$ 49.98
Antec Kuhler H2O 620 Liquid CPU Cooler System
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Keeping It “Kuhl” with the Antec H20 620,
I decided to purchase this unit to cool my over-clocked Sandy Bridge(4.4Ghz) i5 2500k processor. Previously I had installed a Cooler Master 212+, and was fairly impressed by that “air cooled” unit (all temperatures were well within the acceptable range, below 60C). So, this was not an upgrade based on necessity, rather I wanted to keep my CPU as cool as possible for longevity purposes. Also, I like the low-profile look of these water units better than the huge metal structures offered by many of the air coolers. After the installation I was very pleased with the units performance, and can say that it really is an incredible bang for the buck! Read on for more details..
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Out of the Box:
One of the first things you’ll notice when un-boxing the Antec Kuhler H20 620 is that the unit is very light-weight. This facet is something I prefer as I feel it puts less stress on the CPU and motherboard when compared to previous units I’ve used. The look of the unit is fairly standard and if you are familiar with the Corsair H50 and H70, you’ll find that the head unit is identical to the one employed by the Corsair H70 and the radiator is that of the Corsair H50. The reason for this pseudo-phenomenon is that all three units are manufactured by the same company, Asetek. Perhaps the only noticeable difference is the more flexible tubing in use on the Antec cooler. Asetek, the manufacturer of the unit, says that the Antec model uses the latest(3rd-generation) copper cold plate (head unit) and less flow restrictive tubing. The other discerning element between the Corsair series and the Antec is that the fan/radiator setup on the Antec exhausts the warm air out of the case rather than inside(again my preference).
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Ease of Installation:
While the box says “quick installation” this will take a seasoned PC builder about 10 minutes to install. Though it is certainly not a difficult task for a complete novice, either. In summary, you install a backplate, a front bracket and finally push the unit down and turn to lock it in place. After the unit is secured you plug the fan and pump into the motherboard. All-in-all, a fairly simple process.
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Cooling:
Keep in mind, cooling numbers of my machine and yours will certainly vary due to differences in ambient temperature, cases, fans etc.. Therefore, rather than only giving you my current temperatures I will provide the approximate difference from the previous well-performing Cooler Master 212+ and Intel stock cooler and let you decide its efficacy. My testing is by no means scientific, as I didn’t know the ambient temperature of the room at the time of each test. So consider these numbers mere estimates.
Intel Stock Cooler
Idle: 37c Full Sustained Load: 71
Cooler Master 212+
Idle: 33c Full Sustained Load: 60c
Antec Kuhler 620 H20
Idle: 31c Full Sustained Load: 54c
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Noise Level:
The Antec Kulher 620 H20 is VERY quiet. This is one of my favorite features, though typically I favor performance over noise reduction, I do like the new peaceful hum.
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Conclusion:
I build computers fairly frequently and really like this unit in comparison to some other cooling setups I have used in various systems. This unit performs very well, installs easily, and is rather quiet. The unit also has a fan which regulates its speed by the motherboard and will make adjustments as needed. It’s not going to replace a true custom water cooling setup, but it holds its own against everything in its price range while being quiet and easy to work with. It’s hard to ask for anything more at this price point and physical size. If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment and I will do my best to answer ASAP.
PRO’s
-Great Cooling Performance
-Easy Installation
-3 year warranty
-Great Value
-Quiet
-Estimated 50,000 hour pump lifespan
Con’s
– Some giant air coolers at this price are equal-to or slightly/barely better in terms of cooling (but not quieter)
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My System:
CPU: Sandy Bridge Core i5 2500k, Overclocked to 4.4ghz, Antec Kuhler 620 H2O CPU cooler.
Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth P67
Hard Disks: Corsair F60 SSD (boot device), WD-Velociraptor 150gb , WD Blue 1TB
GPU: 2 x SLI -MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
MEMORY: G-Skillz 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory (overclocked)
PSU: Antec True Power 750W Modular Power…
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|Great Performance, Poor Documentation,
Installed on an Intel i7 2600K socket 1155 CPU. The installation guide does not mention socket 1155 even though the sales literature lists 1155 compatibility. Installation guide covers AMD AM2/AM3 and Intel sockets 1156, 1366, 775. (Manufacturer’s web site had same guide as received with the product so it provided no information on socket 1155 installation.) Guessed that 1155 would be same as 1156 and this was a correct guess.
Installation is actually easy but the lack of detail in the supplied guide can cause installation delays. Step 1, prep of metal retention ring, provides horizontal clip orientation but not vertical orientation (refer to image on step 7 or 9 to get vertical orientation). Step 2 (backplate prep) image shows socket information on 1 of 4 corners for mounting the tension clips. If you use this orientation on each of the 4 corners, the backplate won’t fit when you get to step 4. The clip position for each corner is different. The socket information for each corner is molded into the backplate in a small font and probably won’t be seen until you realize the backplate doesn’t fit. In bright light with 20/20 vision, you can read the molded numbers and execute step 2 properly. The remainder of the installation is sufficiently intuitive to execute properly with the minimal detail provided in the installation guide.
