The Pump :::...

Finding information on the pump Corsair have used was easier said than done. There seems to be very few details on it.

I do know however that it's a Bosch Type PA66 unit designed primarily for cooling the motors in electrically driven vehicles (maybe invalid scooters). The impeller is coupled to the motor magnetically which means there's no mechanical shaft that needs sealing so reducing the source for potential leaks.

Bosch PAD Pump Type PA66

10,000 hours estimated life time sounds okay until you actually convert that to days.

10,000 / 24hours = 416.66 days, or just one year and 51 days of continuous 24 hour running. To be fair other pumps don't seem to quote significantly better times, I just hope Corsair will be selling spares!

UPDATE: Thanks to Chin for getting in touch. It seems the specs I used for the pump, which was referenced HERE, are not correct. I have to admit I questioned the rather short MTBF but that was the only info which was returned after searching against what now appears to be a material number. Anyway, more details on the pump can be found on THIS page, although I can't see anything useful to differentiate this pump from the one for which I quoted the specs. If in doubt, I'm sure the guys will set you straight over at Corsair's forum in THIS thread.

There are adaptors available for all Intel and Athlon CPUs, but the system I was testing on featured AMD's Athlon64 3400+.

The adaptor for the Athlon64 is, well, boring, to be honest. While the other retainers are all shiny and chromed, this one is just a lump of metal.

Athlon64 Retainer

It is black though so I think Corsair missed a chance here. Their logo in white, possibly UV reactive paint would have looked very classy.

There are two holes in the back of the plate inside which two pressure springs sit.

Athlon64 Retainer

However fitting this thing with the two loose plastic spacers sliding about on the retaining screws while also holding the thermal grease-smeared water block in place and making sure the regular HSF retainer is still sat on its lugs is rather like knitting fog in the dark.

Athlon64 Retainer

As you can see there are a couple of cutouts for the feed and return pipe but the rather sharp top edge was rubbing against them and I wasn't comfortable until I'd lined the cutouts with rubber just in case they sliced through the pipe.

Once I'd got everything battened down I felt I needed to grab a small mirror just to confirm the compression springs were still straight and in place. They were, fortunately! AMD have at last come up with a semi-decent HSF retention mechanism, why can't we use it?

When everything was properly assembled the last step was to marry up PC and Hydrocool. Once the data cable was plugged in all that remained was the pipework. These just push into the back of the Hydrocool with a very snug pressure and a reassuring "click!"

Removing them is even simpler! Just push the small tab (arrowed) and not only do the connectors eject themselves, they also seal themselves too! So if you want to transport your PC you can unplug the Hydrocool and carry that separately! Works for me!

Feed/Return Pipe Quick Release Coupling

Best of all there was almost no fluid loss when unplugging the pipes. The only real negative is that if you're transferring the Hydrocool to another PC, the connectors are too big to pull back through the expansion slot, even with the controller card removed, so you'll need to cut them off. Hardly an everyday occurrence but still.

In Action

A Closer Look

Performance/Conclusion