Cooling Coolermaster Aquagate Mini R120

http://www.coolermaster-europe.com/...le=RL-MUA-E8U1 / EBU1AQUAGATE Mini R80 / R120
(It takes really long to load, just be patient)

First question, would this fit on a asus a8n premium? i have read several reviews of it and they say that a lot of clearance around the cpu is required.

Second question, what do you think of the unit as a basic intoduction to water cooling. I read that it performs pretty well, but im not sure. (I know next to nothing about wcing)

Your thoughts please!

 

Better cooling can be had from good air - I had a somewhat similar noob watercooling setup and it performed on par with the TT Big Typhoon I have on now and that is actually more quiet?

 

Your probably better of with a nice CPU/ GPU kit from Aqua Computer, Alphacool, Danger Den or SwiftTech. It will cost more but the quality and preformance will be worth the extra money

 

but i have no knowledge of water cooling nor the required expertise.

 

Swiftechs kit is far superior - get that

 

In that case, stick to a decent quality air cooling solution such as the thermaltake big typhoon.

I have no previous knowledge with watercooling, but have got a DIY kit nion ready to go with a lot of research and reading and some choice questions on here. If your really set on watercooling then i would say building your own loop is the way to go. Most of the decent kits are basically just an amalgamation of parts that you have to fit etc anyway.

 

Tbh.

If you think personally your not ready. You don't have self-confidence - which is something you need.

 

I'm gonna be a devil's advocate here, with reason.

The 120 version of the aquagate mini may give similar to a TTBT, but the delta will be much better. I'm starting to hate the BT personally, as my wife's STILL can't keep up with the load from a stock clocked 820. I'm looking at something similar for hers, and for the budding enthusiast, I can see little better than "I installed it all by myself" for their confidence. With other kits, even preassembled, there is a large amount of complication for very little temp gain, until you start going into picking blocks, planning loops and matching pumps, most of which involves a bit of fabrication skills. That may be something he has no experience in, or he may have no tools or place to work. The bog standard answer of "well, buy some" doesn't always work, but a kit like this will afford better temp stability and I'm betting better performance than air, from the numbers I've seen here and there.

Do remember that water is quite a bit better at thermal transfer than air, and even beginner kits that are well made can offer better than a heatsink (even a good one) in cases of limited airflow or under heavy load.

As an aside, the Corsair Nautilus is a GREAT starter kit. Far better than expected from a simple kit, and not much more setup than a mini 120.

Some things to chew on...

 

ok guys, thanks a lot for the responses. I think that, based on the majority of the responses, that this kit is may not be one to go for, becuase a TTBT or the like would give as good if not better cooling. (There are lots of different figures on the web about this ). I will look into the Corsair Nautilus (thanks for that) and i will also look into a full blown water cooling setup, with a bit 'o reasearch of course!

Another follow up question though - where can i find guides, information, advice etc for a noob about water cooling? (if i do decide to go that way)

 

check out the information in the sticky topics in here, the put a list of components together and lob it up in here for peoples opinions etc

 

ah ok, thanks a lot, should've noticed the stickies
will do that, just researching at the mo (so much info to take in and understand, all at once)

EDIT: i have been looking at the thermaltake products, especially the big water SE, and it is all well and good setting up the thing, but how do you go about removing all of the coolant and stuff from the tubes etc in case of a leak or something along those lines?

 

I've used the Coolermaster Aquagate Mini R120, in fact I'm using it right now and it's keeping my 3200+ at a nice 22c and 32c under load. I just put on a papst hooked to the small fan controller you get with it and set it to 7v (or until you can't hear it) and it's been fine.

It's a closed sealed system and comes preassembled so it's nice and newbie friendly. I can't say it's bad unlike some people on here who have never owned it and just say bad things