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The radiator included
with the kit is derived from MaxXxpert and consists of copper tubing passing
through a multi-aluminum fin framework. This is a good radiator and it's
ideally suited for the 120mm fan included. I would have personally liked
to have seen a copper fin radiator or something as high quality as the
Black Ice Extreme included, but these options both cost more, and are
larger. The radiator could have been made a slight bit easier to use with
the inclusion of barbed ends on the radiator instead of ending with plain
tubing, but these are minor points. For the prevention of leaks, I myself
used hose clamps on the connections. The fan is a standard 120mm fan that
is equipped with a thermosistor. This means that when warm the fan will
spin faster and push more air than when cool. I feel this feature is useless
in a water-cooling setup as I am not looking for a fan to measure the
ambient air temperature of the case but the CPU temperature, which this
fan does not. Were Innovatek to have included a wired setup to cause the
fan to spin more when the CPU heated up that would truly have been a beneficial
addition.
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I have personally
replaced this fan with a stronger Sunon 120 that I already owned but the
included fan is fine for beginner uses.
The pump and reservoir
are a great combination. Innovatek made the reservoir to fit the Eheim
pump included with this system. The reservoir makes filling the system
easy and provides a point for bleeding air. After using the system for
about 4 months now, I can say that bleeding air from the system is not
so easy. To completely ensure all air is gone from the tubing you must
submerge the pump and reservoir for a short while till all of the bubbles
have worked themselves out of the system. I do not think this is a flaw
with the system, but rather a step that must be taken with all water-cooling
systems to date. The Innovatek design does make this step slightly easier
and no fear of shorts should worry the user as the Eheim pumps are made
for submersion. The kit is offered in a few different configurations with
a high and low end kit available. The high end kit shown here comes with
the Eheim 1046 which is a 79GPH displacement pump. Innovatek also offers
the kit with the Eheim 1048 pump which has a 158GPH displacement and should
provide slightly better performance. While on, this pump makes such little
noise that I physically had to put my ear to the pump to know it was running.
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The tubing included
with the kit was a concern of mine when I saw it. Innovatek included 10
feet of clear PVC tubing, 8mm inside/10mm (3/8") outside diameter
tubing. I have two concerns about the tubing when I first saw it. First,
½ inch diameter tubing provides a better flow rate that 3/8 inch
tubing and its easier to find fittings at your local hardware shop that
are ½ rather than 3/8. Secondly, the tubing did not bend and flex
as easily as I would have liked, I was certain that kinks would develop
that would hinder or prevent flow. The included tubing installs easily
and worked fine in the system. Kinks can be avoided if you measure your
tubing accurately and avoid bends. Using elbows can help to avoid those
bends that would otherwise cause kinks. No elbows were included in the
kit that I received but they are now currently offered stock or aftermarket
at a very low cost. I have personally exchanged the included tubing for
silicon tubing which is much more flexible and offered expanded use.
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RESULTS
& CONCLUSIONS: CLICK HERE FOR PAGE 3
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