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asetek WaterChill Review
Author: Dennis Garcia
Published: Saturday, November 08, 2003
Conclusion
The asetek WaterChill is an great cooling solution targeted at just the right audience. Overall performance is excellent, noise is kept to a minimum (with high performance provisions), and the installation procedure is very simple requiring far less effort than many of the other kits on the market.
A few issues did come up about chipset cooling for the Pentium 4 mostly due to the installation procedure that appears to have a high probability of failure. I cannot recommend any single solution since just about every Pentium 4 motherboard on the market has a different method of mounting a Northbridge heatsink. Some boards use 4 loops whereas others only use 2. Considering that these loops are soldered to the PCB like all of the other componets there is a slight possibility that they can become loose and eventually disconnect from the motherboard. Whatever solution you decide to use just be sure to mount the waterblock snug and provide as much lateral support as you can. Other options outside of the asetek realm do exist and I'm sure you can guess what they might be.
AMD and nVidia chipset cooling is far easer since these boards feature holes in the PCB for heatsink and waterblock mounting.
AMD and nVidia chipset cooling is far easer since these boards feature holes in the PCB for heatsink and waterblock mounting.
Due to the plastic used in the block construction (PMMA Poly Methyl MethaCyrlate) there are limits to what chemicals you can add to the system. For instance Alcohol is a big no-no. Acetone and Chlorine are also considered very bad since these chemicals can eat away at the plastic and at best tarnish the clarity from the inside or cause leaks. It would seem that automotive Antifreeze/Coolant can be used, though is not recommended since it is thicker than water and does not enhance the cooling properties.
The Good Things
Ease of Installation
Push type hose fittings
Low flow block design
Configurable cooling solutions
System controlled pump (turns on with your computer)
High wattage heat removal
Push type hose fittings
Low flow block design
Configurable cooling solutions
System controlled pump (turns on with your computer)
High wattage heat removal
The Bad Things
Pentium 4 Chipset Installation
Limited usage of coolant chemicals
Pump motor messes with CRT monitors
Limited usage of coolant chemicals
Pump motor messes with CRT monitors
Ninjalane Rating
