Koolance EXOS vs. Cooler Master Aquagate

[CircuitBreaker8]

Which one would be better? They are both about 200$ and thats all I really want to spend........thanks

[thegame]

first off why do you want a prebuilt kit? you can get a much better setup for the same $ or less that those are.

[CircuitBreaker8]

What can I get for 200$?

[jenkx]

What can I get for 200$?

Remember; Those prebuilt systems don't include waterblocks so you will end up spending more than $200 reguardless.

Try this:

• Black Ice Pro 120mm Radiator with 1/2”OD quick Connects from www.cooltechnica.com for $43.99

• MCW6000-P Intel P4 CPU Water Block from www.swiftnets.com for $39.99

• MCW20-P Chipset water-Block for (Northbridge Cooling) From www.swiftnets.com $32.50

• MCW50 VGA Water block with ½” OD quick-connect fittings from www.swiftnets.com $38.95

• Swiftech MCP-600 Pump from www.crazypc.com for $74.95

• MCP600 Adapter kit to 1/2”OD from www.swiftnets.com $4.50

Go to the local Home Depot for a foot of 1/2'”ID tubing and about 4feet of 1/3”ID tubing for about $10 to $15 and purchase a 120mm fan from someplace for about $10 and you have your self a pretty good system for about $260. You could go without the chipset water-block and save 32.50 for a total of about $230. Either way you will save over getting one of those prebuilt systems which do not include waterblocks. Pulse you will have a better system and experience the fun of doing it yourself.

If you search around the net you will find different parts for different prices. Pair up the parts you want for the price you want and you'll be very happy.

[eXCeSS]

Remember; Those prebuilt systems don't include waterblocks so you will end up spending more than $200 reguardless.

Try this:

• Black Ice Pro 120mm Radiator with 11/2”OD quick Connects from www.coolticnica.com for $43.99

• MCW6000-P Intel P4 CPU Water Block from www.swiftnets.com for $39.99

• MCW20-P Chipset water-Block for (Northbridge Cooling) From www.swiftnets.com $32.50

• MCW50 VGA Water block with ½” OD quick-connect fittings from www.swiftnets.com $38.95

• Swiftech MCP-600 Pump from www.crazypc.com for $74.95

• MCP600 Adapter kit to 1/2”OD from www.swiftnets.com $4.50

Go to the local Home Depot for a foot of 1/2'”ID tubing and about 4feet of 1/3”ID tubing for about $10 to $15 and purchase a 120mm fan from someplace for about $10 and you have your self a pretty good system for about $260. You could go without the chipset water-block and save 32.50 for a total of about $230. Either way you will save over getting one of those prebuilt systems which do not include waterblocks. Pulse you will have a better system and experience the fun of doing it yourself.

If you search around the net you will find different parts for different prices. Pair up the parts you want for the price you want and you'll be very happy.

Awesome helpful post :thup:

For tubing, get the high quality stuff, clearflex60 from www.mcmaster.com search for part # 5231K237. 65 cents a foot too.

Also you could leave out the chipset block or vga block and just aircool those and you could cut the price pretty dramatically.

[clocker2]

Remember; Those prebuilt systems don't include waterblocks so you will end up spending more than $200 reguardless.
Not true.
The Colermaster DOES come with a waterblock.
It looks nice enough, but never having used the system I don't know how well it works.

[CircuitBreaker8]

Awesome helpful post :thup:

For tubing, get the high quality stuff, clearflex60 from www.mcmaster.com search for part # 5231K237. 65 cents a foot too.

Also you could leave out the chipset block or vga block and just aircool those and you could cut the price pretty dramatically.

Well I dont need a chipset one, but I do want a GPU one. Thanks guys! So this would be better than the cooler master?

[CircuitBreaker8]

Also, I have a Cooler Master PAC case which is a midtower, where would I fit all of this?

[jenkx]

Also, I have a Cooler Master PAC case which is a midtower, where would I fit all of this?


