X-bit labs

Four Liquid-Cooling Systems for the Masses (page 4)

Category: Coolers

by Vasily Melnik

[ 10/14/2005 | 03:30 PM ]

The radiator is a hollow tube with low-profile ribbing. The coolant comes into the radiator through the pipe in its top:

The pipe allows the heated coolant into the top part of the radiator, providing a “fountain” effect (visible due to the transparent top part), and also plays the role of an indicator of the system’s operability.

The radiator is not designed perfectly, however. It lacks any internal structure whatsoever, and its external ribbing is too small.

Besides the radiator and the two capsules with the coolant, the kit includes some fasteners, an assembly manual, a pump (and two double-sided stickers to fasten it), a piece of pipe, and a water-block.

The pipes and the coolant will shine in ultraviolet light, if you’ve got an appropriate lamp in your system case.

The water-block represents a classic design that has long been tested by generations of PC enthusiasts as well as by the leading manufacturers: a massive copper sole, a “snaky” path for the coolant, and a transparent Plexiglas cap. Besides the guides for the fasteners, the manufacturer’s logotypes were also cast on the cap. The cap makes the system look prettier, but without adding much weight to it.

We should give proper credit to Thermaltake Company: the fittings of this system are undoubtedly excellent and allow easy and quick connection of the pipes. The water-block’s “tail” that you can see above is not a wire from a thermocouple as I thought at first, but from a blue LED that’s going to highlight the water-block’s cap (and also to occupy one of the mainboard’s valuable fan connectors). The sole of the water-block is not polished too well:

It hardly matters, though. It’s only on the Socket A platform that the finish quality of the water-block is important. Modern processors with heat-spreading caps don’t require an immaculate polish of the cooler’s sole.