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**PrairieDawg** · 03-29-2007, 01:24 PM

Re: Koolance Exos-2...is it worth it?

I hate to be the one to break it to you but water cooling isn't going to help much with your room temps unless you route the radiator to another room or outside. Reguardless of how you cool the system you are still dealing with the same amount of energy (heat).

**SmokeyMcPot** · 03-29-2007, 03:49 PM

Re: Koolance Exos-2...is it worth it?

So what do you suggest as a possible solution to both cooling of the room a few degrees and cooling the computer better than my ten million fans?

**Darthtanion** · 03-29-2007, 03:55 PM

Re: Koolance Exos-2...is it worth it?

Water will do slightly better than air, but you might look into some of the TEC/Heatpipe units that are being sold. They are actively cooled using the peltier cooler and the heatpipes are more for cooling the pelt than the processor. While your results will be limited with a hot room, it will perform better than water alone. I've been seeing these coolers for around $150 or so on Newegg. Ultra and Vigor both make this type of cooling, and I remember seeing one or two others but can't recall the brand names offhand.

**SmokeyMcPot** · 03-30-2007, 10:31 AM

Re: Koolance Exos-2...is it worth it?

Even though the native temperature to the room has risen, you cannot neglect the fact that I have A/C in the house. Right now, my computer is not close to the ambient room temp. If I were to add a water-cooled system to it, it would bring down the temp of the computer to the hotter atmosphere, your right, but as the temp of the computer goes down, so will the room temperature due less heat output from the computer. Even though it will take awhile for the room to acclamate itself back into an A/C driven temperature, it will still cool the room and computer. As for the HSF and Heat pipes, they do not cool my graphics cards...which output way more heat than the CPU itself (2 of the most powerful GPU's with an underpowered fan). On top of that...I have a Zalman http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/...x=229&code=005 with heat piping on it already that works great. In fact, it happend to have great benchmarks coming in second (from what I found). And although I AM dealing with 500 watts of energy, the Koolance handles 700 watts...which is way above what I need. So I guess what I am really wondering about, is how the Exos-2 sizes to the rest of the market. I can find millions of benchmarks for all sorts of systems, but very little benchmarks comparing against the Exos-2.

**Darthtanion** · 03-30-2007, 11:03 AM

Re: Koolance Exos-2...is it worth it?

Take it for what it is worth, but I'll put on my two cents worth and you can either use the information or not...

First of all, I have yet to find a decent "all-in-one" water cooling solution that is worth the money you put into it. You are always better off buying components and building your own setup. Granted, it isn't as convenient, but with real components you will always get better cooling for your system.

That said, the biggest drawbacks I have seen in this pre-built water cooling scheme are tubing sizes and water volume.

- Looking at the Koolance site at the EXOS-2, I see that it uses two different sizes of tubing. The 3/8" tubing isn't bad (1/2" is better), but the 1/4" tubing will cause a restriction of water flow and will be a bottleneck that affects the entire cooling system.

- I see no information regarding the volume of water maintained in the EXOS-2 system. This is important because with higher volumes of water, there is a longer time before the liquid is recirculated through the system. This gives the radiator and reservoir more time to get the temperature of the water down before it has to run through the system to dissipate heat again. Some argue the validity of this point but my experience has shown me that systems with a higher volume of water and the same core components will run cooler than those without. All-in-one systems often have smaller amounts of liquid in the system and the results usually show in the component temperatures.

With regard to your room being air conditioned, how big is the room? For a single computer, even one with your list of components, to heat up the room that much it must be on the small side. Just as a system needs ventialtion, a room should have good airflow. I'm not sure of your circumstances, but something as simple as a fan might be beneficial in this regard to keep your room cooler and help your system cooling.

Just my thoughts.

**SmokeyMcPot** · 03-30-2007, 12:37 PM

Re: Koolance Exos-2...is it worth it?

Haha, I like your 2 cents, im just trying to play devils advocate as well. i really appreciate all your help.
ok, i have limited case space, as just about every bit of space is used by cables and devices. i do have very good cable management, especially with my power supply. it has the x-connect cables. But the swivel heads on this system would be nice for the elaborate scheme i will have to come up with to tube it correctly. Also, the general stock capacity is 700ml (about 24 fl oz.), and there is a reservoir upgrade as well.
The unit itself has 2 pumps, and if one fails the other can still run the cooling system long enough to shut down. As far as cable diameter...yes, im not very impressed by the 1/4 in.
Now with that said, what kind of setup would suggest putting together to make an optimal system for my specs? With all the research ive done i see swiftechs name at the top a lot. But what setup would you suggest to bring the the processor/gfx cards/north bridge/ram to an optimal temperature, hopefully as cool as the room (with some aesthetic appeal, i dont want things to look "ghetto rigged")? By the way, my room is pretty big...and i have a room fan as well.

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Koolance Exos-2...is it worth it?

Koolance Exos-2...is it worth it?

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