It will all fit inside of a Midtower. You can also get smaller Radiators. The Black Ice Mini and the Swiftech MCR80 use 80mm fans.

[CircuitBreaker8]

How would this compare to a SP94 with a high RPM fan?

[jenkx]

How would this compare to a SP94 with a high RPM fan?

I've never used an SP94 so I can't intelligently compare it to water. I can say this. Water looks cooler :cool: and is quieter. You will get just as good if not better results with water.

[CircuitBreaker8]

yeah but i still need a high cfm fan to cool the rad right?

[[KX3]rAge]

yeah but i still need a high cfm fan to cool the rad right?
You can use two quieter fans in push/pull configuration and they should cool fine

[CircuitBreaker8]

Sounds good......but where would I fit all of this stuff lol

[DarkDraco]

Remember; Those prebuilt systems don't include waterblocks so you will end up spending more than $200 reguardless.

Try this:

• Black Ice Pro 120mm Radiator with 1/2”OD quick Connects from www.cooltechnica.com for $43.99

• MCW6000-P Intel P4 CPU Water Block from www.swiftnets.com for $39.99

• MCW20-P Chipset water-Block for (Northbridge Cooling) From www.swiftnets.com $32.50

• MCW50 VGA Water block with ½” OD quick-connect fittings from www.swiftnets.com $38.95

• Swiftech MCP-600 Pump from www.crazypc.com for $74.95

• MCP600 Adapter kit to 1/2”OD from www.swiftnets.com $4.50

Go to the local Home Depot for a foot of 1/2'”ID tubing and about 4feet of 1/3”ID tubing for about $10 to $15 and purchase a 120mm fan from someplace for about $10 and you have your self a pretty good system for about $260. You could go without the chipset water-block and save 32.50 for a total of about $230. Either way you will save over getting one of those prebuilt systems which do not include waterblocks. Pulse you will have a better system and experience the fun of doing it yourself.

If you search around the net you will find different parts for different prices. Pair up the parts you want for the price you want and you'll be very happy.

replace the black ice with an '89 caprice core. core costs about 25$, 1/2" fitting cost about 1$ each

as for the cpu water block, get the 6002 from swiftech.

get a maze4 for the gpu. and if u have money get the silverprop i think its called. its the best gpu block.

for the pump, get the danner mag drive model 3. its 40$ at petsmart or at ereef.com. again, 1$ for each fitting.

[DarkDraco]

Sounds good......but where would I fit all of this stuff lol

your the one that wants the water cooling... figure it out lol.

[CircuitBreaker8]

Im looking im looking, but I cant find a spot b/c my HDD's get in the way of the front, and its pretty narrow. How big are these pumps?

[fafnir]

first of all, the exos isn't bad at all, it WILL be as good as the high-end air cooling assuming a proper job and in a typical case

when the review sites compare the high end air to the water, they always do the air in an open case doesn't reflect the conditions that the heatsink will be used;

e.g. case temp = 35 celcius, air temp = 25 celcius

what they DO need to do is to have the thing mounted in a case CLOSED, maybe with an air duct, and then compare



the koolance exos isn't bad at all, its just there can be better things

an asetek waterchill kit would not outperform a koolance kit if the installation job wasn't proper, e.g. without the rad mounted to take in COLD air

where the exos will ALWAYS take in cold air


and the koolance is not cheap either

(neither is the asetek waterchill)

to actually out perform the koolance, you need something like:

the caprice TWIN 120mm radiator that darkdraco is talking about

a high pressure pump system, e.g. TWO CSP-750's from dtekcustoms.com

and a TDX or MCW6002 or other similar better waterblocks


the exos may not be a high flow / low restriction system, but it does indeed have a *huge* radiator and also TWO pumps, in a series

and also the tubing is a lot easier to work with

while providing one of the easier install jobs


but it isn't the best performing kit, or as cheap as some other stuff


i would say that without a proper case and a dual or tripple 120mm radiator, you're unlikely to have a setup that would outperform the koolance exos

such as a thermochill 120.3 for > $100 or a caprice heatercore or something for 30$


an 80mm radiator should definitely be avoided unless you have no other choices, e.g. watercooled shuttle xpc or something

[CircuitBreaker8]

My case is a midtower...i have two 80mm fans in front, one in the back, and one on top. I guess I could use the front two to cool the rad, but a i need a dual 80mm radiator....would those cool good?

