Cooling Active Cool AC4G

Looks like another total pile of crap to me... just trying to jump on the extreme cooling / overclocking band wagon to make a quick buck !

 

Got to admit it does look pretty cool

 

And that's one of the problems. The manufacturers care more about looks than performance/reliability.

8-ball

 

This product is pants!

Why?

1) Poor cooling solution
2) Too expensive
3) Takes up a PCI Slot
4) Waste of power
5) Too noisey

The only thing it has going for it is the ease of installation....But why would ou want to do that?

 

From what I've heard, it is very quiet. But this is ONLY useful if your processor is produces LESS heat than the peltiers can cope with (around 73W in this case.) So, no overclocking then.

8-ball

 

Would be great for something like a C3, Eden, or old Celeron or Duron, but the money would be better off spent on a better CPU than these anyway, so yeah, it sux!

Do you reckon they are stupid as an upgrade to an existing decently performing watercooled system, ie adding a TEC to a decent waterblock?

 

If done properly, no, but there are more efficient means of cooling the processor.

As a comparison, phase change systems (such as vapochill) run at around 50-60% of Carnot efficiency. By comparison, peltiers run at very low efficiencies, sometimes even single figure percentages.

If you don't mind paying for the extra electricity, then by all means, go for it, but you will need a pretty hefty rad to cope with the additional heat load imposed by a 226W TEC.

8-ball

 

Phase change would be great, but I am but a humble student . If I get decent watercooling, it will cost under £200, and upgrading to a TEC only an extra £50 when I feel like upgrading again. The only time I am gonna see phase change is when I boil a kettle

 

If you're gonna pelt properly, you need a decent power supply, and they are around £60-£80, plus the cost of the pelt itself.

Also, blocks which are good at cooling cpu's regularly are not necessarily good for use with peltiers.

And when I say hefty rad, I mean BIG, that is, if you want decent temps.

8-ball

 

It may very well be quiet, but for much less money you could get yourself the best heatsink around and a near-silent fan. That way you'd have equal or lower noise level and better cooling.

It's really quite hard to find any plus points of this system.

 

Oh yeah

Was thinking Swifty MCW 462 or MCW 5000 (if they bring out a TEC conversion kit for the 5000).

Looking at Thermochill 120.3.

 

I think they might struggle with the MCW5000 since it has a much smaller profile, as a result of using the socket mouting lugs. It would require a new retention mechanism to fit in a TEC, and there isn't really enough room for the mounting and insulation of a cold plate. Though I could be wrong.

The MCW462-T is a good block which has been well thought out. The insulation is effective, and IF combined with a POWERFUL pump, the swiftech blocks can perform quite well.

I would go with 1/2" tubing and stay clear of the swiftech pushfit barbs. They will increase the resistance to flow, and thatblock needs as much flow as it can get.

8-ball.

 

As for the rad, the 120.2 would probably be sufficient, and easier to mount, though it might be worth looking at 2 120.1s run in paralel, since this would allow the use of a big pump, achieving very high flow through the loop, (block included) and keeping the flow through each rad close to it's optimum range of 1-1.5gpm.

Though, this is only the case if you are using a BIG pump, somehting like one of the IWASKIs. If you decide not to, stick with running with a single large rad.

8-ball

 

Ok. Thanx for all the help 8-BALL, you truly are the Extreme Kooling god! I'll let u know how it goes.