CoolIT Domino A.L.C CPU Cooler Review

Up Close and Personal

The very first thing that pops out at you is the fact that this unit is ready to go right out of the box. Just like the PURE model, there is no need to add any coolant for the entire life cycle of the Domino. This is a huge selling point for new users who are afraid that while filling up a reservoir/radiator/etc some fluid may spill out and fry a computer part. Let’s face it; this is an overblown fear especially if you use non-conductive liquid (such as Feser One for example) but it is still reassuring when you don’t have to do anything besides plug in a regular 3 pin fan.


The next thing that is blatantly obvious is CoolIT has taken what was a compact design and then made it even more so. It still is your basic 3 piece setup (water block, pump, radiator) and melded it all into a small closed loop system and then added in a controller and LCD panel for good measure. Unlike the PURE, all this miniaturization is not lost by the inclusion of a short shroud that blocks one's view of the hardware when installed in a case. This shroud may be shorter than the PURE’s but it is actually useful! This improved shroud houses the push-button controller (which controls the noise of the Domino) but also a cornucopia of information via a built in Liquid Crystal Display.


When one takes a good look at the Radiator which accompanies the Domino and then takes a look at PURE’s it quickly becomes obvious they are the same unit. This is further reinforced by the matching specifications for both rads. This is not a bad thing, per say, as it is a tried and true single pass copper unit which is 157x133x25mm and weighs in at 205 grams.

We wish CoolIT had addressed the one area in which both the PURE and now the Domino does fall a little flat: this perceived limitation is the fact that this Rad is “only” a single 120 bay design and thus is not as efficient as the double, triple and (now) quad radiators which are available. We are not suggesting they go to a double bay design as that would make it too unwieldy but we really do wish they would beef up the rad to a dual pass design similar to a Thermochill PA120.1.


Moving on, we were puzzled to see that the built in fan shroud which accompanies the PURE model is missing from the Domino. This of course does help explain how they were able to make this unit shorter than the PURE but that fan shroud did help remove the cooling dead zone directly in front of the fan hub. It certainly will be interesting to see if it in any way hinders its performance and we will make a special note of it in the testing results for you.


The one area where the Domino has clearly improved upon the PURE is in the tubing department. Yes, it still is “only” ¼ ID tubing; however the layout of the loop itself has been drastically improved. The loop is a lot smaller than the PURE’s and has been set up in a neater way, with the CFF1 pump closer to the radiator's output port. This improved layout should help airflow in and around the CPU area of the motherboard and help keep hot air pockets from forming. All in all this is a clear and obvious upgrade from the PURE. The only thing we were disappointed to see missing is the pinch clamps; instead of those reliable heavy duty steel pinch clamps it appears that CoolIT has opted for a multi-barb approach to keep the tubes in place. Why this was changed we are not sure, but it really does not matter too much; if the lack of pinch clamps bothers you it is fairly easy to add them at a later date.