Testing:

For testing purposes, the system was tested on low and high settings with the Koolance System. The system was also allowed to burn in for several days to allow both CPU coolers to properly set. Yes, this meant I got to play a few rounds of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Battlefield Desert Conflict! The Ambient temperature was 22 Celsius. Cinebench, PCMark05, and EA Games' Battlefield 2 were used for testing gamer performances. Cinebench, CPUBurn (Courtesy of Swiftech), and Orthos were used to properly stress and push the dual core CPU thermal properties. The Apogee GT is the comparison water block of choice at present.

All Systems Go!

As soon as the system posted, I went to the BIOS to check both the CPU and Chipset (some BIOS label it as Motherboard) temperatures. It's great to see the new temperatures right after booting up. Leaving the BIOS up allowed me to keep tabs on the temps and the system for any abnormalities. The board sat idle with a CPU temp of 29C and Chipset temp of 31C. Let's check out the system under real world use and some more extreme testing.

First up on the list is typical desktop use which involved web browsing, emails, web pages, pictures, and audio programs. On a dual core processor, there is very, very few times that I would see a 100 percent in the Windows Task Manager > Performance tab. And typical load is only placed on one processor about 95 percent of the time as well. So, heat isn't a really big issue under these conditions. We still find this to be a common thing at the tips of most users. All in all, this didn't push the CPU any farther than 35 Celsius.

Cooling System @ Low Speeds

The system wasn't much higher at all under intense gaming loads either. After running PCMark05, Cinebench 9, and gaming benchmarks the only thing that got somewhat hot was the graphics card. The CPU-330 was able to keep the E6600 to a minimal 35C even after a couple hours of testing. Gaming rarely ever causes your temperatures to even rise high enough to be considered hot when it's a decent water cooling system. If it does, then your CPU-330 isn't properly seated or something is very seriously wrong with your processor or motherboard. Most often, it tends to be the CPU cooler that isn't properly installed. Don't feel bad though. It's happened to every one to some degree.

Now on to pushing both cores with some more serious benchmarks. Cinebench in Multi Processor Mode, CPU Burn, and Orthos were all used to check for the most extreme results. Cinebench gives us a little insight of how future multi-core processors will benefit in real world temperature results in multi-core games. CPU Burn and Orthos are probably the most widely used serious multi-core CPU benchmarking and stability test utilities around. These two programs have been used in quite a few forums to prove a system is completely stable, especially after a new overclock frequency has been achieved. They are also both really good at heating up any dual core processor. Granted, you won't find this kind of abuse being caused from your every day average programs. But, it does give us the maximum cooling capacity benchmark for when serious future multi-core games and programs are released. Cinebench Multi Core setting pushed the CPU-330 to a 38C maximum after multiple series of tests. CPU Burn and Orthos both pushed the processor a bit farther than Cinebench. The CPU-330 sensor displayed a healthy 40 Celsius maximum after several hours from each program.

Cooling System @ High Speed

Stress testing the E6600 overclocked to 3GHz isn't much higher than its stock 2.4GHz, so the CPU Voltage was increased to 1.4 volts which is much higher than the processor needs to be stable to add to the heat. Sensors reported the CPU-330 temperature at 44C under load with the Apogee GT dead even. Both blocks were very, very close in comparison since both are aimed at multi-core core processors with its revisions compared to their predecessors. Basically, the blocks both perform with in 1 degree of each other across the board and often match.

New Nvidia 6xx chipsets get comparatively hotter than previous chipsets due to the many new features and processes they are capable of performing. They are a lot like a CPU these days, but not quite as small in the fabrication process. Due to this fact, they can get pretty hot, especially compared to older generation chipsets. The CHC-120-V10 has the same internal machining as well as a higher flow capacity as the CPU-330. The CHC-120 works very well with the 650-SLI chipset under every condition. The chipset cooler idled at 31C at High settings and reached a mere 35C with both CPU cores performing benchmark tests. Overclocked stress testing push the chipset temps higher partly due to the memory being overclocked which effects the chipset. The overclocked temps idled at 35C and under load reached 39C.

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The top 965, 680, and some 975 motherboards would all greatly benefit some of this elite water cooling. Overheating processors and chipsets may be the very reason you aren't reaching those crazy benchmarks you've been hoping to achieve. Some of the 680i reference boards have shipped pretty much unchanged from various makers which happen to include that noisy little optional chipset fan. Not all systems need the chipset fans, so stock operations may be just what the doctor ordered in your newest upgrade. And with the new dual core processors allowing people to become power users on the audio and video front, and at the same time allowing overclocked frequencies we use to dream about, you just can't ask for a greater chance of silent success adding a little bit of water cooling power to your system.

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There are users who believe you can't have more than one favorite when it comes to particular computer component makers. I understand why someone would completely believe in their choice of components and especially water cooling. This is where I am the black sheep of sorts. Based on the water cooling products I have had the experience working with in the past year, which have been many, there are two names that are my favorites. And I can honestly say they both have put their names on the lines and passed my pickiest tests and inspections with great success. Those two are Koolance and Swiftech. Water cooling has never been so cool.

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Conclusion:

Passive heat sinks, whether common spreaders or heat pipes, can only keep a chipset cool to a point. There is a threshold at which the voltage and operations just create too much heat where the passive coolers just can't dissipate heat quick enough. That threshold depends on what kind of cooling you have. Heat pipes coolers may be the most popular and cheapest method of CPU cooling, but even it can't do the job a water block can. The thermal dissipation of water is naturally far better than thermal paste and a giant heat sink, especially if you intend to overclock.

There are a couple of great aspects about water cooling that makes it more appealing than over fan driven CPU coolers. The most obvious are no more dust bunnies or messy internals for your system, extra quiet performance, and it allows you a much greater chance of maximum system performance whether stock or overclocked. And the looks are just an extra bonus feature which is really, really sweet! This has been one of Koolance's great motivations from the start and the idea of creating the CPU-330 Water Block. Appearances have been greatly improved among its predecessors. Its presentation speaks just as loudly as its great performance. And given the warmer past few days around here, the test results are excellent for both the CPU cooling blocks which reveals a really good unmentioned benefit. Warmer areas can wreak havoc on your CPU's temps as well as your case internal components. Water cooling can handle these warmer climates much, much easier than conventional cooling.

The CPU-330 and CHC-120-V10 do very well with the increased flow capacity compared to previous blocks. The block's internal improvements are no doubt an equally contributing factor. The CPU-330 is able to drop the CPU a couple more degrees across the temp ranges even with the warmer ambient temps these days. Probably where the blocks perform best is under full load operations as well as in any overclocked environments. All this is achieved with the help of the very capable EHX-1050 and RP-1000 system whether on low or high speeds.

These blocks are designed to cool any processor with great results and will make a great addition to your current water cooling system and given the new pricing across most of Koolance's product lines, both the Koolance CPU-330 and CHC-120-V10 are excellent buys making new Koolance water cooling systems more affordable than ever.