Watercool HeatKiller 3.0 Limited Edition Black Chrome CPU blockby Dark Mantis
German engineering at it's best! Watercool's popular liquid cooling block for the CPU is beautifully designed and machined to a very high standard. It is no lightweight in either build or performance and weighs in at roughly 400gms which considering the physical size is quite substantial. The block itself is 59 x 59 x 17.5 mm. It is built of solid copper and stainless steel coated to prevent tarnishing. The one I am reviewing today is the limited edition Black Chrome which is visually particularly striking.
A nice feature is that because of the design it is possible to quite easilly change the mounting plates when required to enable the same block to be used for your next system. All parts are available as spares in case of damage.
It comes complete with a fixing kit but that is not including the backplate which has to be purchased seperately if required. The backplate is in an X design with the Watercool name stamped into it and made from pressed stainless steel again. Also included is a very accurate installation guide which helps take any guesswork out of the setup.
The underneath of the block is solid copper and although flat was not as smooth as I would have liked to have seen it direct from the manufacturer. As this can make a substantial difference to the heat transfer ability I would advise lapping it before installation. This should increase it's thermal efficiency by at least a couple of degrees.
As usual it is compatible with G 1/4" BSPP fittings but some of the larger diameter compression fittings might not fit because of the closeness of the ports unless they were of the offset variety. Considering the fine matrix to help efficient cooling the block has a very low flow resistance.
When fitting I found it fairly straight forward apart from the fact that on my board I had to turn it 90 degrees because of some capacitors near the CPU. This was mentioned in the instructions though so it didn't come as a shock. I woulkd suggest using a Vernier Caliper to set the correct downforce on the springbolts though as it needs to be done fairly accurately to get an even pressure. You could manage with a small steel rule but it would be more difficult. Once fitted it is secure and stable.
I have had it installed and working for several weeks now without any sign of deterioration of performance or flow.
I would recommend this block highly and if it hadn't been for the closeness of the ports it would have a perfect score as it is I award it 9/10
Review sample supplied by CandC Central
http://www.candccentral.co.uk/
