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Product:
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CoolWave StormCool III Water Cooling Kit |
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Price:
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$190 (CAN) / $145 (U.S)
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Supplied By:
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Global Chance
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Author:
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Hi-TEK
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Date:
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August 5th, 2004
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Rating:
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MODTHEBOX would like to thank Richard from Global Chance
for sending the CoolWave StormCool III Water Cooling Kit for review.
Introduction:
Water cooling applications have taken on dual roles by assisting those individuals who wish to overclock
their system components as well as introduce silent operation. There are a few reputable companies such
as Asetek, Danger Den, D-TEK, Innovatek, Koolance and Swiftech who have gained excellent reputations for
providing reliable water cooling components. The kits offered by these companies are considered high-end,
but recently there has been a transition towards economical based water cooling where price is more of
a factor instead of performance. Today in the MTB Labs, we will be evaluating the CoolWave StormCool III
Water Cooling Kit, a product which provides all the necessary components for adding water cooling to a
standard PC.
Specifications:
The CoolWave Stormcool III Water Cooling Kit consists of various components that can be assembled
together to form a complete water cooling system. The kit requires some mild assembly and includes all
the necessary components for installation. Here are some of the specifications taken directly from the
Global Chance website:
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CoolWave StormCool III Water Cooling Kit - Key Specifications:
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| CoolWave StormCool III Water Cooling Kit: Manufactured by Global Chance |
| Includes a Copper Block Intercooler |
| High Capability Clips(Socket 478/370/462) |
| VGA Copper Block and North bridge Copper Block |
| Radiator(12CM FAN) |
| High-Capacity Fully-Immersible Water Pump |
| Easy installation |
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Click image for larger view
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Click image for larger view
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The CoolWave StormCool III Water Cooling Kit was shipped in a standard double-walled corrugated
box with the manufacturer's logos printed on various areas of the package. The back portion of
the package details product specifications, performance graphs and a summarized feature list.
Packaging inside the box was good, with each portion of the kit enclosed by protective foam.
It was nice to see that even for an economical based water cooling solution; attention was placed
on packaging materials to ensure that this kit arrives in perfect condition.
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Click image for larger view
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Intel and AMD Clips - Click image for larger view
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The CoolWave StormCool III is truly an all-inclusive kit that has been pre-assembled and contains all
the components required to transition from air based cooling to water cooling. The kit is comprised of
the following components:
- Copper Block Intercooler
- VGA Copper Block and Northbridge Copper Block
- Mounting Clips for Socket 478/370/462
- Copper Radiator with 120mm fan
- High-Capacity Fully-Immersible Water Pump
- Pre-charged CoolWave Coolant
- Zip ties and screws
- Generic thermal compound
- Foam pads and pump vibration bracket
- Instruction manual (11 pages)
After removing the contents of the package out of the box, I was pretty skeptical in terms of whether
or not this kit would be to perform as equally or better than and air cooled system. During my initial
inspection, I noted the kit was already primed and filled with coolant. I was surprised that Global Chance
would not ship the tubing separately instead of the current configuration. This provides a limitation
for any consumer considering this package since most cases differentiate in size. The package does not
include any additional tubing and there is the slight possibility that the included tubing may not be
long enough to extend to the location of the CPU socket. The included 11 page instruction manual is
adequate and provides some insight in terms of the product feature set, troubleshooting tips, and installation
for both AMD and Intel based platforms. While the manual is helpful the images in the hard copy version
were hard to see since it had been photocopied. I was able to find an
electronic copy
on the Global Chance website which provided good reference diagrams.
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