CoolerMaster AquaGate Watercooling System - Page 6
Posted by Chris on 10 October 2004 (51556 views) Rating: 3.19
Using the Aquagate:
On the Aquagate unit you will see a LCD, this is used as discussed earlier for monitoring temperature as well as controlling the fan speed of the unit.
As you can also see above the blue LED really sets off the unit, especially with the Vantec LED fan.
The LCD is used to set an alarm on the system to notify you if the CPU or coolant rises above a preset temperature. In this case we set both to 50 degrees celsius, as any more then that could cause your CPU to fry. The LCD also enables you to set the internal fan speed of the unit. We have ours set on 2, as it provides sufficient cooling with the least noise. Fan speed 3 does sound quite large, and really defeats the purpose of the whole silent cooling scenario we are trying to achieve.
Once this was done we then proceeded to test the unit. Lets have a look as to how it performed against the Hyper 6 Ultra CPU cooler which previously installed.
Performance & Benchmarking
For our tests we used the following PC Hardware:
Test System
Motherboard:
Asus P4C800-E Deluxe
RAM:
1 GB DDR PC3200
Processors:
Intel Pentium IV 3.00Ghz
Video Card:
Geforce FX 5700
Power Supply:
Antec 400Watt PSU
Hard Drive:
250GB Seagate SATA x 2
Case:
Antec P160W
The system was left running for 24hrs to ensure that no leakage had occured, and to ensure functionality and stability of the system over a longer time frame.
Tests were done comparing the Aquagate Liquid Cooling System to a Coolermaster Hyper 6 Cooler which was installed previously in our test rig. Testing was completed by applying CPU load to the system for 15 minute increments. Measurement was made of CPU temperature both idle and under system load. This was tested on the Aquagate's 3 fan speeds.
As you can see by the chart above under CPU load the Hyper 6 Ultra cooler reached 45° celsius. Whilst the Aquagate on any of the fan speeds reduced load temperature from between 8 - 10°. Even under idle the Aquagate outperforms against the Hyper 6 Ultra with a minimum of 7° Celsius using fan speed one.
Not only by reducing temperature on fan speed 1 and 2 the noise of the Aquagate unit is silent. However moving to fan speed 3 it is quite noisy as expected. Overall though the Aquagate system performs as expected as a great liquid cooling unit.
Pros
- Affordable
- Silent Computing
- Great Design
- Easy to Install
Cons
- Lack of being able to buy Coolant from retailers.
Conclusion:
Over 3 weeks of testing the Aquagate unit has been nearly perfect. However the other day came across an issue where on machine power on, the aquagate would shut down the system within 5 seconds. Looking into this further CPU temperature and coolant temperature was cool at around 25 degrees celsius. Thinking about this i decided to check coolant level of the LCU. Opening the LCU it appeared that it was quite dry. I then filled the unit with the remainding coolant fluid that was supplied. All in all the system is now functioning again. My concern with this system is that especially in warmer climate areas you can go through alot of coolant in minimal time. As mentioned above have been testing the system for now 3 weeks with no problems, until the other day. Another minor problem is the fact that after emailing several Australian PC shops found it extremely difficult to source the coolant anywhere. This should be looked at by Coolermaster further as you can buy the Aquagate kit from many online retailers but not the coolant, this may pose problems to end consumers.
Overall the Coolermaster Aquagate system is an excellent beginner liquid cooling kit. The drop in CPU temperature by fitting this unit was excellent, and worthwhile knowing that you are keeping your CPU as cool as it should be and as silent as possible. My only concerns are with the lack of ability of buying coolant here in Australia. Other then that great system and highly recommended.
Special Thanks to Emily @ Coolermaster for organising the review unit.
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