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Cooling the CPU
At the heart of every
computer lies a central processing unit otherwise known as the CPU. Keeping
this heat producing factory cool is more than a pastime for some enthusiasts,
it's a science. The majority of computer users are most familiar with
air coolers that generally operate on the concept of passing the heat
from the CPU to the heat sink and then into the air by means of a fan.
Most of these air cooled heat sinks can adequately cool today's processors
to a balmy 90 to100 under idle conditions. The better the design of the
heat sink the more heat it can pull and dissipate into the air. Manufacturers
have engineered heat sinks made from everything from aluminum and copper
to space age materials all in the effort to bring the consumer a better
cooling device. Most air cooled CPU heat sinks must use a high speed fan
coupled with a copper heat sink to achieve the optimum heat transfer.
This of course results in noisy computer cases.
Some computer enthusiasts have opted to do a more extreme form of cooling,
water-cooling. Seen as extreme due to the dangers of shorts and the electrical
hazards that come from combining electricity and water, it is not as extreme
as most imagine it to be. Water-cooling is the solution to noise and efficiency.
As a liquid, water is able to cool far more effectively than air and without
half the noise that some of the better fans produce. Why haven't more
people gone to water-cooling you might ask?
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Simple, lack of knowledge
about procedure which leads to fear and cost, are the two most prevalent
reasons. What if you could buy a water-cooling kit that contained everything
you needed, that came with simple to understand instructions, and that
was easy to use and install? A German manufacturer had this same thought,
and designed the Innovatek water-cooling system.
Review of the Parts
Innovatek has designed
this system with ease of use in mind. Let's take a look at the components.
Kit Contents:
(1) Mono Radiator
with blue end caps
(1) Eheim Pump with accessories
(10) Feet of 3/8" OD PVC tubing
(1) 120mm fan with mounting hardware
(1) Finger guard with mounting hardware
(1) 3 to 4 pin Molex power adaptor
(1) Innovatek Reservoir block w/plastic yellow fill cap
(1) Innovatek Water block with clamp
As you can see the
kit contains everything you need. When I first opened the package I was
impressed by the overall quality of the kit. When unwrapping and inspecting
each of the parts I found them to be extremely well finished and made
perfectly. None of the parts had rough edges, seam lines, or evidence
of less than thorough engineering.
One point I feel I must make is the hold down device for the water block
itself. Anyone who has used an air heat sink knows that the most difficult
part of installation and remove of the heat sink is the clip or hold down
bracket. Some of these clips put too much tension on the core and crack
your CPU, others do not sit flat and will not provide complete transfer
of heat.
It seems that Innovatek
has taken careful inspection of these flaws and paid attention to detail
in the most critical part of the kit, the water block and bracket. The
bracket makes use of all three tabs on the socket, this ensures that it
will not only site completely flat, but also not break critical components.
The bracket also provides an ingenious thumb type tightening screw to
tighten down the block. The system this bracket uses will ensure an easy
and trouble free installation.
When I unpacked the
water block I noticed a few things. First the bottom had a protective
layer to prevent it from being scratched. This may sound like fluff to
some, but to the true cooling enthusiast it was a pleasure. The bottom
protected surface is the one that comes into contact with the core of
the CPU. The flatter this surface is, the less flawed, the better the
transfer of heat and lower your end temperatures will be. Innovatek has
gone the extra step once more and polished the base to a mirror finish.
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This is a difficult
but necessary task or any true performance cooler and the finish on most
water blocks currently offered is not nearly as nice as the one on the
Innovatek water block.
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