Some of you might remember last year when we tested CPUFX's
Z3 watercooling kit, the predecessor of what we have in our
hands today, a much redesigned product comes in the form of
CPUFX’s latest offering, their Z4 intercooler watercooler.
Among
some of the most significant changes from the Z3 design we
have an inline 12v pump, significantly redesigned
copperblocks and new radiator fittings, guess those were all
the parts in a watercooler ;-)
The Radiator
Pictured
above is the radiator, it’s basically the same as before
though the fittings are bent 90 degrees to allow it to be
mounted in the top of your PC's case as shown below.
Included is a quite loud 120mm Sunon fan glued right onto
the radiator and designed to suck air through it. You have
the option of buying the radiator with a quieter fan however
it would have been better if the fan had been screwed on to
make it easier to change if needed to.
Having
the fan to suck air creates the most noise; if you want to
mount it in the top of your case that is the only way, if
you want it to move the air in “the right” direction,
i.e. hot air goes up. However, you can also place the fan
under the radiator, thus making it blow air through the
radiator, this silences the setup quite a bit, but also much
harder to install I might add.
During
the tests, there was no difference in temperature either way
the fan was mounted, so if you prefer a quieter setup you
will want to consider placing the fan on the other side of
the radiator.
The reason for it
being so loud when mounted to suck air is because the fan
blades will be just one or two millimetres away from the
radiator fins, creating turbulence, this distance increases
when you mount it as I explained above but you can further
lower the noise by placing washers in-between the radiator
andfan.
Without
doubt, one of the most impressive features on the Z4 is the
inline 12v pump, rated at an impressive 180 Gallons per
Hour; this device gets the job done well. Compared to the
previous pump in the Z3 watercooler, this pumps water about
25% faster than its predecessor, impressive number indeed.
Unfortunately
though, this comes at a cost, and that is in both terms of
heat and noise; compared to the Z3 110v pump this one is
very noisy, and also needs cooling. I solved this by placing
the pump right under the radiator, though this lowers the
cooling potential of the rig, having hot air blowing through
the radiator…
