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 Posted: January 14, 2004
Author: Jason Kohrs
Manufacturer: Innovatek
Source: High Speed PC
Installation:
Before the system was installed, all the necessary lengths of tubing were estimated, cut, and a rough layout was established. Assured that everything would reach, and that the tubing was going to have enough slack for smooth, unrestricted flow, I plumbed it all together outside of the case for testing. Testing the system consisted of filling the system with the appropriate combination of water and InnovaProtect, bleeding the air out, and letting it run for 2 days to be sure there were no leaks. Its better to be safe than sorry, so allow a water cooling kit to run outside of your PC for a while, just to make sure! The special ATX adaptor included with the kit was used in conjunction with a Seasonic Super Versatile 200W mATX power supply (reviewed here) to run the pump, making the testing extremely easy.
The first phase of testing (as pictured in the below left image) did not include the Graph-O-Matic gpu water block. I wanted to have one installation without the potential added heat of the video card, to see if it adversely affected the performance of the water cooling kit by adding this extra load. After the setup on the left was confirmed leak free, it was installed and run for 4 days in order to acquire some temperature data. The image on the below right shows the test setup once the system had been uninstalled, drained, and reconfigured to include the gpu water block. Although it may look like a mess, once installed this configuration will fit and function perfectly.
 
As laid out in the above right image, there is about 3.25 cups of liquid (3:1 water to InnovaProtect mix) in the system, and as close to zero air as I could get. All of the seals were perfect from the start, requiring no adjustment after two days of testing, and I was ready to install the components with confidence.
The following components were installed during the testing of the Innovatek XXS:
• Intel Pentium 4 2.6C processor
• Abit IS7-G motherboard
• (2) 40 GB Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 8 hard drives in RAID O
• (2) 256 MB sticks of Geil PC3200 DDR memory
• 420W Enlight dual fan power supply
• 24X CDROM
• MSI 64 MB GeForce2 Ti video card
• AMS gTower aluminum case
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional
The image on the below left shows how the cpu waterblock sits on the Intel Pentium 4 processor. Using the supplied retaining device, the waterblock is positioned over the cpu with one hand, and the retaining device is snapped into place (after a thin film of the included thermal paste was applied). The lever visible is then pushed down to apply firm pressure to the waterblock, which will allow effective heat transfer from the cpu. The process of installing the cpu waterblock is slightly cumbersome, and it is highly recommended that you lay the case flat since you’re going to need both hands anyway.
 
The image on the above right shows the Graph-O-Matic Ver 2.0 gpu waterblock installed (again with some of the included thermal paste), and held securely in place by the included nylon nuts and bolts. Installation is fairly simple, and with various adaptors included, the gpu block should be as easy to mount on any GeForce4, GeForceFX, and ATI Radeon based graphics card.
The three images below show the current installation of the Innovatek XXS kit, ready for use and testing. All-in-all, installation was fairly simple, with the only issue I encountered being the location of the radiator. The large tabs, as well as the plastic bracket on the device make it hard to locate conveniently. I initially wanted to install it on the back of the case, where a 120 mm fan already existed. But, do to the size of the radiator’s ‘wing-span’ it wasn’t possible. If I installed the radiator inside the case, it touched the video card as well as prevented the case side panel from closing. If I installed the radiator outside the case it still prevented the case side panel from closing, looked poor with the tubing exposed, and it projected too far out for me to put my case where it usually resides.
  
As you can see in the images above, the air enters the case in the front thanks to an 80 mm fan, is drawn through the radiator by the Papst 120 mm fan (recommended orientation), and exits the case via either the 120 mm Delta fan on the back, or through the dual fan 420W Enlight power supply (not shown). The tubing runs from the pump to the cpu waterblock, to the gpu waterblock, over to the radiator, and back to the reservoir/pump.
As you will read later, I did test the thermal performance of the system with the case opened and closed, and was confident that having the radiator positioned as pictured would be quite acceptable. To improve the performance, and eliminate the 80 mm fan, I do have one modification planned. Referencing the above right image, I intend to remove the drive cage base and the 80 mm fan in order to slide the radiator and fan right up to be mounted to the front of the case. With some minor Dremel work, the radiator will be securely attached to the front of the case, and be able to draw cool, fresh air in from the room.
Please read on to page four for more on the Innovatek XXS Water Cooling Kit.. Next
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