Test bed:
- EPoX 8K3A+
- 256MB Xtreme 3200DDR
- 1.33GHz Thunderbird
- 3DPower Geforce 3
- 80GB Maxtor ATA133 HDD
- Sound Blaster Live! Value
- 10/100 NIC
For the testing of this watercooling setup I used the above test bed and will be using external Compunurse thermal probe for the temperature readings. To get the idle temperatures I booted up the computer and let it idle for about 20 minutes and to get the load temperatures of each speed I used Prime 95 for about 20 minutes. I was really impressed with how well this kit worked, I have a custom watercooling setup and didn’t think that this Innovatek would stand up very well but it was right there with my setup, lets take a look at some numbers.
I started by doing some testing at stock speeds and I got really good results the idle temp was only 23 degrees Celsius and at load it was only 28 degrees Celsius which is really impressive not only because its really cold but because it is basically silent which is something I really like.
After testing at stock speeds I wanted to see what this kit was really capable of, the EPoX 8K3A+ allows for a very high Vcore without having to do any MODs so I went ahead and cranked the Vcore up to 2.00v which without watercooling would be almost impossible. I went for the highest overclock possible and after playing around with voltages, multipliers, and FSB I was able to reach a top speed of 1.5Ghz which is really nice.
After I got everything nice and stable I went ahead and re-benchmarked, I was again impressed to see that the idle temperature was only 28 degrees and the load temperature was only 30 degrees, keep in mind this is also with a 2.00 Vcore!
Conclusion
To be totally honest at first I didn’t think that this kit would perform well because it didn’t look to have the greatest parts. As soon as I started actually installing the kit I was surprised how well it all worked and when I did the testing I was really pleased with the results.
The entire kit is really good, the waterblock doesn’t look like it is good but it is the easiest that I have ever installed and it performs really well. All of the other parts included are also really good and perform well. If you are looking for a cooling solution that will keep your CPU really cold even with a lot of voltage in it and will also be silent in the process watercooling is the only way to go and if you don’t want to put a kit together yourself this complete kit will work really well for you.
The only real negative aspect to any watercooling setup as with this one is the price factor. If you want one of these kits you are going to have to shell out over $200 but the money is well worth it aI guarantee. Overall I am going to give this kit a 9/10 and award it the OCmodshop Seal of Approval, Sharka Corporation carries almost every Innovatek product so head on over and pick some up.
Pros:
Cons:
|
 |
