Introduction

Today we are testing CoolIT ECO liquid cooling system, a compact sealed system where all you have to do is to install the cooling block on your CPU and attach the radiator to your case. Will it perform better than air coolers we tested so far? Check it out!

In a classic watercooler, you must buy separated parts, assemble the system, connect the hoses, prepare the liquid, fill the system, etc. A sealed system comes prefilled and preassembled, which simplifies the installation, as you won't have to handle hoses, liquids, connectors, pumps, etc.

ECO box is simple, in white cardboard paper. The cooler comes nicely accomodated in a foam inner box.

Inside the box we found the preassembled system (ready to install on Intel CPUs), user manual, AMD clips and three backplates, one for each Intel socket.

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Figure 2: Box contents.

In the next pages we will see this cooler in detail.

CoolIT ECO

In Figure 3, you can see the block (piece that is installed on the CPU that transfers the heat from it to the liquid inside the system), which has an integrated pump. This pump has a three-pin power connector that must be connected to the motherboard.

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Figure 3: Block with integrated pump.

In Figure 4, you can see the base of the block, made of copper. The finishing could be better, since it is flat but hasn't a mirror-like surface. The preinstalled adjustable clip fits sockets 775, 1156 and 1366 CPUs.

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Figure 4: Base.

In Figure 5, you can see the radiator (component that transfers heat from the cooling liquid to the air), which comes with a preinstalled 120 mm fan. This fan has a miniature four-pin power connector, which means it has automatic PWM speed control.

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Figure 5: Radiator.

CoolIT ECO (Cont'd)

In Figure 6 we have a front view of the radiator. It allows the installation of a second (not included) fan.

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Figure 6: Radiator.

In Figure 9, you can see the 120 mm black fan that comes installed on the radiator.

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Figure 7: Fan.

Installation

Installing ECO is as simple as the installation of most air coolers. You just need to put the appropriate backplate on the solder side of the motherboard, put the block on the CPU and fasten the four thumbscrews. Unfortunately, CoolIT ECO didn't come with any thermal compound. During our benchmarking we used Zalman ZM-STG2 thermal paste. In Figure 8, you can see the block installed on our motherboard.

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Figure 8: Block installed on the motheboard.

After installing the block, you just have to put the motherboard back to the case and then attach the radiator and its fan on the rear part of the case. Note that this is a very simple task if your case has a space for a 120 mm fan on its rear panel, but if it doesn't you can't install it properly. In our test system the radiator was touching the block, but we could see it was not forcing the block.

How We Tested

We are adopting the following methodology for our CPU cooler reviews.

First, we chose the CPU with the highest TDP (Thermal Design Power) we had available, a Core 2 Extreme QX6850, which has a 130 W TDP. The choice for a CPU with a high TDP is obvious. To measure the efficiency of the tested cooler, we need a processor that gets very hot. This CPU works by default at 3.0 GHz, but we overclocked it to 3.33 GHz, in order to heat it as much as possible.

We took noise and temperature measurements with the CPU idle and under full load. In order to achieve 100% CPU load on the four processing cores we ran Prime95 with the "In-place Large FFTs" option, and three instances of the StressCPU program, all at the same time.

We also compared the reviewed cooler to the Intel stock cooler (with copper base), which comes with the processor we used, and also with some other coolers we have tested using the same methodology.

Temperature measurements were taken with a digital thermometer, with the sensor touching the base of the cooler, and also with the core temperature reading (given by the CPU thermal sensor) from the from the SpeedFan program, using an arithmetic average of the four core temperature readings.

The sound pressure level (SPL) was measured with a digital noise meter, with its sensor placed 4" (10 cm) from the fan. We turned off the video board cooler so it wouldn't interfere with the results, but this measurement is only for comparative purposes, because a precise SPL measurement needs to be made inside an acoustically insulated room with no other noise sources, which is not the case here.

