Gigabyte has been breaking into quite a few new markets recently, its latest foray being this little water cooling wonder.
Gigabyte has been breaking into quite a few new markets recently, its latest foray being this little water cooling wonder.The PVC tubing is much larger than usual, measuring 0.5in in diameter, allowing for increased water flow (though there’s a longstanding debate of this versus higher pressure).The copper water block has a multitude of pin-like structures propping up for the water to catch more surface area. Finally, the radiator measures a massive 12.5 x 19.7 x 4.6cm, and is made from aluminium for effective air dissipation and clipped onto a 120mm fan that’s capable of hitting a feisty 2600rpm.Assembly is a piece of cake, with no leaks and decent instructions. The water block attaches easily, with the only setup requiring any amount of fiddling being Socket 775 systems, essentially converting it to the superior Socket 478 retention mechanism. The quiet 80mm fan on the water block is for keeping the MOSFETs chilly.In a 22°C ambient temperature, we clipped it onto our beloved Chernobyl, firing her up at the usual 80 watts. On high speed, this champ certainly packs an audible punch, but the temp maxed out at a superbly low 33°C, making it the most effective water cooling setup we’ve tested to date. On lowest radiator fan speed – with the overall setup now essentially silent – it was just scraping on 39°C, an increase of merely 17°C on the ambient temp.This is so good it should be unhealthy. Gigabyte has again shown the competition how it’s done via total obliteration. If you’re after a high performance cooling solution, whether loud or quiet, this will severely rock your jocks.
Issue: 137 | June, 2012