Features and Layout
Features
Courtesy of Bitspower
- Design For ASUS RAMPAGE V EXTREME.
- Included ChipSet and MOS Blocks.
- Real Full Water-Cooled Solution.
- Block TOP Cover Made Of Hi-Quality Acrylic.
- Block Base Made Of Hi-Quality Copper.
- Block Base High Durability Nickel Finished In Shining Silver.
- Polished Stainless Panel In Matt Black.
- RoHS Compliant.
AIX99R5E Nickel Plated Full Cover Block Layout
The Bitspower AIX99R5E full cover block consists of two pieces – a VRM block and a chipset block with integrated board cover. Each block has two threaded G1/4" liquid ports for connecting them together as well as connecting to the rest of the system's cooling loop. The blocks are constructed of acrylic parts fixed to a nickel-plated copper base plate. The nickel-coating provides oxidation protection for the copper as well as scratch resistance, while being thin enough so as to not inhibit the copper's superior heat exchange properties.
Chipset Block Layout
The chipset block is constructed of a metal black powder-coated top plate fixed to an acrylic middle plate and the nickel-plated chipset base plate. The top plate and acrylic middle layer form channels for the coolant to enter and exit the chipset base plate chamber. Everything is sealed with star screws and rubber o-rings in between each of the layers.
The chipset block's inlet and outlet coolant ports are embedded in a rectangular acrylic piece that sits on the right side of the top plate. This acrylic piece seals to the top plate with rubber o-rings and pass-through holes feeding directly into the coolant channels formed underneath the top plate. There are a total of five screw holding the acrylic port block, top plate, and acrylic bottom piece together, ensuring a secure and coolant-tight mount.
Directly underneath the right side of the top plate are the coolant inlet and outlet channels. Either channel can be used for the inlet to or outlet from the chipset block. The channels are formed by the acrylic middle piece sealed to the under side of the top plate with rubber o-rings and screws through the top plate. The right most point of the acrylic middle plate has a plastic spacer that sits on the surface of the motherboard, providing additional structural support to the port block.
The chipset base plate is nickel-plated copper, sitting directly underneath the left-center portion of the top plate. The base plate sit directly on top of the Intel X99 chipset on the ASUS Rampage V Extreme board, necessitating the four threaded metal stand-offs at each of the base plate's corners. These standoffs keep the block from crushing the fragile chipset core when the block is mounted to the board, while not inhibiting proper mating between the block's bottom and the chipset's surface. Additionally, the stand-offs are the mount points for mating the chipset block with the board.
VRM Block Layout
The VRM block is constructed of a acrylic top piece and a nickel-plated base plate sealed by a grommet. The two pieces are held together via eight hex screws mounted to the bottom plate through the acrylic top plate. The G1/4" threaded inlet and outlet coolant ports are embedded in the right and left-center portions of the acrylic top plate.
The bottom of the VRM block is of a stepped design to compensate for the position of the VRMs in relation to the chokes. The lowest step of the block sits directly on top of the VRM chips, while upper part rests on the top of the board's chokes. Thermal tape (included) rests in between the cooler and chips for cooling purposes as well as to aid in board shorting potential. Metal standoffs are located in the left and right bottom of the block to prevent the block from crushing the sensitive VRM chips, as well as acting as mount points for fixing the VRM block to the board.
Included Accessories
The Bitspower bundles in all necessary hardware and accessories for mounting the AIX99R5E full cover block to the ASUS Rampage V Extreme board.
Bitspower includes a double-sided instruction sheet with detailed illustrations documenting the installation and use of the blocks. While the included instructions are minimalistic, they are sufficient for understanding the installation procedure.
Bitpower includes replacement rubber o-rings for the chipset blocks, thermal tape for mounting the VRM block to the board, a hex key fitting the block and mounting screws, plastic washers, and hex screws for block mounting. The included o-rings replace the grommet in the VRM block, as well as the o-rings used for the coolant channels and the copper block in the chipset block. There are two sizes of hex screws included in the kit. The shorter screws and washers are used to mount the chipset block. For the VRM block, you can use the shorter screws if you choose not to use the board's VRM backplate. However, you will need the larger screws if you wish to use the board's VRM backplate in conjunction with the VRM block.
Great write up Morry! Getting
Great write up Morry! Getting ready for Quakecon?
Yes sir I am. Already there
Yes sir I am. Already there in fact…
More stuff like this, please!
