The XP Light CPU Cooler block was in just as good a condition as the NB-SLI block. There are no deformities to the acrylic block or abnormalities in the seems and seals. So, let's get straight to the assembly.

"The NexXxos XP Light is a new kind of plexi and copper cooler with parallel canals in PCF(c) construction type. Additionally, the canals were drilled in 90° angles - thus the surface area is enourmously increased for heat transfer. The copper surface was glass-beaded in order to increase the cooling surface once again."

XP Light Block	Clean Fabrication
Tight Flow Channels	Mirror Finish

   One thing I did not find esthetically pleasing is the quality of the mounting bracket. It isn't made from a quality metal for one thing, but to not be polished or at least brushed leaves it looking a little cheap. However, this is an older revision and Alphacool has much better kit hardware. If Alphacool is going to continue selling this cooling block, they may want to offer the upgraded bracket with the kits.
 

Complete Package

Hardware

Simple Instructions

Not Really Clean

   This block also did not come with barbs, the need for four brass barbs. If you ever find yourself going to the hardware store to find a quick fix or modification, take your kit with you so you can properly match up the threads. If you need hose or tubing, Home Depot and Lowe's Home and Garden carry it in 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, O.D. respectively. Again, using the Teflon tape, I mounted the fittings. A few turns of the barbs using just my hand strength, made sure I didn't have any room for leaks.
 

Brass Barbs

Hand Tightened

Ready to Mount

Top View

Side View

Tight Flow Channels

   Getting the bracket and water block on was as easier than applying a stock AMD 64 cooler. It slides over the existing heatsink motherboard bracket and is some what loose at first. Tightening the center screw with the hex tool kept the block and bracket centered securely on the CPU. The connection had no movement at all even with the kit's silicone.

Bracket Test

Hook the Top First

Press the Bottom In

Mounted XP Light

Hides Block a Little

Channels Flowing

Mounted XP Light

DFI Lanparty Ultra-D

   Now that the kits are both mounted, it's time to check for leaks. If your pump has adjustable or variable speed settings, it's a very good idea to test the system at all speeds to ensure the higher flow rate doesn't bring out any unforeseen leaks. After this, it was time see some performance temperatures.

   The results were interesting based on the fact that the Alphacool XP Light and NB-SLI have smaller flow channels than the Apogee and MCW30. The Alphacool blocks do reasonably well for how they are designed with their default configuration. I would surmise it's because of the faster and smaller movement of turbulent water through the very center of the blocks. If there were more water making it through, as with the MCW30, the temps would be lower. The MCW30 has much smaller area of contact as it's roughly only half the size of the NB-SLI. Despite any of this, the cooler blocks were well within any acceptable ranges.

   Chipsets can be quite hot by default. While CPU cores are developed with lower thermal properties, chipsets will continue to be the hot. It's not shocking to see these temps higher than a low wattage CPU. There wasn't a great amount of difference between the MCW30 and the NB-SLI cooling blocks which I attributed to the amount of surface contact area and direct channeling.

   When I considered what kinds of techniques could help keep a chipset cooler than a stock heatsink, the question of thermal paste came to mind. This is the reason why I decided to try out some Artic Silver 5 on the cooler blocks. Improvements like these can make a mediocre water block perform more like an extreme block. The results as you can see pose the question as to why a little better thermal paste doesn't come with the cooler blocks.  

   The thing to keep in perspective is what your intention is with liquid cooling. Is it to silence your pc? If so, then lesser expensive, non-extreme kits will work just fine. Is it to overclock your system and take it to its maximum performance? Then you will need a higher rated kits is what you will need. Then there is the do-it-yourself enthusiasts. You can easily mix and match your components no matter where they might come from and derive your own extreme or normal liquid cooling system.

   The XP-Light works well even with its smaller channels. The only things that could be improved have already been improved in their latest generation of cooling blocks. The XP Light in itself isn't the most extreme thermal friendly cooler block on the market. It doesn't carry quite the flash of the Apogee, but it does make for an attractive acrylic block. The mounting bracket, while easy to mount, doesn't do the XP-Light block justice. Perhaps a chrome retention bracket would be the answer we are all looking for.

   The NB-SLI on the other hand did quite well with the chipset temperatures which can increase very quickly when overclocking or running a system at full speed. It's only weakness is the weak mounting application. With a little preventative measure such as using some thermal tape or spacer to keep it from making a connection to the chipset area, this block works very well.