The copper base is significantly thinner than the original block, which is good. Whilst copper is a good conductor of heat, the best waterblock (in theory) would be one where the water directly contacted the CPU core, so the less thick the copper, the better.
The block as standard comes with the universal top plate which fits Pentium, Athlon 64/FX as well as most Athlon XP boards. Some, with slightly crowded capacitor arrangements around the ZIF socket require one without the Athlon 64 mounting holes, which is bundled with the block. You will need a Scandinavian style hexagonal headed screw driver to take it off, but a rubber seal is included already and it should take no more than 5 minutes to fit.
Asetek’s push fittings make a welcome return, but they are of different construction than the ones on the standard block giving the Antarctica a much lower profile.
