X-bit labs

AKUATEK eXtreme FS-92 Liquid-Cooling System Review (page 3)

Category: Coolers

by Doors4ever

[ 03/13/2006 | 07:05 PM ]

Assembly Tips

The retention is fastened very simply: the brackets you need for your system are fixed at the bottom of the cooler with four screws. The picture below demonstrates LGA774 retention:

In case of LGA775 system we can install the AKUATEK cooler in such a way that the airflow from the fan is sent in the most optimal direction. If we have an AMD K8 or Socket 478 mainboard, the direction in which the fan will be facing will certainly depend on the socket location on the particular mainboard. However, no matter what platform you have you can always avoid difficulties with AKUATEK eXtreme FS-92 cooling system. So, we can conclude that this liquid-cooling system has no issues with directing the air flow no matter what socket type the platform has.

However, I cannot say that AKUATEK eXtreme FS-92 is easy to install. The thing is that the screws have to be tightened up at the bottom of the mainboard PCB, and you need to hold the cooler, and the mainboard in place and also be able to insert the protective pads between the screws and the PCB. I managed to find a possible way to do it: you need to hold the cooler between your knees, put the mainboard on top of it with the bottom side up (do not forget about a layer of thermal paste and protective paste). After that you can tighten the screws yourself without anyone else’s help. To be honest with you, this procedure is far from being easy and convenient.

Despite the size and an external fan, the system fit very nicely onto the mainboard. We used ASUS P5WD2 Platinum for our tests.