Teough descision: R507 Mach 1 or Vapo LS - I decided!

[AudiMan]

Teough descision: R507 Mach 1-Vapo Hybrid or Vapo LS - I decided!

Okay I totally had my eye on the new Black Vapo LS, but then I looked into some other options, and was studying both the Vapo LS and a modded Mach 1 since the price on used Mach 1's are dropping like flies.

Option 1:
Vapo LS, Black
- $928.28 USD Shipped from Kit-tronics
- Best performing mass produced cooler
- Available warranty
- Future upgrades for new sockets / mounting kits
- More high tech as in chill control, USB interface, etc
- Free tech support

Option 2:
Mach 1 / R507 mod / Evap mod with vapochill conversion and chilly1 or baker block, along with a fwe more things, depending on how generous he'll be.
- $791 USD (Used Mach 1, $371 shipped directly to pc_ice, + $200 for R507 regas + $125 for Vapo mounting conversion, + $60 for shipping back to Canda)
- Outperforms Vapo LS quite significantly, custom tuned/modded by pc_ice
- No warranty, however possible future upgrades from Asetek on NVentiv product due to conversion
- No extra fancy features = less problems. One button to turn on/off is what I like
- Cheaper
- Not much can go wrong, except gas leak or compressor faliure since it's a very basic system.


So basically, I save $125 by going for option 2. I get better performance. No worries about future mounting hardware with socket changes since the cooling head is actually from Asetek Vapochill, so that eliminates the invonvenience of NVentiv being out of business. And I have less headaches with the software/USB issues - I like the way my stock Mach 1 works right now. Nice and simple. I turn on the Mach 1, wait till it hits -30, then boot the system. More control. I'll install a rheostat to control the fans. And if anything does happen to break down, the $125 that I saved will cover the repair costs, or it can even be used to get the Lian-Li enclosure to resemble the Vapo LS, both of which can be done locally. Also, no need to modify any cases because I'll be using the one that I currently have on my stock mach 1, which I will be selling once I've confirmed that the pc_ice modded prommy is working fine.

The only downside, is that the resale value won't be as high with the Mach 1. I saw a Mach 1 sold on e-bay $255 US, and a Mach 2 sold on e-bay for $420 US, brand new. But hopefuly though, my R507's Mach 1 / Vapochill hybrid will help keep the resale value high.

So, did I make a good descision, or no? What would you have done?

 

[AudiMan]

Oh, by the way, if anyone decides to take the same route as me, there is a guy selling a Mach 1 for $300 on the AnandTech forums here:
http://forums.anandtech.com/message...id=1357209&highlight_key=y&keyword1=prometeia

I will also be selling my stock Mach 1 for about $300 US when the time comes.


My room is always freezing in the winter, but this system will server two purposes. Keep my room warm, and keep my CPU COOOOL.

The Mach 1 should be arriving at pc_ice's place by tomorrow.

 

[crimedog]

My observations are that modded mach I's sell for about $500 + shipping. Getting someone to mod one for you makes it more expensive. I think the best option is to wait for someone to sell one that's already modded.

Either way I'd get the mach1 over the vapo, performance is everything and why would you need to upgrade with a modded prommie?

 

[AudiMan]

My observations are that modded mach I's sell for about $500 + shipping. Getting someone to mod one for you makes it more expensive. I think the best option is to wait for someone to sell one that's already modded.

Either way I'd get the mach1 over the vapo, performance is everything and why would you need to upgrade with a modded prommie?

See, the thing is that I've never sen a used R507, or any used prommy for sale with the Vapo LS evap conversion (which is very important). Also, I stumbled across a great deal on the Mach 1. $350 US, plus $21 shipping is nothing to complain about. Being the impatient guy that I am, I could have saved another $50 be getting the Mach 1 that's selling for $300, but he took forver to respond to my e-mails. Obviously a lot of questions need to be asked in a situation like this, and the guy that I bought it from always answered within 30 to 60 minutes, so the deal was done within about 24 hours.

Also, Having a unit, modded by one of the Gods at XS is more presitgeos than a stock unit purchased from a reseller It was a tough choice, but my Mach 1 hasn't caused any problems what so ever,, except that time where I bent the suction line too much when it was frozen. It costed me $70 US to get fixed and regassed with R134. Unfortuately they didn't have any R507 in stock.

