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Design & Features
Now, I would like to stress just what and
excellent product this is in terms of its overall design. It is one of
those products that you know a lot of thought was put into it. After
all, not many companies are bold enough to release such a product claiming
it is compatible with any case that sports a rear 120mm fan.
Considering the rather small mid-tower chassis I used in this review, this
was certainly put to the test.
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Don't let its sheer size fool you.
You'll be quite surprised to find just how well this unit blends in with
your current case, regardless of size. I like to make that clear, as I
had my doubts before I even received the unit for review. As an
example, for testing purposes, I installed it on three cases that did have a
120mm rear fan mount. The smallest of the three was used for initial
testing, and all had only one minor issue which I will address a
bit later in this review. Overall, its sleek yet elegant all-aluminum
exterior features three acrylic see-through windows, all which are designed
for both appearance and functionality. The biggest of three is mainly
to show off the radiator and tubing inside the unit itself, which would show
through a case that does feature a side window. The other two are
mainly for determining the right amount of water level needed.
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What Koolance quickly learned after the comments
we made regarding their older PC2-650 case, is that a top mounted reservoir is
much more convenient when it comes to maintenance. Fortunately, the Aquian does feature a reservoir plug
located on the top of the unit. What most are probably wondering by
now is how you would even go about filling the system considering the lack
of space. Well, that's one of the nice features we will show in
the the installation portion of this review.
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What I particularly liked about the products
I have reviewed from Koolance, is the fact that they can be incredibly easy
to install, provided you do follow the directions carefully. The Aquian
is certainly no exception. Despite some minor flaws I found with their
documentation, the unit itself is clearly labeled and a majority of the
cables already come connected for your convenience. In fact, the setup
is somewhat fool-proof in the sense that you can't possibly connect the
wrong cable to the unit. Only the front display comes unplugged.
The only other connector is for power from your power supply unit.
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The rotational nozzles will help prevent snag or
water flow issues when the unit is opened or closed for maintenance.
The Display
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The display is similar to the newer ones found
on their recent cases. It features a blue three digit LED and buttons
to control fan speed as well as alternate between temp formats. The
cable is sleeved in black to help minimize cable clutter and is certainly
long enough to support cases of any dimensions. We'll show it in
action later...
The Water Block
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The included CPU water block comes with enough
hardware to support almost all current systems. The only exception
being the Xeon processors, which is supported via an optional kit. As
with their previous blocks, tension screws from both Intel and AMD are
included.
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The CPU water block included with the Aquian is
indeed a new model and slightly different from the 1/4" block that we
reviewed along with the PC3-720BK case. The only difference being the
the additional adapters included for a wider range of support as well as a
slightly increased height on the base itself. I can tell you this
truly does make a difference. This block provided a more snug fit on a
socket 478 motherboard. In fact, I prefer this block over the CPU-300. It basically
ensures proper contact with the processor. As with all their excellent
blocks, the base has a mirror-like finish plated in 21kt gold.
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