More stuff like this, please! Great review!
Hello Sir Morry.
Thanks, Cool
Hello Sir Morry.
Thanks, Cool review (no pun intended…maybe just a little bit), but as far as I know, the chipset will benefit from watercooling only of you’re running 4-way sli/xfire.
Speaking of multi card config (it is the best segway I can come up with) I would like to ask if there’s any news on the review of the Asus X99-E WS motherboard, I hope I’m not being annoying or anything like.
thnx again
Hopefully that review will be
Hopefully that review will be forth coming, just waiting on review sample. As for the heat, you may not even need a full cover mb block with 4-way SLI / XFire b/c the air cooled solution with the Rampage V Extreme is that good. However, it comes down more to the "cool factor". In tandem with the hardline tubing, you really can't beat the look…
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
Hi Morry! what about the heat
Hi Morry! what about the heat from The M.2 I imagine a Samsung 951 could get pretty hot it too bad that this cooler did not tak this into consideration. Some boards stack M.2’s so you could put the Samsung 951 on the bottom ad the Intel SAS or Mini SAS on top I think that would cause Lovely fire someone is going todo it for sure and watch their money burn! As alwats J.S.
An interesting piece of
An interesting piece of cooling hardware!
From your graphs, it appears that the GPU is fine at being cooled by air. The CPU needs a little more help and the VRM are the hot potatoes!
My question is; by cooling the VRM, has there been any noticeable performance improvements? I would think it helps with better stabilized OC ratings.
I’ve been told to cool the VRM, but I’m not ready to build a system with a water cooling system (also due to size). I plan to have the CPU cooled in liquid closed-loop. And the VRM cooled by air.
Generally, you get better
Generally, you get better stability and cooler temps by directly water cooling the VRMs. However, ASUS overengineered the Rampage's VRM cooler so heat is not too much of an issue with it.
You will get some added benefits with stability and overclocking, but not as mucch as you'd think. The one shortcoming of the VRM cooler included in the kit was with its smooth design. If there would have been pins or channels in the VRM cooler base, it would have cooled more effectively because of the added surface area and turbulence caused by such channels…
Morry,
If I understand your
Morry,
If I understand your response, generally speaking, having the VRM at a lower temp doesn’t provide any noticeable PC performance?
For my scenario, I will still proceed with attempting to lower the heat of the VRM for ease of mind that the circuits are receiving a cleaner signal.
I agree with your observation of VRM cooler base design. If it would have fins like those for the chipset, it would theoretically provide better cooling benefits. Did you use thermal paste or thermal pad for the VRM? I couldn’t find that detail in your review. I would think that the pad generates less thermal transfer than the paste.
VRM cooling helps with
VRM cooling helps with overclocking, my comment was more a testament of how well ASUS designed their stock VRM cooler. When you start pumping alot of power (current and voltage) through the CPU is when the VRMs become taxed and the more efficient cooling designs make a difference.
As for the paste vs pad, I use a pad b/c thats what the kit came with, but paste would work just as well or better. However, the temp diff for VRM cooling would be much less than you would see on a cpu for example…
From my experience, it is the
From my experience, it is the it is the cheap motherboards that need aftermarket VRM cooling the most. The problem is that if you have the money for aftermarket cooling for the motherboard, then you have the money to get a higher end board.
Many cheaper motherboards will have VRM temperatures in the 100C range, and the really cheap ones (non heatsinked 4 phase power delivery, will have temperatures hitting 120C with a core i7.
When you jump to higher end boards, you get VRM’s which are more efficient, and have a higher current capacity, along with 8+ phases. the end result is a low duty cycle on each VRM, and they end up running significantly cooler.
Most of the lowest end boards tend to rely on the VRM protection to keep them from overheating, instead of putting the 5-10 extra cents that it would take to add a heatsink. The down side is that you will end up with CPU throttling. This is why some lower end boards will benchmark lower, depending on the load and length of the test (e.g., if you do a prime 95 style load) there will be moments when the clock speed will jump around for a few milliseconds at a time.
Sadly the only boards that really benefit will be those $50-60 boards with 4 phase power and no VRM heatsink, but for some reason will have an auto overclocking function that will attempt to pump 1.3V into a core i5, when the VRM protection kicks in at stock speeds.
Thank you! Very informative
Thank you! Very informative 🙂
You pretty much answered my question in regards to VRM and overall system performance 🙂