COOL by Corsair

Testing

To test Corsair's COOL we fitted it to an Athlon64 3200+ with MSI's K8N Neo Platinum motherboard in Cooler Master's Stacker case. The testing procedure we used is well documented, and if you want to know a little about the way we extracted load temperatures from temperatures we measured there's a little physics involved.

For comparison we tested against a stock cooler; while it's true there're much better air cooled heatsinks, few produce less noise. If you're buying this kit at home it's a likely transition you'll make, and even if it's not the transition you're making it's one that makes comparing this kit to other coolers easy.



The results above speak for themselves I think, the final fitted load temperature of the stock cooler was 52°C and for Corsair's COOL this was down to just 39.5°C, the twelve degree improvement is impressive. The temperatures are eminently comparable with other self-built watercooling systems, which is definitely a good thing for an out-of-the-box kit.

Final words

Corsair have got the important basics right with COOL. It's easy to install, quiet in operation and performs well. The manual shouldn't be on CD, the requirement that your case have a 120mm exhaust port (for easy installation) is a very limiting one and the aethetics don't match the cost of the system, but all things considered this is a very successful attempt to produce a high quality water cooling kit by Corsair, and certainly a far better buy than their previous Hydrocool system.


Pros

• Performance
  
• Ease of use/install
  
• Very quiet when running

Cons

• Cost
  
• Questionable aesthetics in places
  
• Manual on CD