Once installed, the performance is great. System is OCed to 4.4 GHz. Stock Intel cooling provided less than 5 minutes at 100{b81fbfd19e1fca5890798868c0714c408bbd5ec471654b6f9630c0fffa6e7eb3} CPU utilization before the CPU temp exceeded 85 C. This cooler keeps the temp below 70 C under all load conditions. Using a BOINC project to achieve continuous 100{b81fbfd19e1fca5890798868c0714c408bbd5ec471654b6f9630c0fffa6e7eb3} CPU utilization, CPU temp was typically 62-64 C at nominal GPU utilization. Max temp was 67 C when both CPU and GPU were at 100{b81fbfd19e1fca5890798868c0714c408bbd5ec471654b6f9630c0fffa6e7eb3} for an extended (>1 hr) period. Computer cooling problem solved!
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|Getting Even Kuhler With the 920 H2O,
I build a fair amount computers, and a give each one a healthy over-clock. Therefore, I look for coolers that are easy to install while performing well in order to keep the CPU temperatures as cool as possible for maximum longevity. I previously used a lot of the larger metal conduction heat sinks, and had great results with many of them in terms of CPU temperature. However, for aesthetic and noise purposes I have been swayed into using the Antec Kuhler 620 h2O (the smaller version of this unit). I have been so pleased with that unit, that I desperately wanted to get my hands on this “upgraded” version. It’s not perfect, but it is excellent none-the-less, and will likely appeal to the majority of computer enthusiasts.
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Out of the Box:
One of the first things you’ll notice when un-boxing the Antec Kuhler H20 920 is that the unit is relatively light-weight despite it’s size. The look of the unit is fairly standard and if you are familiar with the Antec 620, you’ll find that this unit looks very similar with most of the differences only emerging when you compare the thickness of the head unit and the radiator. This is, once again, a unit manufactured by the company, Asetek (The group that previously constructed the Corsair H0 and H70). The tubing on the 920 is slightly thicker, but remains very flexible. Asetek, the manufacturer of the unit, says that this Antec model uses the latest(3rd-generation) copper cold plate (head unit) and less flow restrictive tubing. This unit is fairly similar still to the Corsair H70, with the exception of the Antec unit having a spiffy RGB (user color-controlled) logo- which really does look cool by the way (if you are into that); as well the Antec unit blowing it’s warm exhaust outside of the case (my preference) rather than inside, ala the Corsair H70.
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Ease of Installation:
While the box says “quick installation” this will take a seasoned PC builder about 15 minutes to install. Though it is certainly not a difficult task for a complete novice, either. In summary, you install a backplate, a front bracket and finally push the unit down and turn to lock it in place. After the radiator is mounted and the unit secured, you plug the fan, usb and pump into the motherboard. All-in-all, a fairly simple process.
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Cooling:
Keep in mind, cooling numbers of my machine and yours will certainly vary due to differences in ambient temperature, cases, fans etc.. Therefore, rather than only giving you my current temperatures with this unit I will provide the approximate difference from the previous well-performing Antec Kuhler 620 and Intel stock cooler and let you decide its efficacy. My testing is by no means scientific, as I didn’t know the ambient temperature of the room at the time of each test. So consider these numbers mere estimates.
Intel Stock Cooler
Idle: 42 c Full Sustained Load: 79
Antec Kuhler 620 H20
Idle: 38c Full Sustained Load: 56c
Antec Kuhler 920 H2O
Idle: 34c Full Sustained Load: 51c
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Noise Level:
The Antec Kulher 920 H20 is VERY quiet when the system is not under extended load- which is common for most everyday applications. The sound level changes drastically,however, when the system is under a full-extended load. The unit becomes quite noisy and is reminiscent of a forest gnome running his/her small weed-wacker inside your pc. If you favor performance over sound level, this is all well and good. However, if you want a quiet pc, you will have to tame the fans on the unit either by replacing them with a more noise-conscious substitutes or by limiting the speed (and performance) of the fans using the included software. I should mention that the only way I could get the fans to ramp up that high on their own was by running torture tests such as PRIME95 for over ten minutes. During gaming sessions the fans remained quite reasonable and discrete.
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Conclusion:
I build computers fairly frequently and really like this unit in comparison to some other cooling setups I have used in various systems. This unit performs very well, installs easily, and offers impressive value. The unit also has fans which regulates its speed by the motherboard and will make adjustments as needed, a welcome feature. While it’s not going to replace a true custom water cooling setup, it holds its own against everything in its price range while being mostly quiet and easy to work with. If you aren’t planning on doing a major overclock, you still might want to check out the small H20620, as it’s tough to beat in terms of value. If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment and I will do my best to answer ASAP.
PRO’s
-Cool…
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