Two water-powered coolers by EVERCOOL and Ice Hammer versus two HI-END coolers
Author:
Date: 06.01.2007 |
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Ice Hammer IH-NIAGARA FULL
Ice Hammer is very actively operating on the Russian market and regularly releases new products with support for the latest platforms. The major field of activities of the company are air-powered cooling systems, but Ice Hammer tried its efforts in the field of water-powered cooling as well through producing NIAGARA series water blocks. And now we received a full-featured water-powered cooling system by Ice Hammer named NIAGARA FULL to run tests.
Before examining its components, let's take a look at the specifications of the WPCS taken from the company's official web site.
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Ice Hammer IH-NIAGARA FULL
Specifications
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Overall dimensions (WxDxH), mm
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132.4 х 225.7 х 42 (radiator)
120 x 120 x 25 (fan)
40 x 50 x 32 (water block)
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Material
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Aluminum (radiator), Copper (water block)
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Fan's bearing type
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2 x rolling
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Generated air flow (max), m3/hr
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127
(75 CFM)
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Rotational speed of the fan, RPM
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1100 ~ 2000 ±10%
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Noise level, dB
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15 ~ 18 ±10%
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Voltage, V
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12
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Current, A
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0,5
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Compatibility to CPU sockets
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AMD (s754/s939/s940/AM2)
Intel (s478/LGA 775)
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Weight, g
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733 (radiator)
110 (fan)
90 (water block)
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Pump throughput, l/hr
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320 l/hr
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Mean time between failures, hours
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60000
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Approximate price, $
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73 ~ 77 *
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* According to www.price.ru as of 28 Dec 2006.
We should explain now that NIAGARA FULL is not yet a final product, it is a sample batch of 200 pieces which came to Russia for testers and reviewers first, and somehow appeared in the retail chain. For the end users, the NIAGARA FALL version will be released, which will differ in some design specific and a new package. But the overall design and all its specifications will remain unchanged, so we can safely move on to reviewing the received specimen of Ice Hammer NIAGARA FULL.
Click to enlarge
The water-powered cooling system Ice Hammer is packaged in a rather large cardboard box without a handle to carry around. Our preseries specimen had a sticker on the white cardboard, and its retail version will of course have a colorful polygraphic box.
The interior of the box is thoroughly protected against physical exposure by thin foam-rubber spacers.
Click to enlarge
Here you can easily see the transparent 120 mm fan and a copper water block. Under the operating manual, there is a main unit with a radiator. But that is only the first tier of the foam-rubber "bread-and-butter", underneath there are other components of the cooling system, and once unwrapped the Ice Hammer NIAGARA FULL looks like this:
Click to enlarge
So as not to enumerate all the list of bundled items, we simply describe all its components sequentially, presenting photos wherever necessary.
The main unit of the WPCS is made as a radiator for a 120 mm fan combined with the radiator and the pump. This main unit is meant to be fastened straight outside the housing under the PSU. To this end, there is a steel frame which is screwed to the main unit together with the 120 mm fan. In assembly, this looks like that:
Click to enlarge
In the upper part, there is a hole to fill the system, equipped with a rubberized plug. The plug is screwed so tightly that it is sometimes almost impossible to unscrew it manually. That is very good because it prevents leakage or evaporation of the coolant.
The power supply of the main unit is done from the standard 4-pin MOLEX connector, and the fan is powered by the respective connector on the motherboard, and it is equipped with a manual speed regulator. When assembled, this structure is fastened with two bottom screws from the PSU and absolutely does not hinder plugging in devices to the connectors on the rear panel of the motherboard.
Click to enlarge
Since Ice Hammer NIAGARA FULL is meant only for cooling the CPU, it is equipped with only one water block with vertical connecting pipes.
Click to enlarge
We can't tell anything about the interior of the water block because the water block is dead-soldered, and the company representatives preferred to refrain from disclosing the secrets. We can only state that the it is fully made of copper. In the central part of the water block's lid, there is a special stop for the bracket to fasten on the CPU socket.
Click to enlarge
The processing quality can hardly be regarded as ideal - it is slightly coarse but anyway it is good for its uniformity.
The quite primitive connecting pipes are meant for using the bundled hose of 8 mm interior and 12 mm external diameter, which is fastened on the connecting pipe with classical clamping pegs.
Click to enlarge
On this photo, you can see almost a "pint" of bright blue coolant which is used to fill the system. Its composition is covered in mystery - there is only a mentioning that it is designed to prevent copper and aluminum from oxidation and to prevent freezing at temperatures not lower than -35°С. The coolant is ready for use and should not be mixed with other fluids. After filling, about half the plastic can of the fluid was left, so you will definitely not have to dilute it. When handling all poisonous antifreezes, you must keep sensitive skin spots from exposure by the coolant and keep your eyes protected against the exposure of the fluid, as well as keep it away from children. There is an explicit warning about that on the can.
System assembly
The design of Ice Hammer NIAGARA FULL is simple, even very simple, so it is absolutely no problem to assemble it. The instruction manual that consists of numerous colored pictures with comments describes the whole process clearly and at length.
For a start, cut off two pieces of the hose of necessary length and stretch them to the compartment on the rear part of the housing relieved from the cap. Then assemble the system as is depicted in the instruction manual. This simple process takes no more than 2-3 minutes. The next stage is filling the system. This part is a bit more difficult - to start with, it makes sense fixing the main unit on the rear part of the PC housing, and leave the water block stretched through the vacant slot simply lying on the bottom. To fill the coolant, the retail version of Ice Hammer NIAGARA FALL will be shipped with a special funnel, but we had to use improvised means. Once the fluid level reaches the top, apply power to the main unit to make the pump up and running. Once part of the air has left the system under the effort from the pump, it makes sense adding some more coolant and thoroughly tightening the plug. That done, we can safely remove the main unit from the rear part of the housing and after some acrobatic feats with it we expel the air stuck in the compartments. The walls of the main unit are made of semi-transparent plastic, so it is easy enough to detect air residues. Once the "ritual witchcraft" is over, we again put the main unit on its former place and fill the last portion of the coolant.
Leave the WPCS in such position running for a few hours or better for 24 hours to make sure the system is free from leaks and runs fine.
There is some issue in that the pump lets air bubbles pass through itself noisily. This noise is annoying to the ear for a long while until the system finally get rid of all air residues in the circuit.
After the WPCS was tested for leaks successfully, just install the water block and start the tests.
The system of fastening the water block on the CPU socket is again simple but reliable. For motherboards aimed at CPU AMD s754/939/AM2, a regular V-shaped metal cramp is used which presses the water block to to the CPU thus hooking at the teeth of the standard frame around the processor.
Click to enlarge
For Intel s478 and LGA 775 platforms, a similar principle is used: through the assembly holes a plastic frame is placed on the motherboard, and just to that a fastening clamp is screwed which presses the water block to the CPU.
We must note here that the method of fastening implemented is very simple and convenient. To install on AMD processors, you don't necessarily have to dismantle the motherboard, but what is most pleasant is that you won't have to follow this uneasy procedure of installation on Intel processors as well. The fastening frame is simply inserted into assembly holes on the board, then it is fixed with pins and that's it - you are ready to install a water block. Very simple and reliable enough.
In the end, our system took the following form:
Click to enlarge
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