X-bit labs

Water-Cooling Systems Roundup: 16 Systems Reviewed! (page 12)

Category: Coolers

by Kirill "ALT-F13" Balalin

[ 03/30/2006 | 08:48 AM ]

Gigabyte 3D Galaxy GH-WIU01

Gigabyte Technology, a well-known manufacturer of mainboards and graphics cards, recently began to explore new markets for itself. First they came up with air coolers and PC cases and now they are offering a water-cooling system under their own brand. So, the Gigabyte 3D Galaxy GH-WIU01 has found its way into our labs, we have already reviewed it in great detail in our article called "Out of This World" Liquid-Cooling System: Gigabyte 3D Galaxy Review. So, let me briefly refresh your memory here, for more indepth story you can always check our the individual review.

It is packed in a large box painted orange hues and with a side window you can see the main components through:

Besides the standard units, there is an ordinary enough 80mm fan here, which is called MOSFET Cooler and is meant to be installed on the water-block. The developer says this fan is necessary to protect the power circuit transistors and coils near the CPU socket against overheat (this problem doesn’t arise if you use an air cooler on the CPU, because it also cools all these nearby components).

There’s nothing unusual about the kit besides that.

The pump is installed on a single chassis with the reservoir. There is system leakage protection: if the water level is below a critical mark, you’ll hear a warning sound and a light and the computer will be shut down automatically. The pump did well in our tests, driving the water through the system at a rate of 200 liters per hour. Its noise was rather loud, though.