At the heart of the COOL system is the LAING Delphi 12V DC pump. While the LAING is a "Low Flow" model, it is definitely a high-pressure part with an approximate 13-foot maximum head. The pump runs virtually silent.



Next the reservoir which fits into a 5.25" bay is made of plastic and features brass inserts for mounting screws, a simple yet important detail. Another utilitarian detail on the reservoir is its "hump back" where the fill-cap is located making bleeding your system much easier since air will naturally rise there.



As important as any other device in a water cooling system is the radiator/fan combo. Following the First Law of Thermodynamics the kinetic energy (heat) which has now entered the closed system via the water block, must then be expunged from the system. In water cooling this occurs within the radiator with the assistance of a fan. Of course it can also be done without a fan as in passive systems.



Mounting hardware supplied for the radiator/fan combo include a two-piece mounting cage Corsair has named this the RMK (Radiator Mounting Kit). One half of the RMK cage mounts to the back of the case with the second half affixed to the radiator/fan. Four screws fasten the cage halves together from top/bottom and left/right which allow easy access to the screws. The RMK assembly supports and extends the radiator out from the rear of the case approximately 2.5cm so as not to disturb nor inhibit air-flow.



Corsair instructions explicitly state the fan should be oriented to push air through the radiator. Beyond this their RMK provides mounting options limited only by your imagination or case type. Taking a closer look below I've assembled one half of the cage to the radiater/fan and mounted the "anchor" assembly to our Thermaltake SHARK case.



I tested several variations on manufacturer sugested mounting instructions, each over several days, across several weeks while recording the data. Although Corsair strongly suggests oreinting the fan to push air through the radiator, I found just slightly better results reversing the fan direction so air was pulled through the radiator. Below the fan is pulling air through the radiatior . I also reversed the radiator direction so there were no sharp bends in the hose and tested this variation as well comparing results. While following Corsair installation instructions verbatim may not have bent the hoses enough to restict waterflow, the data seemed to support better flow as is oriented below. I decided to ere on the side of caution.



Ultimately I settled on removing the RMK assembly, mounting the fan/raditor externally, reversing radiator direction thereby minimizing flow restriction and followed Corsair's recommended fan direction. In this respect I took advantage of the cooler ambeint room air, eliminated sharp or restrictive hose angles and in keeping with Corsair's suggestion to push air through the radiator, cooled mosfetts near the socket as well. In atypical internal mounted watercooling systems where the radiator/fan combo is located at the rear of the case, the fan usually serve's a dual purpose. First to cool the water, and then to act as the case exhaust. I strongly advise eschewing this formula wherever possible as pre-heated case air (while still much cooler then the CPU temp) is often much higher in temperature compared to the ambeint room air temp. While the settled upon method in this case (pun intended) may seem to fly in the face of convention, attempting to create a vaccum in Thermaltake's SHARK tower would have been in vein due to it's "honeycomb" side-panel. Since air can flow freely through the honeycomb panel located just beneath the CPU area, I settled on the option below.



The LAING pump utilized by Corsair is an excellent choice due to its extremely high pressure capabilities. At approximately 13-head feet and 400GPH, the unit is a wonder in the world of water cooling, especially given its miniscule size. The LAING Delphi 12V DC is a virtually silent operator.



Looking at the pump from another angle we see the included PCI-slot plate which has holes for the tubing to pass through and a quick connect leading to the radiator fan. To reiterate, this pump operates virtually silent, and its unobtrusive size allows plenty of component elbow room.



Time for testing ->