 

[AudiMan]

My observations are that modded mach I's sell for about $500 + shipping. Getting someone to mod one for you makes it more expensive. I think the best option is to wait for someone to sell one that's already modded.

Either way I'd get the mach1 over the vapo, performance is everything and why would you need to upgrade with a modded prommie?

The only thing that may need to be upgraded is the mounting hardware/adapers for the newer CPU socket types. But since I'll be getting the Mach 1 converted to use the Vapo mounting, then that won't be a problem.

Also, a unit modded for a single customer will outperform anything that is mass produced. Because they know exactly what your intentions are.

And wuite frankly, what's the worst that can happen to my unit? Gas leak? Not a problem to refill a unit that is already modded to use R507. Broken compressor? Not hard to find, and I'm sure not a lot of labor is involved. I've thought about this a lot, and I think I made the right choice.


Also, I don't think the Prommy sales are doing too well at kit-tronics either. They have resorted to e-bay. A brand new Mach 2 listed for $646.84 was sold on e-bay, by Kit-Tronics for $420 US. I don't think the reason for this is the warranty issues since kit-tronics sill honours warranty, I think that people get turn off because a lack of future support when the new sockets are released. With the amount of money spent on something like this, people intend to use them for a long time. I know that if I bought a cooling system hat expensive, I'd want it to last a very long time. As for the Intel people, they seem to ne SOL since there is no LGA775 support with the prometeias

Also, for the $150 that I'm saving, maybe I can upgrade the condensor (I think that's what it is - With the fan on it, looks like a rad) for even better performance.

 

[AudiMan]

Also, this reminds me of another point. I'm sure most of you saw the review about Bowman moding the Vapo LS and only getting an extra -5°? - An R507 modded Mach 1 will run quite a bit colder than the Bowman modded Vapo LS,, according to what I have read at keast.

 

[AudiMan]

Okay, I'm getting too excited. It's only a CPU cooler. I'm done for the day.

 

[Aphex_Tom_9]

Okay, I'm getting too excited. It's only a CPU cooler. I'm done for the day.

i know how you feel lol

 

[rhino56]

i cant believe you had to think about it. mach 1 is a solid unit.
i love mine.
im sending mine out tommorrow to chilly1 for the 507 gas/ cap tube upgrade.

one thing i noticed is that you wait until the unit reaches -30c to fire up the cpu. i will fire it when it reaches about 2C when its on its way down,
that way it doesnt break the freeze point before i put load on it.
getting the cell so cold and then raising it so fast once the power is applied is stressful on everything. mainly the seals.
ill only use the r507 unit for benching and stuff and ill use my stock mach1 for everyday use. those guys at extreme have some of the baddest phase stuff on the planet.
one guy has 3 promeys in one case!!
so what cpu/mobo you gonna have under this modded beast?

 

[AudiMan]

I'll be using a 3.2E SL7KC and my good old P4C800 DX. Right now It's under my Mach 1 @ 4.0 GHz. Hopefully I'll hit 4.1 or 4.2 stable when my R507 prommy comes in.

 

[AudiMan]

ill only use the r507 unit for benching and stuff and ill use my stock mach1 for everyday use.

Why won't you use the R507 in a 24/7 system? I will.

 

[rhino56]

I'll be using a 3.2E SL7KC and my good old P4C800 DX. Right now It's under my Mach 1 @ 4.0 GHz. Hopefully I'll hit 4.1 or 4.2 stable when my R507 prommy comes in.

from what i can tell there is quite a significant difference between the stock mach unit and the modded for ocing.
ive seen most 3.2 30 caps hit 4.4 at least. colder is better what can you say?

 

[AudiMan]

I hope you're right. I really do

 

[hkfeet]

Is pc_ice a member here? I would like to have my mach I head converted to a vapo one.

 

[AudiMan]

No, he's at XS.

 

[felinusz]

Also, no need to modify any cases because I'll be using the one that I currently have on my stock mach 1, which I will be selling once I've confirmed that the pc_ice modded prommy is working fine.

That alone is a big part of the decision, I think you definetely made the right choice here, especially since you're getting more performance for your money as well. You should rest easy knowing that you not only got a great deal on some ill cooling, but that it'll fit in your case with a minimal amount of work .

I saw a Mach 1 sold on e-bay $255 US, and a Mach 2 sold on e-bay for $420 US, brand new.

That's incredible, it *almost* makes me want to leap and get into phase cooling .