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The Reservoir:::...
Tottering around on your hands and knees
with a jug of water in the twilight under your desk
is no fun at the best of times, particularly if you've
decided to take the lazy route and not power your
system down to top up and only have a half inch filler
neck to aim at. Fortunately that's not the case with
Asetek's reservoir as the whole lid can be removed
allowing unhindered access. The threaded thumbscrew
in the middle of the lid allows it to vent or to be
sealed and should be removed first to release the
vacuum and make removing the lid easier.
I'm not sure if the reservoir shares
the pump's roots in the world of aquariums but either
way it looks a whole lot classier than some of the
bland looking tanks and containers that are around.
The body of the reservoir, like the
lids of the water blocks is made from Polymethyl methacrylate
(PMMA), which certainly sounds impressive, but you
might know it better under one of its more common
names of Acrylic, PlexiGlass or Lucite. The great
advantage that PMMA has over glass, apart from being
shock proof, is that even thick pieces of it are perfectly
transparent, something you can see for yourself if
you visit California's Monterrey Bay Aquarium where
you'll find a PMMA window that measures in at 54 feet
long, 18 feet high, and 13 inches thick! It also keeps
you from catching the puck in your teeth at that hockey
match!
 The
drawback with PMMA blocks and reservoirs is that you
have to be a little careful what chemicals you add
to the water. Alcohol is perhaps the most likely one
you'll need to keep clear of but also Acetone and
Chlorine should be avoided.
The other problem with clear water block
lids is that Algae growth can get to look pretty unsightly,
fortunately Asetek have thought of this and in the
kit is a bottle of anti-Algae solution with enough
in it for four refills. I'm no expert on the subject
but I'd imagine the trend for UV lighting would also
helps keep the water clean and clear too.
The Water Blocks:::...
At the business end of your new water
cooling setup are the blocks themselves. These are
milled, solid copper blocks capped with drilled and
threaded PMMA lids which sit on rubber gaskets to
form a watertight seal. The thread on the two push
fit connectors is wrapped with PTFE tape prior to
assembly to keep the threads sealed which is a nice
touch.
CPU Block
The GPU block design has been revised
to offer compatibility with a greater range of graphics
cards including the GeForce2, 3, 4, FX and the Radeon
9700 and 9800 series.
GPU (Graphics Card) Block
Chipset (North Bridge) Block
Asetek now include a lid specially designed
for use with AMD motherboards and we'll see the value
of this inclusion a little later. An Allen Key is
also supplied to remove and refit the retaining screws.
AMD Lid
Each of the blocks comes with an adhesive
plastic protective sheet to keep it scratch free and
stop it oxidising.
And beneath that protective sheet you'll
find the blocks are machined beautifully flat. There
are some light machining swirls but there's a school
of thought suggesting that mirror smooth finishes
can actually hinder the transfer of heat even through
a quality TIM (grease). Either way I doubt any but
the most anal of users is likely to break out the
fine grit for a lapping session.
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