Installation:

Installation note: Due to the weight of the VGA and Chipset water blocks' weight and pressure needed to install the tubing, the tubing was first connected and then finally installed. For demonstration purposes, the blocks were installed individually before final installation. If you opt to install the tubing after the blocks are mounted, take great care not to damage your VGA and Chipset processors. If your processor does not have the infamous aluminum IHS on it, you should consider attaching the tubing before installation as well.

1-1/2" Wide by 5/8" Thick

1-1/2" Wide by 3/4" Thick

   The XP Light CPU block can be mounted with the motherboard in your case. If you happen to only have the XP Light CPU block to mount in your system, then it's the same method using the support halter which slides over the motherboard's existing CPU fan mount. A single screw is used through the center of the support halter which tightens against the block's center. Most the CPU support halter's all use a single screw on most processors. It takes very little effort to install and tighten the XP Light CPU block.

Preperation

Barbs Screwed In

Single Bracket/Screw

Installed

   If your motherboard is mounted in a case like most, you'll have to remove the motherboard to mount the SNB Silver Chipset block. The mounting kit consists of two lengthy bolts, washers, tension springs, and thumb screws. The bolt method tends to be a little loose at first when tightening the thumb nuts. A couple extra nuts tightened down against the motherboard would prevent the screws from spinning when tightening the thumb bolts. This kind of addition will round off the kit more completely and make the installation easier.

Installing Barbs

Chipset Kit

Mounting w/Tape

Mainboard Complete

   Since the VGA and Chipset blocks are very heavy and may tilt during installation, spacers, tape, or other special precautions might be in order. Small rubber bumpers can assist in keeping the block from tilting which can chip the corners of the processors. Connecting the tubing to the water blocks before mounting them to the motherboard or video card is also recommended. If your processor does not have the infamous aluminum IHS on it, you should also consider this same method. The tubing is pretty stiff and requires a bit more pressure to push over the barbs.

   The GFX SP-NV40 GPU water block didn't come with the exact four-point mounting kit for the test system's Geforce 7800 GT, but the extra accessories did include a compatible mounting kit that used two bolts, washers, tension springs, and thumb screws. Even though it wasn't the desired four-point mounting kit, it still held the GFX in place without any movement. Some extra ram sinks were installed to ensure the video card remained stable with its factory overclocked settings.
 

Installing Barbs

VGA kit

Parts Needed

Block Installed

   The tubing was finished being cut to fit with the AGB-Eheim 600 Station II 12v Pump sitting outside the case. The pump is small enough it can easily fit inside a larger tower case, but does not come with any kind of kit to mount it or keep it stable. A little modding or double sided sticky tape might do the trick depending on where you place it.

Pump Kit

Power Cord

12v volt Port

Radiator Kit

Dual 12cm Mounted

Looks Good

   Using a 24-pin dummy connector with the appropriate green and a black wires connected, the power supply powered on the Eheim Pump for priming the system. The Alphacool's particular ring nut barb connections make for a very secure and water tight system. After leak testing, the power supply was reconnected to the entire system for final testing.

Finished XP Light

Finished SNB

Video Card Mounted

System Ready

Testing:
 

Test Notes: Room and distilled water temperatures were kept to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Additives were not added due to the short use of the water cooling system and to eliminate any possible performance hindrances. The kit was tested with a single and a dual fan configuration
.

   The single 12cm radiator does fine keeping the water cooled in an idle state and is able to cool the water enough to keep up with load and overclocked temps. If the processor were coupled with much more overclockable ram, the radiator probably would just barely be able to keep up with much higher temperatures. Two 12cm fans made some difference by a couple degrees and a little more fan noise.

   What really would have helped the system is a dual 12cm radiator. Obviously, a dual radiator would dissipate quite a bit more heat and improve the system's cooling capacity by reducing the temps a good 5 degrees Celsius. You'll be happy to know that this is the base complete water cooling kit and that you can get the dual 12cm radiator in the next kit up.

   Compared to the default heat sink that had been on the processor, Alphacool cools much better by about 6 to 10 degrees across the tests. The kit also performed better than a Coolermaster Hyper 48, not to mention removing the added stress of the 420+ grams that accompanies it. Even my favorite Hyper 48 couldn't convince me to keep it over the Alphacool kit.

   The pump is very, very quiet and seemed to do well enough to keep the water flowing. It isn't the most powerful pump but is capable enough to keep the water flowing even with a dual or triple 12cm radiator configuration.

   One thing that has been updated since the inception of this kit is that the PCI mounted pump power regulator has been moved completely over to the easier 12 volt power connector. While, an experienced enthusiast may possess the know-how to assemble the power regulator manually, new water cooling users will welcome this revision. The easier any kit is to assemble, the greater the number of people will be whether skilled or not.

Summary:

   The Alphacool Complete Set did a decent job of out performing any of the stock and after market cooling fans. Unfortunately, the single 12cm prevents the kit from really being able to perform. These days a single 12cm radiator is out paced by the ever growing, hotter video cards and chipsets. While the latest AMD and Intel processors perform cooler, the added new heat sources almost demand a dual 12cm radiator in any complete system configuration.

   While this particular set may not satisfy the extreme enthusiast, at around $200.00 it suddenly becomes a very enticing upgrade, appealing to the silent and HTPC users. If you are on the hunt for a more extreme Alphacool cooling kit or upgrades, give our friends at Sharka Computers the opportunity to transform your basic system into a work of art.