Conclusion

The 3DVelocity 'Dual Conclusions Concept' Explained: After discussing this concept with users as well as companies and vendors we work with, 3DVelocity have decided that where necessary we shall aim to introduce our 'Dual Conclusions Concept' to sum up our thoughts and impressions on the hardware we review. As the needs of the more experienced users and enthusiasts have increased, it has become more difficult to factor in all the aspects that such a user would find important, while also being fair to products that may lack these high end "bonus" capabilities but which still represent a very good buy for the more traditional and more prevalent mainstream user. The two categories we've used are:

The Mainstream User ~ The mainstream user is likely to put price, stock performance, value for money, reliability and/or warranty terms ahead of the need for hardware that operates beyond its design specifications. The mainstream user may be a PC novice or may be an experienced user; however their needs are clearly very different to those of the enthusiast, in that they want to buy products that operate efficiently and reliably within their advertised parameters.

The Enthusiast ~ The enthusiast cares about all the things that the mainstream user cares about but is more likely to accept a weakness in one or more of these things in exchange for some measure of performance or functionality beyond its design brief. For example, a high priced motherboard may be tolerated in exchange for unusually high levels of overclocking ability or alternatively an unusually large heat sink with a very poor fixing mechanism may be considered acceptable if it offers significantly superior cooling in return.

Mainstream User:-

The Hydrocool200 is a very nice unit. It's extremely easy to install, something that will appeal to the mainstream, or novice user greatly. It's stylish and offers great cooling, these are things that are pushing their way onto the mainstream user's "Most Wanted" list. Though I think these products are only just starting to cross that enthusiast/mainstream border and most mainstream users wouldn't want to venture into water-cooling yet. It is vastly more expensive than an air cooling setup, and more expensive than a self assembled kit, though I found this easier to install than anything I've previously used, air or water-cooled.
This will find a niche market but I feel it will be in the enthusiast bracket rather than the mainstream, for now. I also think that the situation will be hugely different within the next few years, assuming that current CPU power output stays the same or increases.

We need to wait and see if this becomes a truly great product, this will depend on how the system will cope with the Northbridge and/or GPU blocks, and also what the final price of the Hydrocool and Cool block will be. Initial estimations put it at around 250 Euro (about £178) which, while seemingly expensive, compares very favourably to similar units.

For now, this is an easy to install, efficient cooling system, everything ready to go out of the box, and will cope with any current or future AMD XP's and Intel P4's. With a 2 year warranty, and the assurance of names like Corsair and Delphi, this is a very accomplished first step into the cooling market.

Well done Corsair!

Enthusiast :-

For an enthusiast I think the Hydrocool, for right now offers a slightly more undetermined outlook. Price is less of an issue, but performance, and overclocking is more of an issue. Knowing if the unit would cope with a highly overclocked CPU along with a very high FSB, very hot dual channel running Northbridge and overclocked GPU is going to be a big question on an enthusiasts mind. I do think it will cope, though maybe not at the largest overclocks possible with just a CPU in the loop. The lack of a larger radiator, and an extra fan I can see limiting the overall heat output the system can cope with. With noise becoming more and more of a factor in a lot of people's buying decisions, the possibility of Turbo mode kicking in due to the extra heat is a big downside.

Assuming it handles the extra heat very well, then I can see this selling a lot of unit's in this market. Though again, like many mainstream users won't want to leave air cooling for water, many enthusiasts will want to go with a self assembled and customized kit. Perhaps there's a niche for the enthusiast who's also a water cooling virgin or who simply wants maximum ease, convenience or portability.

Many thanks to Paul Dutton of OCS for giving us a chance to look at the Hydrocool200, with more units like this, and the Koolance Exos available we should soon see a larger uptake of water-cooling in the mainstream market. This should bring the usual cost in prices as mass production really kicks into gear. Also more competition as more companies see the demand for such cooling and bring out their own cooling systems. I can only see the market for better cooling growing, but I think we are still a good couple of years off persuading the average Joe Smith that water and electronics isn't necessarily a bad thing to put together ;)

Performance

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