Hardware Configuration

• Processor: Core 2 Extreme QX6850
• Motherboard: Gigabyte EP45-UD3L
• Memory: 4 GB G.Skill F2-6400CL5S-2GBNY (DDR2-800/PC2-6400 with 5-5-5-15 timings), configured at 800 MHz
• Hard drive: 1 TB Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 (ST31000528AS, SATA-300, 7200 rpm, 32 MB buffer)
• Video card: PNY Verto Geforce 9600 GT
• Video resolution: 1680x1050
• Video monitor: Samsung Syncmaster 2232BW Plus
• Power supply required: Seventeam ST-550M-AM
• Case: 3RSystem K100
  

Software Configuration

• Windows XP Professional SP3
  

Software Used

• Prime95
• StressCPU
• SpeedFan

Error Margin

We adopted a 2 ^oC error margin, i.e., temperature differences below 2 ^oC are considered irrelevant.

Our Tests

On the tables below you can see our results. We ran the same tests with the coolers shown on below tables. Each test ran with the CPU idle and then with the CPU fully loaded. On BigTyp 14Pro, TMG IA1, NH-U12P and ISGC-300 the tests were done with the fan at full speed and at minimum speed. The other coolers were connected directly to the motherboard and it controls the fan speed based on CPU load level and temperature on PWM models. ISGC-400, iCEAGE Prima Boss, Megahalems Rev. B, Thermaltake SpinQ VT, Zalman CNPS10X Flex, Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme and Tuniq Propeller 120 were tested at minimum speed on idle test and at maximum speed on full load test.

CPU Idle
Cooler	Room Temp.	Noise	Fan Speed	Base Temp.	Core Temp.
Intel stock	14 ºC	44 dBA	1000 rpm	31 ºC	42 ºC
BigTyp 14Pro (min)	17 ºC	47 dBA	880 rpm	29 ºC	36 ºC
BigTyp 14Pro (max)	17 ºC	59 dBA	1500 rpm	26 ºC	34 ºC
Akasa Nero	18 ºC	41 dBA	500 rpm	26 ºC	35 ºC
Cooler Master V10	14 ºC	44 dBA	1200 rpm	21 ºC	26 ºC
TMG IA1 (max)	16 ºC	47 dBA	1500 rpm	22 ºC	30 ºC
TMG IA1 (min)	16 ºC	57 dBA	2250 rpm	21 ºC	30 ºC
Zalman CNPS10X Extreme	16 ºC	44 dBA	1200 rpm	21 ºC	29 ºC
Thermaltake ISGC-100	18 ºC	44 dBA	1450 rpm	35 ºC	49 ºC
Noctua NH-U12P (low)	15 ºC	42 dBA	1000 rpm	20 ºC	30 ºC
Noctua NH-U12P	15 ºC	46 dBA	1400 rpm	20 ºC	28 ºC
Noctua NH-C12P	17 ºC	46 dBA	1400 rpm	23 ºC	28 ºC
Thermaltake ISGC-200	21 ºC	43 dBA	1100 rpm	31 ºC	35 ºC
Schythe Kabuto	22 ºC	42 dBA	800 rpm	29 ºC	34 ºC
Arctic Cooling Alpine 11 Pro	20 ºC	43 dBA	1500 rpm	32 ºC	39 ºC
ISGC-300 (min)	18 ºC	42 dBA	800 rpm	26 ºC	30 ºC
ISGC-300 (max)	18 ºC	46 dBA	1400 rpm	24 ºC	26 ºC
SilverStone NT06-E	21 ºC	66 dBA	2600 rpm	30 ºC	41 ºC
Zalman CNPS9700 NT	22 ºC	48 dBA	1700 rpm	28 ºC	35 ºC
Scythe Mugen-2	17 ºC	41 dBA	700 rpm	25 ºC	30 ºC
ISGC-400 (min)	17 ºC	44 dBA	850 rpm	24 ºC	30 ºC
Cooler Master Vortex 752	20 ºC	48 dBA	1700 rpm	32 ºC	44 ºC
iCEAGE Prima Boss (min)	22 ºC	42 dBA	1000 rpm	29 ºC	36 ºC
Evercool Buffalo	17 ºC	51 dBA	1850 rpm	22 ºC	29 ºC
Scythe Big Shuriken	20 ºC	42 dBA	900 rpm	31 ºC	39 ºC
Cooler Master Hyper TX3	21 ºC	44 dBA	1700 rpm	30 ºC	39 ºC
Titan Skalli	20 ºC	43 dBA	1200 rpm	27 ºC	34 ºC
Prolimatech Megahalems Rev. B	21 ºC	40 dBA	800 rpm	28 ºC	32 ºC
Zalman CNPS9900 NT	23 ºC	45 dBA	900 rpm	30 ºC	34 ºC
Cooler Master Hyper N620	21 ºC	44 dBA	1200 rpm	28 ºC	34 ºC
Nexus LOW-7000 R2	23 ºC	46 dBA	1400 rpm	33 ºC	42 ºC
Evercool HPK-10025EA	20 ºC	54 dBA	1900 rpm	27 ºC	34 ºC
Evercool HPH-9525EA	23 ºC	50 dBA	1900 rpm	38 ºC	49 ºC
iCEAGE Prima Boss II	23 ºC	42 dBA	1000 rpm	29 ºC	35 ºC
Thermaltake SpinQ VT	24 ºC	45 dBA	950 rpm	32 ºC	39 ºC
Titan Fenrir	21 ºC	42 dBA	950 rpm	29 ºC	35 ºC
Zalman CNPS 10 Flex	23 ºC	40 dBA	800 rpm	32 ºC	39 ºC
Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme	24 ºC	43 dBA	1100 rpm	30 ºC	37 ºC
Gelid Tranquillo	22 ºC	41 dBA	850 rpm	29 ºC	36 ºC
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus	20 ºC	45 dBA	1200 rpm	27 ºC	35 ºC
Spire TherMax Eclipse	20 ºC	58 dBA	2300 rpm	25 ºC	34 ºC
Tuniq Propeller 120	20 ºC	43 dBA	1050 rpm	24 ºC	33 ºC
Nexus VCT-9000	20 ºC	44 dBA	600 rpm	28 ºC	37 ºC
Coolink Corator DS	19 °C	45 dBA	1050 rpm	25 °C	32 °C
CoolIT ECO	17 °C	43 dBA	900 rpm	-	32 °C

