Testing:

As you can see, there are so many options and settings that you can schedule and preprogram the Aquaduct system to perform to your settings. You can even control the system's display brightness, contrast, and what shows up on the screen. Naturally, this had to be tested and played with as well.

LEDs Powered Up	Set The Display
Normal	Brighter Display

The system was tested at idle, full loads, and overclocked operations. In all truth, users are more concerned about typical load and overclocked temperatures. Since this computer is quite capable of some great overclocking, temps were recorded with the processor at 3.4GHz from its stock 2.4GHz frequency. The motherboard and processor top out at 500MHz Front Side Bus on average, but there are far more users with the 450MHz range overclock than the higher.

One thing that I wanted to check was how efficient the system is without any fans treating it like a passive cooling system like the Zalman Reserator series. Even with the fans off, the CPU temperatures remained around 42C depending on the CPU load. At full dual core load, the temps reached 52 C at its hottest point. Keep in mind that the unit was not in any direct sunlight or in the path of any heat from vents. As long as the rooms ambient temperatures are relatively 22 C or lower, it appears the system could go fanless. However, Aqua-Computer advises against using these settings to be on the safe side as your particular area may have a warmer climate which would definitely allow your processor to overheat.

43C Low Activity

46C Typical

51-52C Load

The system was then powered down for a couple hours to allow the water to return to ambient temps. Then the fan speeds were set to 600 RPMs. The CPU temp idled at 33C reaching an average of 36 C, again, depending on the CPU activity. At full dual core load, the temps reached 44 C which is actually quite nice given the fact there is very, very little fan noise if any.

Full Power

Finally, the fan speeds were set to 1200 to 1250 depending on what the Fan Test option revealed. Just to keep things even, the fans were set to 1200 RPMS. Fan noise was about 27dB measured one foot from the Aquaduct. If the unit is placed some what behind your computer case, the noise is lessoned just a bit more. Idle temps were 27 C with temps hanging at 32 C during normal operations. Full load temps reached 36 C which is quite good for being abused for several hours.

Overclocking your processor wouldn't be advisable without the use of the fans. Whether the fans speeds were 600 or 1200 PRMs, the Cuplex XT is well tuned for the Aquaduct. Idle temps still remained about 29 C and topped out under full load at 42 C despite the processor running at 3.4GHz. This puts it very close to the performance level of Swiftech, Koolance, D-Tek, and DangerDen water blocks.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion:

The Aquaduct 360XT liquid cooling system may appear to be timid at first glance. It's anything but timid. It's a very aggressively designed and cooled liquid cooling system with the most comprehensive customization software to date. And it's also a very efficient cooling system providing more than enough heat dissipation for today's multi-core processors. The interactive screen options can be just a bit confusing for a standard user or newcomer to the system. However, if users read the manual through, they will gain first hand understanding that the Aquaduct is controlled by the software and not by the screen and buttons. The main purpose of the buttons allow the user to scroll through the data and customize the report screen if you feel so inclined. Primary system functions are controlled via software.

Sweet!

Ultimately, the Aquaduct 360XT and Aquasuite are intended to offer the enthusiast maximum control and complete customized system settings. It will take you about thirty minutes to become familiar with all of that the Aquasuite has to offer. Every setting has a purpose from monitoring water temperatures to system temperatures. The tabs and titles can quickly learn which tabs and options are necessary to set the system to an optimal level of performance. It's the options inside the tabs that will require a little experimentation to learn what the settings are all about. You'll be happy to know that not one program bug was experienced among it's extensive features and settings during any part of testing. Every function from the date and time, fans, and automated cooling settings all functioned completely and successfully. 
 
 You can also use the Aquasuite software to set up just how the LEDs function depending on your own temperature settings. For this system, the LEDs were set to brighten as the water temps lowered. They don't really get all that bright which means users won't have to worry about obnoxious blinding lights. Once you become more familiar with the software, you can really customize the entire system to work exactly to your own preference and even save it to a Profile. The options list just keeps going and going.

As for the performance of the system, all the temps are actually quite good, especially given the fact that the pump speed is set to its default when you first activate the system which was around 20 L/H default, reaching 30 L/H during operations. The most optimal pump speed seemed to be about the 40 to 45 L/H. Increasing the water flow any higher, even up to 60 L/H, didn't greatly lower the temperatures. In fact, they dropped a mere 1 degree which indicates that the Cuplex XT water block is quite efficient no matter what flow levels are applied.

Aquaduct Cuplex XT CPU Water Block

The Cuplex XT Double Impact CPU Water block is an excellent cooling block. It's a very efficient cooler no matter the flow rate. The key thing for this block, as with all water blocks, is to keep the water cool with a very capable radiator and pump system. This is where the Aquaduct helps the Cuplex XT really shine. If you would rather continue using your dual 120mm radiator, you will be pleasantly surprised at how well the block will perform. The Cuplex XT's design isn't your typical water block in terms of design and appearance. It has its own aggressive look not yet offered by any other maker to date. Given the current state of computer components and all the aggressive cooling, the Cuplex XT isn't out of place at all. Personally, I like it's lethal look and it's performance as well.

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