|
Performance & Installation
Installation of the Stormcool III was a breeze. Being mostly
familiar with DIY kits like Danger Den and Swiftech, this kit from CoolWave was
almost as easy as changing a HSF, with the exception that we had to remove our
existing setup which took a lengthy amount of time... Our test setup consists of
the following components:
- Asus P4C800E
-
Intel Pentium 4 Prescott 3.0Ghz 478 Processor
-
Visiontek x800 Pro VGA Card
-
ThermalTake 480W PSU
We compared the Stormcool III to our existing Danger Den setup
which consists of the following components:
- Danger Den TDX CPU Block
-
Danger Den D-4 Pump
-
Danger Den Maze 4 GPU Block
-
Danger Den Z-Block Chipset Block
-
Danger Den 5 1/4" Bay Reservoir
-
1/2" Tygon Tubing
Our performance results yielded a pretty good margin but its a
much better margin then every complete water cooling yet to date. Browsing
through some other sites, we found that the Stormcool bests every of the shelf
water cooling kit to date. Unfortunately we don't have quite enough data for
comparison to any other kit except the Poseidon
WCL-03 and our Danger Den setup. The Stormcool annihilated the Poseidon WCL-03,
but was running a bit more behind the Danger Den. Pf course this should be
expected, since our Danger Den setup is very much a high dollar exotic kit,
whereas the Stormcool is not.
As you can see for $100 the Stormcool III is an absolute
bargain in performance!!!
The CoolWave Stormcool III has a lot of goodness to it. I would
have to say that according to our numbers it is the best complete off-the-shelf
water cooling you can get for under $100. At that price, it just doesn't have
any competition. Oh yeah
we mustn't forget that the Stormcool III accommodates the cooling of a video card
too! This is just too good to be true. Its nice to see companies give you so much value in
a water cooling kit that is so user friendly and easy to put together. The Stormcool is also very quiet, and very easily modded
with perhaps the addition of another 120mm fan, which of course would go against
the whole concept of silence, but for the hardcore overclockers out there,
sometimes sacrifices have to be made...
|
Club Overclocker
Rating |
|
Innovation: |
8.5 out of 10 |
|
Performance: |
9.0
out of 10 |
|
Quality: |
7.0 out of 10 |
|
Stability: |
N/A |
|
Compatibility:
|
9.0
out of 10 |
|
Overclocking: |
9.0 out of 10 |
|
Software
Pack: |
N/A |
|
Value: |
10
out of 10 |
|
Overall Rating 8.5 |
|
|
|
|
Skill Level |
|
Project Skill Level
(10 being hardest) |
5 out of 10 |
|