CPU Fully Loaded
Cooler	Room Temp.	Noise	Fan Speed	Base Temp.	Core Temp.
Intel stock	14 ºC	48 dBA	1740 rpm	42 ºC	100 ºC
BigTyp 14Pro (min)	17 ºC	47 dBA	880 rpm	43 ºC	77 ºC
BigTyp 14Pro (max)	17 ºC	59 dBA	1500 rpm	35 ºC	70 ºC
Akasa Nero	18 ºC	48 dBA	1500 rpm	34 ºC	68 ºC
Cooler Master V10	14 ºC	54 dBA	1900 rpm	24 ºC	52 ºC
TMG IA1 (max)	16 ºC	47 dBA	1500 rpm	27 ºC	63 ºC
TMG IA1 (min)	16 ºC	57 dBA	2250 rpm	25 ºC	60 ºC
Zalman CNPS10X Extreme	16 ºC	51 dBA	1900 rpm	24 ºC	50 ºC
Thermaltake ISG-100	18 ºC	50 dBA	1800 rpm	58 ºC	93 ºC
Noctua NH-U12P (low)	15 ºC	42 dBA	1000 rpm	28 ºC	59 ºC
Noctua NH-U12P	15 ºC	46 dBA	1400 rpm	25 ºC	54 ºC
Noctua NH-C12P	17 ºC	46 dBA	1400 rpm	37 ºC	76 ºC
Thermaltake ISGC-200	21 ºC	48 dBA	1900 rpm	42 ºC	68 ºC
Scythe Kabuto	22 ºC	47 dBA	1200 rpm	38 ºC	63 ºC
Arctic Cooling Alpine 11 Pro	20 ºC	51 dBA	2300 rpm	49 ºC	85 ºC
ISGC-300 (min)	18 ºC	42 dBA	800 rpm	36 ºC	64 ºC
ISGC-300 (max)	18 ºC	46 dBA	1400 rpm	31 ºC	56 ºC
SilverStone NT06-E	21 ºC	66 dBA	2600 rpm	39 ºC	96 ºC
Zalman CNPS9700 NT	22 ºC	56 dBA	2600 rpm	34 ºC	63 ºC
Scythe Mugen-2	17 ºC	46 dBA	1300 rpm	28 ºC	54 ºC
ISGC-400 (max)	17 ºC	47 dBA	1400 rpm	36 ºC	69 ºC
Cooler Master Vortex 752	20 ºC	55 dBA	2300 rpm	48 ºC	92 ºC
iCEAGE Prima Boss (max)	22 ºC	53 dBA	2000 rpm	35 ºC	59 ºC
Evercool Buffalo	17 ºC	51 dBA	1850 rpm	32 ºC	67 ºC
Scythe Big Shuriken	20 ºC	50 dBA	1500 rpm	51 ºC	85 ºC
Cooler Master Hyper TX3	21 ºC	53 dBA	2700 rpm	39 ºC	66 ºC
Titan Skalli	20 ºC	47 dBA	1550 rpm	37 ºC	69 ºC
Prolimatech Megahalems Rev. B	21 ºC	61 dBA	2600 rpm	30 ºC	51 ºC
Zalman CNPS9900 NT	23 ºC	56 dBA	2000 rpm	34 ºC	54 ºC
Cooler Master Hyper N620	21 ºC	50 dBA	1650 rpm	32 ºC	56 ºC
Nexus LOW-7000 R2	23 ºC	53 dBA	1900 rpm	45 ºC	74 ºC
Evercool HPK-10025EA	20 ºC	54 dBA	1900 rpm	39 ºC	69 ºC
Evercool HPH-9525EA	23 ºC	50 dBA	1900 rpm	58 ºC	100 ºC
iCEAGE Prima Boss II	23 ºC	56 dBA	2100 rpm	32 ºC	56 ºC
Thermaltake SpinQ VT	24 ºC	52 dBA	1500 rpm	40 ºC	68 ºC
Titan Fenrir	21 ºC	50 dBA	1600 rpm	33 ºC	58 ºC
Zalman CNPS 10 Flex	23 ºC	61 dBA	2600 rpm	33 ºC	59 ºC
Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme	24 ºC	56 dBA	1900 rpm	35 ºC	60 ºC
Gelid Tranquillo	22 ºC	46 dBA	1450 rpm	31 ºC	60 ºC
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus	20 ºC	52 dBA	1900 rpm	32 ºC	64 ºC
Spire TherMax Eclipse	20 ºC	58 dBA	2300 rpm	29 ºC	73 ºC
Tuniq Propeller 120	20 ºC	55 dBA	1900 rpm	36 ºC	68 ºC
Nexus VCT-9000	20 ºC	50 dBA	850 rpm	43 ºC	88 ºC
Coolink Corator DS	19 °C	56 dBA	1800 rpm	32 °C	62 °C
CoolIT ECO	17 °C	54 dBA	1850 rpm	-	62 °C

