a 3 pin fan header (4 pin system header works as well you just won’t be using the 4th pin) and you’re ready to go.

The experience

(test processor: Intel Pentium e2160 @ 3.0GHz, 1.4v)

As mentioned earlier, you’re going to want to run the cooler at the performance setting and let the Domino handle fan duties, it offers the best performance while allowing you to actually hear yourself think. On our test processor we saw the cooler shave off a good 10C from our test processor’s running temperatures compared to the mid-range Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro. Considering the Intel e2160′s struggles with heat output, especially at the 3GHz speed, that’s a substantial improvement.

The cooler does have a few downsides: somewhat awkward installation due to its stiff tubing, and its plastic shroud and display will likely prevent the installation fo side panel fans. As far as the installation went, the hardest part was properly aligning the rubber mounts; it gets somewhat difficult lining all of them up before you pull them through and get them seated.

As far as noise is concerned, the Domino A.L.C. does a good job of keeping quiet. You’re likely to hear other system fans over it when it’s operating at low or performance settings; its pump is also low noise.

Overall if you’re looking for a high performance and quiet cooler for your PC, CoolIT System’s Domino A.L.C is a great choice. It does have an “extended” installation session but that’s to be expected from most high end coolers that use spring-loaded screws to keep the heatsink in place anyway. There is competition out there but the Domino A.L.C. is the only one to supply a handy LCD display for all of your obsessive system monitoring needs.

Dell chooses Asetek liquid cooling to…cool Alienware Aurora

Rafael Hernandez — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:14:00 +0000

What you see before you is Asetek’s custom made liquid cooling kit doing its job on Dell’s new Alienware Aurora PC. That should go a long way to cooling off their gaming rigs without all of that extra fan noise needed to keep those Intel Core i7 processors running cool.

Then again their northbridge seems to be sporting a 40mm fan which just about kills off any benefits.

CoolIT Domino ALC, Water Cooling for the Rest of Us

Rafael Hernandez — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:02:00 +0000

Processor heatsinks are reaching the point where they’re taking up an immense amount of space in order to cool off smaller and smaller chips. The top air coolers cost quite a bit and require two large fans to perform optimally leaving users with some tricky mounting problems.

In comes the CoolIT Domino ALC water cooler which is already assembled and prepped for installation into your system and provides a nifty display for your information needs. PC Perspective has a look:

We found the Domino to be an incredibly effective cooler. The stock cooler kept the chip cool (35 degrees idle, 50 degrees with a full Prime95 stress test running on all four cores) at spec, but when we overclocked the chip from its native 2.66GHz to a relatively safe frequency of 3.00GHz, it quickly heated up to 41 degrees idle and a worrisome 64 degrees running Prime95.

A nice choice for cooling off your next build’s processor and quiet to boot for those that enjoy the silence aspect.

CoolIT Domino A.L.C, Watercooling On The Cheap

Rafael Hernandez — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 02:35:00 +0000

It used to be that liquid cooling your computer’s processor was a complicated, if daunting, and expensive process. Choosing the right components and making it all work together isn’t what most people would call a good time so CoolIT has come up with their Domino A.l.C watercooling kit. techPowerUp has the details:

The radiator is the main part of the Domino A.L.C. The front side of the radiator, which will be seen through any case with a side panel window, features an LCD display. This LCD has a blue backlight and text is coloured black. Moving to the inside of the radiator, you will be able to see the pump, tubing and the section which the 120mm fan blows air through. Also on the side of the cooler is “CoolIT Systems” inscribed within the plastic as well as the barcode of the product.

On the side of the radiator is a small plastic switch. This switch is firm and a click is heard when it is pressed. The switch does one of two things when the unit has been powered up. It either changes the fan speed of the fan (when pressed down) or changes the temperature scale from Celsius to Fahrenheit (when held down for more than three seconds). As in the sticker on the unit, there are three different fan modes. When the button is pressed, the LCD provides feedback on what mode you are on and the speaker beeps accordingly.

A nice kit for the price and it can perform just as well, if not better, than the top air coolers.

AMA Serac 770 Kit, Simplified Watercooling

Rafael Hernandez — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:40:00 +0000

Watercooling has been the domain of the fanatic PC enthusiast attempting to keep their newly overclocked chip’s heat output under control. AMA attempts to simplify the rather convoluted process with their Serac 770 Watercooling Kit. DriverHeaven has a look:

The
770 has been incredibly easy to use and is perfect for those who have
never attempted to install a watercooling system before. During the
whole assembly we didn’t run into any problems or difficulties. In
addition, everything looks top notch and it is practically silent. With
all the fans in the system turned off and the side panel replaced your
ear would need to be almost within touching distance to hear anything.

Many hardcore enthusiasts frown upon kits such as these and prefer to
construct their own setups but there is still a large market for water
cooling and products such as the Serac 770 will ultimately appeal to a
wider audience due to the ease of setup and use. We will have to wait
and see retail prices to assess the value for money, but if it is
priced competitively then it will definitely be worth consideration.
All in all it is a very impressive product from a new company and
combines good build quality with solid performance.

It’s bound to keep your quad-core running cool.