Testing

MSI P4N Diamond: Intel P4 3.73 Extreme Edition, 2 x 512MB Corsair TWINX PC5400 Pro, MSI 6800GT, 160GB Seagate SATA 7200.7.

MSI K8N: AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (Socket-939), 2 x 512MB Corsair TWINX PC3200XL, MSI 6800GT, 160GB Seagate SATA 7200.7.

We'll be testing both AMD and Intel setups with near identical hardware save the CPU and motherboard. We will not be testing the GPU waterblock since we wanted to compare the unit directly against the Koolance PC3-720SL which does not have one in our current setup. The PC3-720SL's numbers were run at full speed (noisy, but effective). Stock coolers from Intel and AMD were also thrown into the mix for comparison. Arctic Silver 5 was the thermal paste used for both setups.

Prime95 was run for nine hours, with Folding @ Home running in the background everyday for four days to load the system and allow the thermal paste to even out. During the actual tests, we ran SiSoft Sandra's CPU Burn for 15 minutes, with Folding @ Home running in the background. Ambient room temperature was maintained at 23°C/74°F.

The biggest improvements came with the P4 setup since it's no secret that Intel CPUs run quite a bit warmer than their AMD counterparts. Even at full speed, the Koolance PC3-720SL is unable to keep pace with the much quieter Titan Robela which holds a 2.5°C edge in both Intel and AMD testing. How does the kit fare in overclocking?

AMD @ 2.45GHz, Intel @ 4.34

We left out Intel's stock cooling numbers since the heatsink was unable to allow the CPU to reach our desired OC values. Again, the Titan Robela comes out on top for both AMD and Intel. We can see a couple reasons for this. For one thing, compared to the Koolance, the Robela does not have as much out of the box clutter as the PC3-720SL, so fewer cables or peripherals interfere with the airflow to the radiator. Even if there was clutter, unlike the Koolance unit, the Robela draws cooler air from the outside through the radiator (the PC3-720SL does the opposite).

Final Words

Ease-of-Use: The Titan Robela was a pleasure to configure; from the PC hardware side of things, right down to the water cooling setup. Assuming you have all your parts ready to go, and are familiar with the PC building process, you can have a water cooled rig ready in under 45 minutes. Of course, you should run the system overnight to watch for leaks, but the assembly was problem free. Personally, I still would have preferred a removable mobo tray, but I was not hurting for it. The tool-free design made it a snap to setup the drives and video card and even the rails themselves were tool-free.

The water blocks are a snap to install, with everything pre-measured to make assembly as simple as possible. Filling the unit up was also easy and problem free and the provided pump is much easier to use than free pouring or using a funnel. Again, Titan's manual was well done, and credit to their underwriting team for putting it together.

Build Quality: In the age of aluminum cases, it was a bit old school to receive a massive steel chassis. On the plus side of things, the Robela is literally bulletproof. As regular readers know, I have a baby boy running free (well, he's learning anyhow) in the 'Lair and the Robela had no problems acting as an obstacle for him to hold on to. I keep all my other mid-towers out of reach, but outside of him yanking on the power cable, I have no fear of him tipping the case over.

Of course, this stability comes at a price. The Robela is a hassle to move around. It's size doesn't make it easy to move as it is, but the weight is murder. My primary work surface is one of those glass table tops from Ikea, and there is no way I will even dare to put the Robela on that. LAN goers, this case is not for you. I think it would be very suitable for a server environment as it has the size and cooling to handle heavy workloads and peripherals, but other than that, I'm not sure if it will be suitable for anything other than a stationary PC that will never move.

The rest of the setup is of good quality. The water blocks and attachments are very nice and have O-rings to insure leaks will not occur. I would have liked some higher quality hoses, but the ones provided are alright.

Performance: As a water cooling case, it is a stronger performer than the Koolance PC3-720SL. Even running at much quieter settings, the Robela, the Koolance could not keep up, thanks to how thoughtfully Titan integrated the water cooling into the case.

As a water cooling unit, the Robela was still unable to beat our mishmash of water cooling built into a Lian Li V1000 we have here. That unit uses an asetek Waterchill kit (triple fan radiator) with a PolarFLO TT block, and on average managed a 2°C with AMD and 3°C on an Intel 3.73, also on silent mode. Keep in mind that the Robela is much easier to setup, but those experienced in building water cooling systems can likely build a more efficient unit.

Pros: Good performance, excellent manual, easy to assemble.

Cons: Insanely heavy, not suitable for those who like to travel with their PC.

Bottom Line: Overall, we're giving the Robela a thumbs up as it is a good performer that is also very easy to use. The weight of the unit hurts the score against it, but we still think it is a worthy contender for those looking for an easy-to-use water cooling case.

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