The next graph shows how many degrees Celsius the CPU core was hotter than room temperature during our idle tests.

 

The next graph gives you an idea on how many degrees Celsius the CPU core was hotter than room temperature during our full load tests.

Main Specifications

CoolIT ECO main features are:

• Application: Socket 775, 1156, 1366, AM3, AM2+ and AM2 processors.
• Fins: Aluminum.
• Base: Copper.
• Heat-pipes: None.
• Fan: 120 mm.
• Nominal fan speed: 1,800 rpm.
• Fan air flow: Not informed.
• Maximum power consumption: Not informed.
• Nominal noise level: Not informed.
• Pump flow: Not informed.
• Weight: Not informed.
• More information: http://www.coolitsystems.com
• Average price in the US*: USD 75.00

* Researched at Newegg.com on the day we published this review.

Conclusions

The point in using a liquid cooling system instead of an air cooler is to obtain better performance with less noise. With this in mind, CoolIT ECO failed, because it achieved an average performance, even compared to the air coolers we tested so far.

Regarding noise level, the pump is very quiet (actually, inaudible), but the fan even though it was very silent when our CPU was idle was relatively loud with the CPU fully loaded, with a noise level equivalent to the one achieved by good air coolers.

ECO is a little bit more expensive than most high-performance air coolers. Therefore the only reason someone would buy ECO would be to impress his or her nerd friends, without any real performance advantages or cost/benefit ratio in mind.