SUMMARY: With processors continuing to gain in speed and power, heat issues are requiring more consideration whether you choose Intel or AMD. To maintain an acceptable level of cooling, many people have turned to alternative cooling methods. Come join Mike "Darthtanion" Wright as he takes a look at one such method, the fully enclosed TherMagic CPU Cooling System; or CCS for short. Let's see if it has what it takes to handle the load!
When you first open the box and remove the cooler, you begin to think that it is a monster. After all, we’re talking about a long plastic tube that measures in at roughly 8.25” (about 21cm) and houses a pair of 60mm fans, a water pump and a radiator. It’s not exactly what you would consider a lightweight!
But remember, this is a simple to use cooler for those who may not have the nerve to start piecing together a full-blown water-cooling rig. So let’s talk a bit about how the system works, shall we?
As I mentioned above, there are quite a few components housed within the plastic body of the unit. To give you a general idea of how a water rig works, it simply takes a liquid and circulates it through a set route to keep the processor cool. As the processor generates heat, it is transferred to the core. From there, it is transferred to the copper cold plate that is mounted to the processor. This is where the liquid comes into play since it is circulating through the cold plate. Since it is constantly moving, it takes the transferred heat along with it to the radiator where the heated liquid is cooled off and then normally it goes to a reservoir to be cycled through the cooling system again.
With the CCS, the water has a much simpler course to follow. It circulates down the blue tube, passes through the cold plate, travels back up through the red tube and then travels through a small radiator that is being hit with the fans. These fans are set up so that they take the airflow from within the case, blow it over the radiator (cooling the liquid) and then removing the heated air from the system through a standard 80mm fan mount on the rear of the case.
The pump that was mentioned earlier is the force behind the moving water, so the purpose of this component is a no-brainer.
Since the water is constantly moving through the cold plate, there is no fan installed to this piece. All cooling takes place by means of the circulating liquid. Want to fry a processor in nothing flat? Just let the pump stop working and you’ll likely accomplish your goals. Even with the newer processors supposedly throttling down in the case of extreme temperatures, do you really want to test this theory? I think I’ll pass, especially since I use an AMD based system.
But what about the base of this cold plate?
Though the picture can’t really do much justice to the actual surface of the plate, it was quite smooth. It lacked machining tool marks that are common in some bases, so if you want to polish this up a bit, you can do so with minimal effort. Since I make it a habit to test all coolers as they are sent from the manufacturer, I just used a bit of Isopropyl alcohol and made sure the surface area was clean.
Above you can take a quick peek down the gullet of the main housing assembly. This particular end is where it mounts to the rear of the case, but the fan on the other end is identical. The pump and radiator sit between these two fans.
And speaking of the fans, they are 60mm x 60mm x 25mm, spin at high speeds and put out just over 32-CFM of airflow. It should be noted that since one of the noted advantages of water-coolers is quiet operation, this unit didn’t really fall into that category. While not quite as annoying as the screaming Deltas of old, it certainly didn’t hide the fact that it was running.
