Antec Debuts Its First Liquid Cooling System

[freddyokyes]

[citation][nom]reprotected[/nom]Looks like the Corsair H70, which looks like the Asetek 570LC. I put my bets that it won't cool any better than the Hyper 212+ with dual-fans.[/citation]

I personally have had the 212+ as well as the megahalems and they do keep temps low very well but i would have to say that the Venomous X cooler knocks the competition out for the fact that I have my i7 950 @ 4.34ghz vcore (1.32) and my temps at full load are @ 70 to 78 celcious tops

 

[lp231]

These coolers all look the same, except of for the different logo slapped on it.

 

[EXT64]

The problem with these coolers is, for half the price you can get an air cooler that does at least as well.

 

[kkiddu]

20% ? That's gotta be the worst liquid cooling solution.

 

[xyriin]

It isn't a full liquid cooling system so you won't get the same cooling performance. However look at the benefits.

1. It takes a ton less room than an aftermarket cooler that can pull the same amount of cooling.
2. From experience with the technology you will lower your ambient temperature compared with an aftermarket air cooler.
3. Noise is way down as you completely eliminate the CPU fan and end up with a quieter case fan that is muffled by the radiator.
4. It costs less than a full liquid cooling system.
5. Zero maintenance.

So yeah, its not a replacement for extreme overclocking but its the perfect solution for everything from stock to mild overclocking.

 

[xyriin]

[citation][nom]RazberyBandit[/nom]Working as an exhaust, the radiator would use air from within the case (which is likely pre-heated due to passing over HDDs, chipsets, etc.) through it, reducing the cooling effect.[/citation]

What do you think generates most of the ambient heat in a system? Surely you know it would be an air cooler discharging CPU heat directly into the case?

The whole premise of air cooling is to dump heat into the case and then try to create enough air flow to discharge that heat outside which is highly inefficient. Personally I've never seen an overheating issue with core CPU temperature...but I have seen overheating chipsets due to ambient temperature.

These self contained CPU coolers take the #1 source of heat inside the case and deposit it directly outside. In a way its a self contained cooling method similar to isolating the power supply air path.

 

[Von Death]

I'm not going to use liquid cooling until I begin to overspend for new builds. When I decide the extra money will be worth the experience of impressing my friends with my shiny new enthusiast build I will invest in a liquid cooling system.

 

[RazberyBandit]

What do you think generates most of the ambient heat in a system? Surely you know it would be an air cooler discharging CPU heat directly into the case?

Certainly a hot part that simply dissipates heat into a case via a heatsink is the main contributor to ambient case temperature. More to the point, the fact that the heated air such parts generate is not being evacuated from the case is the real culprit. I never argued otherwise, yet you seem to think I needed some sort of reminding...?

The whole premise of air cooling is to dump heat into the case and then try to create enough air flow to discharge that heat outside which is highly inefficient. Personally I've never seen an overheating issue with core CPU temperature...but I have seen overheating chipsets due to ambient temperature.

No, that's not the whole premise. The premise is heat dissipation, which is done by injecting a continuous cycle of fresh, cool, external air into a case to effectively dissipate the heat generated within it. To complete that cycle, all injected air that becomes heated must also be effectively removed.

These self contained CPU coolers take the #1 source of heat inside the case and deposit it directly outside. In a way its a self contained cooling method similar to isolating the power supply air path.

Actually, modern GPUs get MUCH hotter than any CPU I've ever used, often making them #1. That's why most GPU cooler designs are now self-exhausting. Coincidentally, the same argument I proposed earlier for these self-contained water coolers also applies to GPU coolers - To maximize the effective cooling of these units, they should be applied at an intake port. Where's the radiator in a car located? It's in front of an engine getting the coolest, freshest air possible, not behind it's exhaust manifolds. It's a different application of the same technology, but the same principles apply, and the automobile industry figured that out more than 100 years ago.

 

[aaron88_7]

[citation][nom]Razor512[/nom]only problem with the corsair is that it has a built in pump that can fail and require the entire unit to be replaced, if the fan on my sunbeam cooler fails, $3-4 is all it takes to replace it. [/citation]
You're going to be spending a heck of a lot more than $3-4 if one of those lines starts leaking...

