Price: £199.99
Dubbed as an 'extreme performance' kit, this Larkooler KU3-241 represents the middle of the road here - both in terms of price and complexity. Larkooler have already bundled together all the individual components required, saving you the time of doing it yourself, but you still have to assemble it. For those of you wondering, it is possible to add additional waterblocks and radiators to this kit, with a reasonable range available from Larkooler themselves. Blocks from other manufacturers could also be used, but for maximum compatibility I would suggest sticking to Larkooler's own range.
The kit arrived in a large box, with a number of smaller items left loose and the main components of the kit each separated into their own little boxes. Loose in the box we have: 500ml of pre-mixed coolant, a small funnel, 3/8" tubing (approx 3m), installation guide, 6 compression fittings (3/8") and a small tube of thermal grease.
Taking a close look at the box labelled 'CPU waterblock' we find the block itself, another installation guide (specific to the waterblock), mounting brackets & fittings, more thermal grease and some additional barbs (also 3/8"). The block is constructed from copper, and has been nickel plated to reduce corrosion. This is a good combination, and
considering many pre-built kits use Aluminium, I was pleasantly surprised.
Turning the block over we find a large warning sticker. This is actually in place to protect the base of the block during transport, and as the sticker states, it's important you remove it prior to use. The actual base of the block is very smooth, making it great for attracting finger prints and (hopefully) good at conducting heat also. Changing the mounting plate is very simple, and is well documented in the manual. Using the included Allen key you just undo a couple of small screws and the plates pop out. Then you just slide in the new ones, tighten the screws and you're away.
Opening up the bottom of the block we can examine the internals. Larkooler have created a number of micro-channels, maximising the surface area in which the water will come into contact with. There is also a silicone insert in the upper part of the block, which has been put there to force the liquid down into the micro channels. This doesn't seem to be a particularly attractive method, but until the blocks been tested it's hard to pass judgement. Looking closely at the micro-channels the finish towards the bottom doesn't seem great, although this shouldn't affect the performance.
Onto the next box - which actually has some sort of foreign writing on it, but does in fact contain the pump/reservoir combo. Again, there are a couple of other items included; a large piece of velcro, a pair of barbs and a barb wrench. The inclusion of barbs in the initial box and within each individual boxes makes me believe that each of the components are manufactured to be sold separately, but then bundled together in a larger box to be sold as a kit. The specs on the pump are actually pretty good - capable of 450lp/h (litres per hour), and lifting water through 2.1m.
Attached directly to the pump is a small reservoir, which is made of clear acrylic making it easy to see things bubbling away and check how much liquid you have in there. I was a bit disappointed with the quality of the reservoir though - looking closely the acrylic looks slightly melted, almost as though they spilt glue on it during production.
The pump and reservoir can also be mounted in a pair of 5.25" bays using the included adapter. A small window in the adapter allows you to see how much coolant you have in the reservoir - handy!
Finally we have the radiator and fans. The bundle in this particular box really impressed me, with a pair of fans, grills, radiator floor mounts, radiator case mounts, PCI tubing pass through plate, barbs, screws, Molex adapter and a small tool. The included fans are 1800RPM, white LED models, which should be enough to push a decent amount of air through the radiator.
Speaking of the radiator, it's worth commenting on its design. Unlike other radiators that I have used in the past, this one consists of aluminium plates (as opposed to wavy fins), more like a heatsink than a radiator. The radiator then uses copper tubes passing through the middle of these plates to transfer the heat, with the G1/4" threads placed at the bottom of the radiator.
Dubbed as an 'extreme performance' kit, this Larkooler KU3-241 represents the middle of the road here - both in terms of price and complexity. Larkooler have already bundled together all the individual components required, saving you the time of doing it yourself, but you still have to assemble it. For those of you wondering, it is possible to add additional waterblocks and radiators to this kit, with a reasonable range available from Larkooler themselves. Blocks from other manufacturers could also be used, but for maximum compatibility I would suggest sticking to Larkooler's own range.
The kit arrived in a large box, with a number of smaller items left loose and the main components of the kit each separated into their own little boxes. Loose in the box we have: 500ml of pre-mixed coolant, a small funnel, 3/8" tubing (approx 3m), installation guide, 6 compression fittings (3/8") and a small tube of thermal grease.
Taking a close look at the box labelled 'CPU waterblock' we find the block itself, another installation guide (specific to the waterblock), mounting brackets & fittings, more thermal grease and some additional barbs (also 3/8"). The block is constructed from copper, and has been nickel plated to reduce corrosion. This is a good combination, and
considering many pre-built kits use Aluminium, I was pleasantly surprised.
Turning the block over we find a large warning sticker. This is actually in place to protect the base of the block during transport, and as the sticker states, it's important you remove it prior to use. The actual base of the block is very smooth, making it great for attracting finger prints and (hopefully) good at conducting heat also. Changing the mounting plate is very simple, and is well documented in the manual. Using the included Allen key you just undo a couple of small screws and the plates pop out. Then you just slide in the new ones, tighten the screws and you're away.
Opening up the bottom of the block we can examine the internals. Larkooler have created a number of micro-channels, maximising the surface area in which the water will come into contact with. There is also a silicone insert in the upper part of the block, which has been put there to force the liquid down into the micro channels. This doesn't seem to be a particularly attractive method, but until the blocks been tested it's hard to pass judgement. Looking closely at the micro-channels the finish towards the bottom doesn't seem great, although this shouldn't affect the performance.
Onto the next box - which actually has some sort of foreign writing on it, but does in fact contain the pump/reservoir combo. Again, there are a couple of other items included; a large piece of velcro, a pair of barbs and a barb wrench. The inclusion of barbs in the initial box and within each individual boxes makes me believe that each of the components are manufactured to be sold separately, but then bundled together in a larger box to be sold as a kit. The specs on the pump are actually pretty good - capable of 450lp/h (litres per hour), and lifting water through 2.1m.
Attached directly to the pump is a small reservoir, which is made of clear acrylic making it easy to see things bubbling away and check how much liquid you have in there. I was a bit disappointed with the quality of the reservoir though - looking closely the acrylic looks slightly melted, almost as though they spilt glue on it during production.
The pump and reservoir can also be mounted in a pair of 5.25" bays using the included adapter. A small window in the adapter allows you to see how much coolant you have in the reservoir - handy!
Finally we have the radiator and fans. The bundle in this particular box really impressed me, with a pair of fans, grills, radiator floor mounts, radiator case mounts, PCI tubing pass through plate, barbs, screws, Molex adapter and a small tool. The included fans are 1800RPM, white LED models, which should be enough to push a decent amount of air through the radiator.
Speaking of the radiator, it's worth commenting on its design. Unlike other radiators that I have used in the past, this one consists of aluminium plates (as opposed to wavy fins), more like a heatsink than a radiator. The radiator then uses copper tubes passing through the middle of these plates to transfer the heat, with the G1/4" threads placed at the bottom of the radiator.
