Koolance Waterblocks
CPU-300-V10 Waterblock
The Koolance CPU-300-V10 cooler is designed to work with 3/8′ ID systems like the Exos-2. Koolance claims it can handle heat sources up to 300 watts.
The Koolance CPU-300-V10 cooler incorporates a gold plated copper base and plastic water-jacket. The wetted surface of the copper base is sculptured with tiny pyramids to increase surface area for better heat transfer. The 24k gold plating virtually eliminates the potential for galvanic corrosion, which is very important when using an aluminum radiator and copper waterblock.
The CPU-300 cooler supports AMD Athlon/XP, Athlon 64, Opteron/FX-51, Intel P4, Intel P-III, and Xeon processors (with the appropriate adapter). For this review I will be using the optional AMD 64 adapter to mount the CPU waterblock onto an Athlon 64 3200+.
GPU-180-L06 Waterblock
Koolance claims the GPU-180-L06 video card cooler can handle up to 180 watts. It comes fitted with two 90º swivel fittings designed for use with ¼’ ID tubing.
The Koolance GPU-180-L06 cooler also incorporates a gold plated copper base and plastic water-jacket. The wetted surface of the copper base is sculptured with pyramids just like the larger CPU cooler to increase surface area for better heat transfer. And again, the 24k gold plating virtually eliminates the potential for galvanic corrosion.
The GPU-180-L06 cooler includes a sliding mounting bracket designed to fit all types of chipsets including Radeon 9800, X800, GeForce 6800, and FX 5950. For this review I will be installing the GPU-180-L06 onto a Radeon 9800 Pro video card.
Waterblock Testing
Prior to installing the waterblocks into the test system I measured the thermal resistance and pressure drop using a thermal die simulator (80 watts CPU, 45 watts GPU) and my waterblock test stand.
The following graph shows the relationship between thermal resistance (C/W) and pressure drop (DP) for various flow rates for the two Koolance waterblocks.
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As you can see, the smaller GPU-180-L06 cooler with ¼’ ID swivel fittings has a much larger flow resistance compared to the Koolance CPU-300-V10 with 3/8′ ID fittings. The thermal resistance of the larger CPU-300 cooler is quite good and in line with other medium to high performance waterblocks on the market today.
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The previous two graphs illustrate the relative performance of different waterblocks I have tested. The C/W graph shows the Koolance CPU waterblock performs very well at low flow rates, which the Exos-2 system is based on. Both coolers quickly produce a lot of back pressure at higher flow rates though.
