Koolance CPU-330 w/IC Diamond Thermal

[Charles Wirth]

Koolance CPU-330 Waterblock
D5 Water Pump
Black Ice Radiator
IC Diamond Extreme Performance Thermal Compound
Intel QX9770 C0 - Lapped and polished
Asus P5E3 Deluxe





I have seen a lot of post about Koolance and materials used and it left a doubt in my head to the overall quality of the product until I got my hands on one for long term testing, not just overnight or the weekend.

My block has been in use for three months now in a demo rig I built for an Asus display at CES show in Vegas. One would surely expect galvanic corrosion from all the reports and bashing I have seen.





About the same time I purchased Danger Den TDX blocks with exact pump and radiator for my Skulltrail, I used the same green additive and distilled water.

Both systems have been on 24/7 for many months now, The Danger Den loop is discolored and the Koolance loop is perfect as the day I filled it.

The screw tight fittings on the Koolance are superior to barb fittings, the metalwork is pure art, the finish on all faces is perfect and metal thickness better than optimal, the brackets are thick and very strong. The thumb screws are large and counter fit with springs so there is no excess threaded rod sticking out of the block, the installed block is very tight.



By far, the Koolance block mounting kit blow away the Danger Den product. I hate the plastic clips and Koolance has the screw tight nozzles. The Danger Den doesnt come with a back plate and the Koolance comes with a thick steel backplate that is insulated from shorting on the motherboard.

The block mass is more than double the Danger Den block. the Koolance pyramids extend upwards from the base, visible if you look through the water ports.

I tried coretemp and realtemp, realtemp was closer to actual temps reported in bios. The Probe II program that comes with the Motherboard was more than 15c off, it reported 5c at idle.

I used wprime 1024m to load all four cores, I ran to completion for screen shot max temp with this app.

Stock CPU, Vcore set to auto, CPUZ is pretty accurate with no load.




Overclocked to 4.4Ghz, 1.45v set in bios, voltage damper enabled.




I love the high quality of manufacturing, sure not to disappoint aesthetically. Performance with a quad core overclocked can achieve great results, my temps are in check and 100% stable. I did not suffer any corrosion but I am sure someone will find a combo of parts that are contaminated or the dissimilar metals will corrode, I am using the most popular of parts, new out of the box at the time of install.

I wish I purchased two Koolance blocks for my Skulltrail now, hence this writeup that I am impressed with the product.

This thermal paste rocks too, my numbers are up for compare.

Thanks Koolance and Victor Wang, a beautiful product indeed.
Some images borrowed from http://www.koolance.com

[jimmyz]

copper rad and no corrosion? those blocks do look sweet, good to hear somebody with a positive review of Koolance

What did you use for fluid? additives? didn't see it mentioned in the post.

[3lfk1ng]

good to hear somebody with a positive review of Koolance

and it's FUGGER ...of all people

I've been itching to try that IC Diamond myself.

[TheKarmakazi]

This is OT but does anyone know how the IC DIamond stand up under sub zero cooling?

[Charles Wirth]

Planning sub zero stuff with 9850BE if it will go. Head to head against a dual core E8400?

DD provided the green stuff, most likely a mix of dye and coolant. Not sure about anti corrosion, seems unlikely with my discoloration.

[Sam__]

That cooler looks like a goodn... maybe koolance want back in with the big boys.

[itznfb]

well, the blackice rads boast some anti-corrosion film used to prevent corrosion from mixed metals. i believe koolance uses the same. still hard to believe no corrosion occurs.

@FUGGER, do you have the resources or time to compare it to one of the top blocks.. eg. DTek or EK?

[Charles Wirth]

I would need those blocks and right now I dont have time, I do plan on switching the Skulltrail from DD to Koolance blocks asap.

I will take better pics of both loops to show color difference as well as a product image shot of the IC Diamond.

[itznfb]

temp are definitely impressive. at least from the impression i currently have for koolance. my Apogee GTX/MCR220 on my QX9650/1.4v/4200MHz fully loaded is running at 65-70c. obviously the rad is the primary performance difference there, but still, that's a huge difference.

[VictorWang]

nice review Charles ^_^.

CPU-340 did changed a lot.
Nick plated instead of 24k Gold
rough bottom surface instead of mirrior.
internal water flow also changed.

tbh, koolance style waterblock can't beat Fuzion/MP-05/XT-Di on Extreme Single Quadcore overclk (>1.5v vcore, 4.6Ghz).
but when u wanna setup a "watercooling system" and especially in serial connection, Koolance should be a wise choise, as its water resistence very low!!! and suitable for high-flow, low noise pumps.


here are some pics, damn hard to take photos of these "shining" metal

[VictorWang]

and...here is a "1 year old" Koolance CPU-330 under "extreme bad living condition" in my "benching room".

same as charles result, no corrosion at all, even at the contacts between nozzles and waterblock screwing holes.

k, now, let the pictures talk












[img]http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/forumid_64/20080413_b29d6289e112cf796e13o6JVqXtQF5LU.jpg[img]

[Charles Wirth]

Thanks images and on that last image, push those lines on further, that looks on edge and if bumped would pop off.

I have always seen people pile on when someone posted a Koolance thread to the quality and metals, so far I have seen otherwise using the product myself. I do know they have lower end blocks that I would not consider for my high end application but maybe for a silent htpc or entry watercooling for budget reasons.

A new (cheap) camera, playing with the macro functions. I need more light in my computer room..

[VictorWang]

the last pics....i'm just retire this cpu-330 and change to aqua mp-05.
so it's just a temp setup to prevent water comes out.
dont worry, i'm very careful of these things after i burned out one of my pc 3years ago. haha

[begrip]

im planning on getting a wc systems and this block are kickass :P

[msimax]

anyone try the 340s high performance block yet?

[[cTx]SGT.Viper]

This is a link for Clan Team Xtreme review. Keep in mind this is more of a gamers point of view. Thanks, guys

[santiagodraco]

Just to chime in with similar experiences to the OP. I've been running my Koolance setup here for going on 2 years now with the current coolant in the loop for well over a year.

Absolutely no corrosion and consistent performance. I did have one problem with my TMS card from Koolance, which has gone bad, but was under warranty and they'll be refunding the cost and I'll buy the new card that is out in July.

All in all I love the setup. I have cpu/gpu and NB all on the loop. I did just swap out the 3 fan Koolance rad for the new 4 fan with shroud for extra cooling in the hot Texas summers. However I still see core temps under 50 with the ambient at 76-78, full core load at 4ghz on an E8400 (with gpu and nb of course). That's on the CPU 330 block, which I will be swapping out for a 340 once they are back in stock.

Pics of the old setup (I redid tubing, routing and such quite a bit since these shots). Coolant was not replaced but rather reused (part of the "test" for corrosion over time) aside from some added to replace lost liquid during breakdown.

http://skeetersspot.smugmug.com/gall...70342475_9nzwr

[gabypr]

i have used ic 7 diamond paste but its so thick. i prefer ocz extreme freeze its easier to apply and its not so thick. anyway great pictures. looks like koolance is throwing some nice water heatsinks