[fafnir]

no, anything less than a 120mm radiator will struggle to keep up with the best air stuff (assuming open case or proper duct) without the silence you're looking for


even the 120mm stuff is still pretty bad, though it will be able to keep up with a sp-94 or something


if you're looking for the best, you might want to start either thinking about a new case or an external box or something


a huge radiator IS what makes water better than air, and no matter how great the waterblock, the radiator IS the deciding factor, the mark of quality, the final word


i can beat everyone's best waterblock designs here using by using a bigger radiator than them


i can beat cathar and his cascade, macci with his compressor, 500 people from japan and their liquid nitrogen with a bigger radiator ( oh yeah, and a 5000 watt heat load )


ANYONE, as long as i've got a bigger radiator


so yes, you also need a bigger radiator


forget all the waterblock comparisons you've ever seen, forget all the different pumps and their flow charts, forget what diameter tubing you're going to use


get two caprice heatercores and you're as good as the best

get four to be better than the best


though i don't think four radiators would fit anywhere


its all the size and so on, what you would fit and where


but bigger = more surface area

and more surface area = better

[fafnir]

a thermaltake aquarius sucks because its got a small radiator

and therefore so does the coolermaster aquagate


if the koolance didn't have its bigger radiator, it would suck as bad, (maybe a bit better, but not much)


but i bet with 200 bucks you could do better than that


_

[jenkx]

My case is a midtower...i have two 80mm fans in front, one in the back, and one on top. I guess I could use the front two to cool the rad, but a i need a dual 80mm radiator....would those cool good?

http://img57.photobucket.com/albums/v175/jenkx11/Liquid_Cooling_002b.jpg


http://img57.photobucket.com/albums/v175/jenkx11/Liquid_Cooling_011.jpg

The 80mm rads do a good but not great job. As you can tell from my sig I'm cooling a P4 3.0E which runs hot already. at Idol I'm getting 41c. At load I'm getting 47c-49c depending on how hot the room is. I live in Southern California so it gets pretty hot in the afternoon. Those temps are with the video card and NB in the same loop all being cooled with the 80mm rads.

You can always put one 80mm rad on the top blowhole and another on the back blowhole and have them suck air in and turn the fans around on the front of your case and have them push air out. Or get a new case that will fit whatever you want in it. In the setup you see in the pics the back fans suck cool air in over the rads and the two front fans push air out. Since hot air raises the PSU exhaust air doesn’t get in the way of the back rads. I have a Vantec tornado for the bottom front fan. When I really need to push air out I crank that bad boy up. It gets loud when cranked up though, but it sure pushes out that hot air.


I'm about to build another setup as soon as my new case arrives. I'm getting a huge Lian-Li 7323 and adding a Black Ice Extreme II dual 120mm rad to the top of the case to pull air in to cool the CPU then I'll run the water to the two 80mm rads you see in the pictures to cool the water again before going to the NB and VGA. Those will also suck air in from the same position as the current case. The case will have another two 80mm fans on the back and two more up front that will suck air out.

