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Ambient System
Temperatures At Full Load
Processor
temperature isn't the only vital statistic impacted by
water cooling. Under load, the overclocked
2.8GHz Pentium 4 resides in a chassis that retains
quite a bit of heat. However, the 120mm fan
responsible for cooling the radiator moves a fair bit
of air, the result of which is often lower system
temperatures. The difference at 3GHz turns out
to be roughly nine degrees.
In
Retrospect:
asetek is
already well established when it comes to
manufacturing cooling components. However, their
vapor phase exchange products are relatively pricey,
and consequently, many overclocking enthusiasts are
destined to admire them from a far. Water
cooling, on the other hand, is a much more tangible
means of milking extra performance and bolstering
overall stability. The WaterChill CPU cooling
kit along costs about $230, and adding the chipset
cooler drops another $25 into the equation. If
you're able to move from 2.8GHz to 3.2GHz, the
WaterChill's price is more than paid for in
overclocking gains. asetek has clearly done its
homework in designing the WaterChill and setting a
fair price. There's very little we would say to
dissuade you from considering asetek's water cooling
kit with regard to its price/performance ratio or
quality.
And even
when you factor in strictly performance metrics, the
WaterChill is miles ahead of the heatsink and fan
combination included with Intel's Pentium 4 retail
kit. Each component in the system seems to
compliment the others, as there doesn't seem to be a
weak link in the entire assembly. Further,
asetek's forward looking design approach ensures that
the kit works with the flagship processors of today
and AMD's Athlon 64, which will see the light of
day late in September.
The
drawbacks associated with water cooling are few.
Of course, you'll need extra room inside your case for
the radiator and pump assemblies. Otherwise,
those components have to reside elsewhere. Then
there is the obvious danger that comes with mixing
electricity and water, though the risk is minimal as
long as you observe cautious installation techniques.
The WaterChill CPU cooler is well designed and the
quick-disconnect fittings hold securely. Don't
let leaking water intimidate you, as that's a
worst-case scenario you can easily avoid if things are
properly installed. Finally, though the price of
admission isn't unreasonable, $230 goes a long way in
upgrading a graphics card or processor. If cash
is an issue, you could always repurpose those funds
toward a graphics upgrade like a RADEON 9800 Pro card.
It will generally do a lot more for gaming than an
overclocked processor.
Consider a
couple of scenarios where the WaterChill fits nicely.
For those with deep wallets, who may have already
purchased a VapoChill chassis, asetek advertises its
WaterChill kit as fully compliant with the VapoChill
family. So, you could use VapoChill CPU cooling
along with WaterChill chipset and graphics cooling,
for what asetek terms maximum cooling performance. If
you're a performance enthusiast in search of silence,
try the WaterChill CPU cooler, with either the VGA
cooler or one of
Sapphire's Ultimate Edition RADEON cards that
utilize passive cooling. Fill the WaterChill
system with reactive dye, mix in an ultra-violet cold
cathode tube, and bask in the glow of your water
cooling setup, literally.
- Outstanding
thermal performance
- Everything you
need to get started is included
- Quieter than
Intel's reference heatsink and fan
- Great build
quality in an attractive package
- Reasonable price
considering overclocking potential
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- Setup is
complicated for novices
- Water cooling is
a daunting proposition for some
- Consumes
considerable space inside or outside case
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