I'll take one of these "fake" water cooling systems any day. I'm not about to run hoses over my brand new GTX 580 unless I know it's well made.

It's funny seeing so many people complain about a water cooler that hasn't even been released yet. I'd be willing to bet those calling this a "fake" water cooling system haven't even done water cooling themselves and are just talking out of their @ss as if they really understand what it takes to properly build a complete water cooling system from scratch.

I was about to order the H70, but now I might wait and see how this one performs though.

 

[saint19]

Nice!!!, another sealed system that want be a real WC kit without can be. Guys, spend your money on it.

:lol:

 

[house70]

They could have come up with a better design than that.

 

[zak_mckraken]

Just add it to next cooler review. If it lives up to the modest promises, it's quite a good buy at 70$.

 

[Guest]

I'm using the Corsair variant, upgraded from the CoolerMaster V8. It keeps my i7 920 @ 3.6Ghz much cooler than the V8, with next to no noise.

 

[universalremonster]

One place I can see this style of cooler being useful is in a gaming/htpc setup where you dont have the height for a nice tower style air cooler or are wanting to keep the noise down.

My problem with these kinds of water coolers is that they all seem to be very close in performance to each other.. they really seem like the same coolers with different brand logos on them. You just can't really do have big improvements with the same sized radiator/fan that all these companies are using. Where I think Antec could improve and seperate themselves from all the others in this category is to incorporate these into their case lines such as the 600/900/1200 and even the Skeleton and take advantage of the big 200+mm fans on top. They could use a radiator that is slim but with lots of surface area tucked under (or over) these large fans that would move much more air at the same db level of noise. They could give customers options, like including them with their cases or make them available for add ons for customers that already own one of these. Sure they can still offer their line of me-too 120mm style coolers so they aren't limiting themselves to Antec case owners, but with the exception of a few specific senarios (such as the gaming/htpc setup)they all seem more like bandaid solutions for those that do not have a case with nice airflow... because a nice tower cooler in well thoughtout case setup (wires nicely managed and a fan setup that allows for efficient intake/exhaust, maybe even a blower style gpu cooler) does as nice of a job as these water coolers for about half the cost and no worries of mechanical failure.

 

[gerry410]

Boy there's an original idea. A low profile liquid cooling kit. Gee it looks a lot like the corsair H70. The only difference is its a day late and a dollar short. I guess its all in the performance or lack of it. Get your comparison graphs out Tom's more stuff to test. We're all waiting.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Boy there's an original idea. A low profile liquid cooling kit. Gee it looks a lot like the corsair H70. The only difference is its a day late and a dollar short. I guess its all in the performance or lack of it. Get your comparison graphs out Tom's more stuff to test. We're all waiting.

1. The Corsair H70 is made by Asetek ..... You can buy the equivalent OEM product directly from Asetek ... all Corsair does is put their label on it

2. The Kuhler 620 is also made by Asetek..... You can NOT buy the equivalent OEM product directly from Asetek. Until such time as they do, it's hard to judge what part Antec may or may not have had in the design.

As for the performance ..... with the same number and type of fan, it beats the H70 by 6C or about 10%, though it can't quite top the best air cooler.

Heat Sink Heat Rise Difference
Thermaltake Jing 69.7 +11.0
Corsair H50 68.1 +9.4
Coolit Vantage A.L.C. 67.8 +9.1
Corsair H70 64.7 +6.0
Coolit ECO A.L.C. 64.3 +5.6
Cooler Master V6 GT 59.5 +0.8
Prolimatech Super Mega 59.4 +0.7
Antec Kühler H2O 620 58.7 +0.0
Thermalright Venomous X 58.0 -0.7

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=694&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=5

"It's the first compact liquid cooler I've tested that can honestly be considered as competition for the likes of the Cooler Master V6 GT, Prolimatech Megahalems, and Thermalright Venomous X."

 

[gerry410]

Interesting and thanks for the info. One thing I realized after posting my smart ass answer is the price for the new Kuhler 620 is about 60 bucks cheaper than the H70. If its performance is as good or as you say better that will be a real selling point.