Install Continued:

     The return line is fed back through the PCI bracket, over the CPU, and into the first GBT Splitter valve.  The nice thing is the splitter valve makes the 90 degree turns so that your tubing doesn’t have to.  From the valve, it is a short drop straight down into the reservoir. 

     The outlet of the reservoir comes out the side, and is attached in the same way as everything else.  The tubing runs into the second splitter valve, which facilitates another 90 degree turn, and completes the loop at the CPU block. 

     Now that we have the tubing laid out and attached, the next step is to get everything ready for leak testing.  This means removing any components that still is installed in your case that is not part of the water cooling system, and installing the radiator, if you have not done so already.

     This is another area where the Danger Den case requires a little change.  Because the radiator is designed to attach to the power supply in an ATX case, that would require that your power supply be adjacent to your exhaust fans.  Using the included bracket you would mount the radiator off of the two bottom power supply mounting screws.  In a standard ATX case, this would suspend the radiator in front of the standard exhaust fan.  If your power supply is above the exhaust fan that is..

     In the Danger Den, it is not.  Fortunately, the radiator has mounting holes that fit a 120mm fan area.  All I needed to do was buy (4) two inch long 4-40 screws, and some rubber washers, then run the screws all the way through the fan, case wall, and radiator, with washers in between all the contact surfaces.

      Next is plugging in all the goodies.  The gigabyte fan control module connects the 120mm fan on the radiator to the fan control knob and to power.  The reservoir also has a cable that plugs it into power. 

     Once everything is ready to go, set up your power supply somewhere where it won’t get damaged if there is a leak.  Pop open the fill port on top of the reservoir, and fill it with fluid.  Close the top, and power on the system, using a PSU tester or a piece of wire to jumpstart your PSU.  After a few seconds, the pump will push all the liquid out into the tubing, after which it will alarm and shut off the system.  Fill the reservoir again, and repeat until the system is full and continually runs.  Let the system run for an hour or so, and after all the air is pushed out of the loop, top off the reservoir.  Run the system for 24 hours and make sure no leaks develop.

     The last step is to install all your PC’s hardware, and add the MOSFET cooler.  The MOSFET cooler is essentially a simple LED Fan that clips onto the CPU block, and is powered through CPU fan header on the motherboard.  Installation is a breeze, and it looks good, too.

Performance:

Now, we are getting into the meat of things.  The water cooling has been installed, and working as expected, but how does it compare to the high end air kit I just replaced?  There is only one way to find out.

Test Setup:

• Case:  Danger Den Water Box Plus

• Motherboard: DFI LanParty nF4 Ultra-D

• CPU: Opteron 170 @ 2.75GHz, 1.51V

• RAM: 2x1GB OCZ EL Platinum @ DDR500, 3-3-2-8

• GPU: OCZ 8800GTX

• PSU: Corsair 620HX

• Drives: 2x36GB WD Raptors, 1x500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10, 1x Lite-On SH-16A7S DVD Burner

Test Methodology:

     The baseline temperature test was done using the CoolerMaster GeminII CPU cooler, with two Antec TriCool 120mm fans mounted to it, as well as two Antec TriCool 120mm fans mounted to the case exhaust area.  All fans are set to their highest setting.  This is a high performing set up and will be tough to beat.  

     Testing is done using Orthos with large FFTs. Each run is started at idle for a few minutes until temps stabilize, and then approximately 15 minutes under load.  All readings are captured and graphed using SpeedFan.  Ambient temps remained around 25C.

Baseline:

     Here is what the Gigabyte has to go against.  CPU idles at around 34C, the PWM at 32C and the Chipset at 46.  Under load, the CPU reaches 47C, the PWM goes to 44C, and the chipset maxes at 49C.  The two 120mm fans on the heatsink do a good job of cooling off not only the CPU, but the PWM and chipset as well.

     For the first test of the Gigabyte, we are going into “silence” mode.  The MOSFET fan is turned off, and the radiator fan is set to its lowest level.  This setting is very quiet, how about the performance?

     The CPU idles at around 31C, PWM idles at 39C, and chipset idles at 50C.  Under load, the CPU maxes at 45C, the PWM reaches as high as 65C and the chipset goes to 59C.  So even at the lowest fan speeds, the CPU stays cooler than the GeminII.  The PWM and chipset temps suffer, however they are still within safe parameters.

     For the next test, we crank up both the radiator fan and the MOSFET fan.  The MOSFET fan at full speed is barely audible, however the radiator fan sounds like a jet engine at full speed.  With it mounted on the outside of the case, there is nothing to stop the sound from coming right at you. 

     The CPU idles at 32C, the PWM at 38C, and the chipset at 51C.  At load, the CPU peaks at 43C, and the PWM and chipset both max at 52C.  The benefits of the MOSFET cooler are definitely substantial.

     Here we can see side by side how the setups compare.  The Galaxy does indeed reduce the CPU load temp over the GeminII, no matter how you slice it.  Impressive indeed.