CoolIT ECO A.L.C Introduction Costing around £56 this cooler is a self sustained water cooling device with enough coolant to last around ten years. The build quality is very robust and very nice to look at; it wouldn’t look out of place if your case had a side window. Included In the box is the backing plates for all current CPU sockets, including: AMD’s AM2, AM2+ and AM3 sockets, along with Intel’s 775, 1156 and 1366. The included manual is very clear and easy to follow; it explains how to fit the radiator and the CPU block using instructions and illustrations. A PDF file of this can be found here. . Installation Install PC specs. SilverStone Sugo SG07 Case Zotac G41 ITX-A-E mini ITX motherboard Intel Q6600 Core 2 Quad CPU 2GB Crucial Balistix Tracer RAM 2GB Sapphire 4870 x2 Being a man and a seasoned pc builder I didn’t follow the instructions and found it incredibly easy to fit, even in the tiny chassis I was using. As this was a fresh build I had no problem installing the backing plate as the motherboard was not in the case, if you are thinking of upgrading your current cooler to this you will need to remove your motherboard from the case unless you have a hole cut in the motherboard tray. The backing plate has a sticky foam pad to hold it on to the mobo while installing, which was a nice addition that I haven’t seen on any other backing plate that I have used, this allowed you to have the plate held in place giving you that useful extra hand you always find youself needing! The CPU block can be adjusted depending what socket you are using, it’s very easy to adjust and very clear on what setting the retention screws are currently on. As I was not fitting this in to a standard ATX chassis a little rearranging to the fan and radiator were needed, most people would have the fan blowing air out of the case but due to the design of this case, it is recommended to have air blowing on to the motherboard, as the 120mm fan is the only air flow in to the case, so I reversed the orientation of the fan and attached it to the other side of the radiator, this allowed me to mount the radiator on to the case instead of the fan, this was a very simple task to do. Once all plugged in I fired it all up and began testing it, I found the fan very noisy and would have changed it for a quieter Akassa fan if it were not needed to move the air through the chassis. The next day I had a LAN party so it was perfect for testing it while under load, as it was going to face some intense gaming! After a good 2 hour session of Battlefeild 2 the temps looked like this: Conclusion This is a great improvement from the original all in one watercooling solutions, it was incredibly easy to fit on a 775 board, and as 1156 and 1366 are pretty much identical in fixing methods I can imagine that this would be the same. Temps are good but are no better then a Titan Fenrir or Thermaltake Frio. Its size and versatility make it perfect for a Small form factor case like the SG07, as it get the same temps for a lot less space then a tower cooler. Pros: Fits all socket types. Extremely easy fitting. Good cooling. Cons: Noisy Fan. Same cooling as an air cooler.
