Corsair COOL Water Cooling Kit Review

Introduction

The new COOL Water Cooling kit is easy to install and offers impressive cooling performance with minimal noise. However, an issue with the pump needs to be resolved before it will receive the market acceptance it deserves.

Corsair is undoubtedly best known for their line of performance memory products.  The new COOL Water Cooling Kit is Corsair’s second venture into the increasingly popular PC water-cooling kit arena.  You can read our review of the original Corsair HydroCool water cooling kit here: Corsair HydroCool 200 review.

The COOL Water Cooling Kit is basically a rebranded collection of high quality Swiftech water-cooling components.  Corsair selected the reservoir, pump, Radiator/120mm fan/RadBox, and waterblock based on their reliability and quality of construction.  What Corsair adds to the mix is a detailed and well illustrated set of user friendly installation instructions that makes the kit well suited for the conscientious novice and experienced user alike.

The COOL kit contains everything you will need to setup a basic water-cooling system for your computer.  Two versions of the COOL kit are available that support the following platforms: 

• CWC100-1000 for Intel P4 (socket 478) and AMD Athlon 64 (socket 754/939/940)
• CWC100-1001 for Intel P4 (socket 775) and Athlon XP (socket 462)

The only difference between the two kits is the waterblock and mounting hardware.  While not included with the COOL kit, a video card GPU waterblock and/or motherboard chipset waterblock could also be added (MCW50 and/or MCW20).

Main Features:

• Reliable, advanced PC water-cooling system
• Whisper-quiet 120mm fan operation
• User friendly, easy installation

 The Corsair COOL Water Cooling Kit comes with the following components:

	High Flow Reservoir   The high-flow design of the reservoir does not restrict water flow through the cooling system.  The raised compartment eliminates circulating air bubbles and the noise they create for quieter operation.
	High Performance Pump   Sourced for compatibility and performance with other kit components, the high-pressure 12 volt pump runs off the existing computer power supply.  No external power or relay is needed.  The compact design and small form factor allow convenient mounting and easy installation.
	120mm Radiator/Fan/RadBox   The radiator features a low-restriction design for greater cooling efficiency through increased water flow.   A 120mm x 25mm Panaflo low-speed fan provides excellent cooling properties with minimal noise.  The radiator can be mounted internally (120mm case fan opening) or externally using the included RadBox.
	Thin-Pin Copper CPU Waterblock   The thin-pin design of the all copper CPU waterblock maximizes heat dissipation as it removes heat from the CPU and transfers it to the coolant.  Two different styles are available (stepped and flat bottom) with a variety of mounting brackets to support a wide range of CPUs.
	High-Flow, Low-Restriction Tubing   The entire COOL system is based on 3/8′ ID tubing, which eliminates adapters and yields fewer restrictions for more efficient cooling.  (No converters/adapters to restrict flow.)
	Coolant Additive   Specially formulated green coolant offers superior cooling qualities with corrosion inhibitors added to protect system components.
	Accessories and Installation Manual   The PCI slot bracket provides an easy means for routing the tubing and wiring from the RadBox assembly inside the computer case.  A colorful large format, multi-language, printed Quickstart Guide is provided along with a detailed, 23-page Installation Guide on CD-ROM (printable PDF).