[DarkDraco]

i can beat everyone's best waterblock designs here using by using a bigger radiator than them


i can beat cathar and his cascade, macci with his compressor, 500 people from japan and their liquid nitrogen with a bigger radiator ( oh yeah, and a 5000 watt heat load )


ANYONE, as long as i've got a bigger radiator


your getting a tad bit carried away

[clocker2]

a thermaltake aquarius sucks because its got a small radiator


My, but we are very fond of grandiose, sweeping statements, aren't we?
As it happens, my system is based on an Aquarius kit.
It's been somewhat modified, but humorously, the radiator is untouched.
http://img26.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/idle.jpg
http://img26.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/Folding.jpg
http://img26.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/mini-SPKTH2O.jpg
Granted, I'm sure that with your propensity towards infinitely large radiators you can better my temps, but at what cost...financial and complexity?
How good is good enough?
An individual decision, to be sure.

@CircuitBreaker,
I would suggest that you pick a target range for your temps and then build to attain it.
If you can get there with a kit, fine.
If not, fine also.
No matter what you end up with there is always an improvement that could be made.
How energetic you want to be to achieve it is up to you.

[jenkx]

Clocker2 How do you keep that case so cool?

[DarkDraco]

nicely said and proved clocker :)
water has its limits i believe. i dont think that a rad the size of a room in your house could get close to better temps than one of the 500 people in japan lol.
i dont think strictly water cool without a pelt or chiller of any sort could get even to 0

[clocker2]

Clocker2 How do you keep that case so cool?
It's been quite chilly and damp here the past few weeks.
Sprocket is in a north facing room on the lower level of my house and consequently sees no sun at all.
You might also note that these runs were made either early in the morning or late at night.
My temps do rise some as the heat of the days arrives ( not so much lately).
I would expect that as 90degree weather arrives that these temps will be significantly different.
Still, they are useful to prove a point.

[Docta_Z]

clocker:

Having bought, used and modified another pre-built kit (the koolance pc2-601), I can appreciate where you're coming from. I'm assuming core 0 is your cpu core, which isn't too high of a voltage and wouldn't produce too much heat.

Interesting discussion though. I myself think the system isn't as dependant on the radiator as some seem to challenge. Although it is important, far more factors can weigh in heavily on a system's performance.

[clocker2]

Doc,

Indeed, the Aquarius kit was a Xmas gift from my darling nieces.
I was secretly appalled (while outwardly pleased, of course) when they insisted that I install it posthaste.
Three days later, upon their departure, I removed it and returned to my air-cooling experiments.
Over the months I've retried it a couple of times and finally decided that the stock waterblock was the main bottleneck.
I bought the Zalman block primarily because it was easily upgradable to larger tubing and I assumed I would be going that route eventually.
I was pleasantly surprised by my immediate results and have managed to make incremental improvements as I go.

As with regular heatsinks (when, unlike the pack, I went with the Zalman 7000 instead of the hyperpraised SP Thermalright), I have experienced the automatic and virulent disdain of the elite every time I mention my system.
Frankly, the role of underdog/spoiler suits me fine.
Although I have every intention of trying larger, more powerful components as time and money allows, I would never actively discourage ( or berate) someone who expresses an interest in a kit.
They have their place.

Yes, my system is overclocked and undervolted.
Down from the default vCore of 1.65 to 1.55v
Not a huge difference, but every little bit helps.

[fafnir]

hey, i've had a zalman 7000 ALCU before,

whats wrong with the 7K ALCU??

[clocker2]

Who said anything was wrong with it?
Several reviewers got (marginally) better temps from it than with the Cu version.
This may have been due to the included fans or just mounting variations.

The 7000 has my HS of choice for the last several months.

[CircuitBreaker8]

What about the SP94?

[clocker2]

You should ask that down in the regular Cooling section as this is for H2O up here.

I'll give you hint, though.
The response will be overwhelmingly positive.

Bring the salt.

[thorn]

CircuitBreaker8, You're probably going to have to go with a layout similar to this:
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=271081

And this will out perform the sp94 with a good rad, and cpu block. I'd go for the swiftech MCW6002 right now for a block. And, theres a variety of things you can do with the rad. I'd first make the blowhole on top of your case the size of a 120mm fan, though.