| Coolit Vantage A.L.C. CPU Cooler |  |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Cooling | ||||||||
| Written by David Ramsey | ||||||||
| Sunday, 27 February 2011 | ||||||||
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Coolit Vantage A.L.C. CPU CoolerSealed, all-in-one water coolers seem to be the fastest-growing segment of the CPU cooler market today. Air coolers are reaching their physical limits: given the room inside existing cases, and the (frequently ignored) weight limits defined for CPU coolers, something like a Prolimatech Megahalems is about as big as you can get without running into problems. Water cooling systems work around these problems by moving the heat exchanger off of the CPU socket, and using a fluid to transfer heat from the CPU to the heat exchanger. Coolit Systems has been making retail and bespoke liquid cooling systems for some years now, and the Coolit Vantage A.L.C. cooler brings new features and performance to the fray. Benchmark Reviews pits this new entry against existing air and water coolers in a performance showdown. Enthusiasts searching for preconfigured CPU water cooling systems have many choices today. Coolit Systems distinguishes their Vantage A.L.C. unit with a built-in display that shows coolant temperature, pump RPM, and fan RPM, and controls its PWM fan directly, varying its speed based on the coolant temperature and the user's setting (Silent, Performance, or Extreme).
Of course, at the end of the day any CPU cooler's main task is to cool the CPU. Since retail CPUs come with perfectly adequate coolers, the main reason to buy an aftermarket cooler is for conditions that the stock cooler can't handle...namely, overclocking. I'll put the Coolit Systems Vantage A.L.C. cooler on top of an overclocked and overvolted Intel Core i7-950 and see how it compares to a selection of air and water coolers.
Manufacturer: Coolit Systems Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by Coolit Systems. Coolit Vantage A.L.C. Specifications
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Comments
In your own test, as well as by the conclusions I've drawn based on more reviews, the Antec cooler is better.
The main (only?) advantage of the Vantage is that it displays the temperature.
Therefore I think the price tag set the value closer to (and possibly below) an average 5 than it is to an 8.25.
Cheers
Olle
I am looking for a liquid cooling solution for a Sandy Bridge (moderately overclocked 2600k) system. One of my most important factors will be a quiet system. Therefore I am looking at the Antec Kuhler 620 and the Corsair H60. Are you planning to test the Corsair H60 and will you be incorporating some ambient noise readings to help me compare models? Naturally, I would expect the noise to be measured with the stock (OEM) fans. I have read your test article on the Antec 620 and I believe it a quiet system, regardless of fan speed. But it would be nice to see some relative comparison of noise levels amongst these models.
Really appreciate your articles, as it helps all of us make informed purchasing decisions.
Thanks
Ken
Using the stock fans the H60 (blowing heated air into the case) provides slightly more CPU cooling. (At the same time the Antec is quieter.)
Using the same fans on both coolers (2x Scythe Gentle Typhoon) the Antec performs slightly better than H60.
You can see the test results here: ##sweclockers.com/recension/13538-antec-kuhler-h2o-620-och-corsair-h60/5#pagehead
I set my Vantage to quiet but fan still running flat out!
Any ideas ?
Thanks
I did manage to find one and I really dig the display.
Main reason why I chose this one actually ^^
I'm not sure of the spacing, I found one on eBay but I haven't recieved mine yet.
Also just curious, would it be possible to replace the tubing for transparent jobbies? Or would it be too much hassle to be worth it? haha
Replacing the tubing would be almost impossible, since it's a sealed unit with no way to bleed it.
And yeah, I guessed the tubing change would probably not work. Just a thought! ;)
I wrote to CoolIT and they replied with this:
Thank you for contacting Technical Support concerning your wish to add a second fan for your Vantage ALC. I have created an account and opened a support case on your behalf.
I understand your wish to add a second fan to the product to create a Push / Pull for the air flow.
I will caution you that just adding a second fan, using a four pin Y splitter could cause a failure of the control card inside the pump head. This will not be deemed a warranty failure.
The maximum amperage draw through the control card is 1.3 amps. The specs for the Vantage ALC fan is 125 CFM@ 2700 RPM (0.66 amps).
Finding a PWM (four pin) Y splitter is very rare, although they are some available. If you are able to find one, you will need to remove the third TACH wire from one of the fan connectors. Otherwise the Vantage ALC will see both fans, add the two fans' rpm values together and attempt to lower the voltage.
I believe that this should give you some insight.
Thank you for your question,
Andrew Wildgoose
Service and Support Manager
But the bloody beeping below 19.5 degrees celsius is bull#, I live in Norway and the winter temperatures does of course send it below 15 degrees from a startup.
It beeps like a bus backing up, with no means of adjusting this temperature alarm or simply kill it.
It's going out of my computer tomorrow for a traditional fan and cooling. I bought it to get a silent machine, and this thing is about as loud as the back up alarm on my truck - if even for a few minutes, those minutes annoy too much.