Test Setup - Athlon XP @ 2195MHz
Albatron KX600S Pro: Athlon XP TBred (10.5x209) @ 1.95v, 2 x 512MB Kingston HyperX PC4000 (2.5-3-3-6), AIW Radeon 9800 Pro, 120GB Western Digital SE 8MB Cache, Windows XP SP1, VIA Hyperion 4in1 drivers 4.51, ATI Catalyst 4.2.
Going up against the CPU-300-V10 for our Athlon XP tests will be the Swiftech MCW5000, PolarFLO SF, and Asetek Universal CPU blocks. All of the blocks wil use the WaterChill kit's Hydor L20 pump and radiator to standardize the hardware setup. The radiator's cooling fan is configured to run at 12v, which is full speed, and Arctic Silver 5 is the thermal compound used for both coolers.
To load up the system, we run Prime95 run for 30 minutes, with Folding @ Home running in the background. Ambient room temperature is maintained at ~23°C/74°F. We removed the chipset/GPU coolers to factor them out of the equation.
Temperatures did not take long to stabilize (about eight minutes) at their max temperatures, so at the 10 minute mark, readings were measured at 2 minute intervals, added, then divided by 10 to attain the average temperature.
Load Temperatures (°C)
| Water Block |
Temperature (°C)
|
| Koolance CPU-300-V10 |
43.5
|
| Swiftech MCW5000 |
46.5
|
| PolarFLO SF |
43
|
| Asetek Universal |
45.5
|
The CPU-300-V10 does very well here, beating all the water blocks with the exception of the PolarFLO, although 0.5°C is not much at all. It's no surprise that Swiftech's part is falling behind since all the other blocks are quite a bit larger. The larger size, and sheer number of interior triangular pins in Koolance's block helps to account for the 3°C difference.
Test Setup - Pentium 4 3360MHz
ASUS P4C800-E: Pentium 4 2.8B (21x160) @ 1.8v, 2 x 512MB Kingston HyperX PC4000 (2.5-3-3-6), AIW Radeon 9800 Pro, 120GB Western Digital SE 8MB Cache, Windows XP SP1, VIA Hyperion 4in1 drivers 4.51, ATI Catalyst 4.1.
All testing methodology is identical to our Athlon XP tests.
Load Temperatures (°C)
| Water Block |
Temperature (°C)
|
| Koolance CPU-300-V10 |
40.5
|
| Swiftech MCW5000 |
42.5
|
| PolarFLO SF |
40
|
| Asetek Universal |
42
|
Like we've seen in our Athlon XP tests, the Koolance block does very well with the Pentium 4. The PolarFLO still manages to keep ahead of the rest, but it's a close call.
We decided to go ahead and swap the inlet/outlet hoses to determine if it makes any difference in performance. According to the specifications of the Koolance Exos-Al, we may see a 1°C difference, but since we're using a larger block, with larger hoses, let's see if there's any change.
Reversed Inlet/Outlet Temperatures (°C)
| Water Block |
Temperature (°C)
|
| Koolance CPU-300-V10 (right In, left Out) |
40.5
|
| Koolance CPU-300-V10 (left In, right Out) |
40.5
|
After three runs of 30 minutes (loaded up the system for half an hour, shut down for an hour, repeat), the end result was the same at 40.5°C. There were some instances where the right In, left Out dropped to as low as 39°C (left In, right Out never got to less than 39.5°C), but both configurations averages were about the same using the same reading procedure as before.
Final Words
Koolance did a nice job with their latest water block. Compared with the other blocks we've tested today, the CPU-300-V10 finished near the top, just slightly behind the PolarFLO. Numbers aside, there are a lot of positives with Koolance's product that cannot be ignored.
The CPU-300-V10 is universal. Although the rest of the blocks do fit AMD and Intel CPUs, not all of them are suited for the Socket-754 and 940 Athlon 64s. Futhermore, except for the Xeon and Opteron/FX CPUs, all the required brackets are included, whereas you'll need to purchase a separate kit for the other kits.
Like the Swiftech MCW5000, the Koolance CPU-300-V10 is tool-less. Add to the fact that no motherboard removal is required, this block is one of the easiest to install. Though motherboard removal is probably a common occurance with enthusiasts, time is saved as the Koolance block is not bolted or screwed on to the motherboard. The screw-on metal fittings are a snap to use, and secure the hoses very well.
There isn't anything wrong with the block that we could think about penalizing it with. I suppose some kind of identification about which are the proper Inlet/Outlet connections would be a plus. A small installation guide wouldn't hurt, as our sample did not come with any clear identification of which retention screw to use with what CPU.
Pricing is quite fair, falling in about the middle of the pack, but considering it performs almost at par with the PolarFLO SF, at about 20$ USD less. Build quality is excellent, and the 21k gold plating is certainly an eye-catcher. I'm not too crazy about the orange shell, but that's just my opinion. This is certainly a block worthy of your attention.
Pros: Great performance, and easy to install. Excellent build quality.
Cons: No intructions or identification of retention screws and Inlet/Outlet.
Bottom Line: If you're putting together a water cooling system, or you're planning to upgrade your CPU block, the Koolance CPU-300-V10 should be among those on the top of your list. Performance was excellent in our tests, but the ease of use and build quality are the real stars here.
If you have any comments, be sure to hit us up in our forums.
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