Let’s face it. Air cooling can only go so far. Today’s flagship
heatsinks are way outside of the size and weight specifications
of the ZIF socket, and due to this, mounting has become ever
more time consuming and complicated. If you’ve been thinking about
taking the step up to water cooling, but are intimidated by all
the parts, case modifications and lengthy setup involved
with traditional watercooling, Koolance has exactly what you
are looking for. Completely self-contained, the EXOS external
water cooling kit is the easiest way to take the plunge (har) into
water cooling.
Koolance has been in the water cooling business for quite awhile.
They started with their original PC2-C water cooled case, which was
one of the first cases to have a water cooling system built in.
However, with its white and gray plastic, it looked like an old
Packard Bell case left over from a 486. (Ew.) The second
generation model was built on top of everyone’s favorite
Chieftec\Antec\Chenming chassis, which was a giant leap forward in
the looks department, but it’s still quite expensive because
you’d be buying a case along with the actual water cooling unit from
Koolance. That’s where the EXOS comes in. Koolance has taken every
component of their previous systems and fit it neatly into a self
contained, sexy black box which bears the signature Koolance
look of their previous cases.
The EXOS comes well padded to protect it from being bashed around
by vengeful UPS workers. Along with the main box itself, other
items include the power control board with slot interface,
quick-release valves, user manual, liquid coolant bottle, funnel,
tubing (external and internal), attachment strips/pads, and
various smaller components. The only thing it doesn’t come with is the CPU-200G water block (needs to be purchased seperately). While it’s not absolutely neccessary that you use the Koolance block, the 1/4”
tube diameter means that other blocks (such as those from Swiftech
or Danger Den) will need adapters. The Koolance block also has the
advantage of being able to work with both Socket A and Socket 478,
something most blocks can’t claim. So if you get an EXOS, my
suggestion would be to stick with the CPU-200G.
