Cool-Trek Vostok

The name is slightly ambiguous: It's a good DIY watercooling setup, not a good DIY Vodka still.

Sounding distinctly Russian, the Vostok is yet another in a long line of DIY water-cooling kits for your CPU.

As usual, mounting the waterblock requires removing the default retention bracket and replacing it with the custom solution – in this case the waterblock is placed on the CPU, with a mounting plate placed on top and screwed through the motherboard to hold the water-block down.

Construction is a cinch for watercooling veterans – newbies may be a bit thrown by the inclusion of only one pipe, which needs to be cut to appropriate lengths. They may be similarly thrown by the instructions, which while nicely coloured, fail to mention where all the pipes need to be attached. Once again not a problem for those already familiar with such systems, but those trying to get into water-cooling may find it a barrier.

As usual the filling (not to mention emptying) of the circuit is nothing short of a pain in the reservoir – however we have yet to come across a DIY system that doesn’t require the initial continual topping up, or thirty minutes in the sink to empty the darn thing. Once the circuit is full and free of air, the Vostok hums along very quietly, observing one of the tenets of good watercooling.

Unlike other systems, coolant isn’t included, only a red additive to make water less corrosive. The opening through which the reservoir is filled is annoyingly tiny, and difficult to get to considering it is placed between two hose attachments and the power lead for the pump.

Strapping the newly connected system to the mighty Chernobyl and letting it run for a while before turning the dial up to the requisite 80W, it managed an impressive 28°C in an ambient temperature of 19°C – whew!

If you don’t mind going through the rigours of setting up a watercooling rig, it’s hard to see you going wrong with the Vostok.