First Impressions

The very first thing which pops out at you is the fact this unit is ready to go right out of the box; there is no need to add any coolant and for the entire life cycle of the PURE you will never need to do so. This is a very big positive 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 nonconductive liquid (such as Feser One for example) but it is still reassuring when you don’t have to do anything besides plug in a power connector.

The next thing which is blatantly obvious is that unlike CoolIT's other CPU cooling solutions, the PURE does not use any TECs (thermoelectric coolers) to cool the water. This is a simple water setup and does not have any advance features such as sub ambient temperature cooling. The upside to this is that this makes for a very compact unit. CoolIT has taken a basic 3 piece setup (water block, pump & radiator) and melded it all into a small closed loop system. Of course all this miniaturization is lost by the inclusion of the ridiculously long metal shroud which blocks ones view of the PURE hardware when installed in a case.


The radiator which comes with the PURE is a tried and true, single size radiator unit which is 157x133x25mm and weighs in at 205grams. While it may “only” be 25mm deep versus 35mm of some other radiators out there we are sure that if you are so inclined you could mod this unit by swapping it out for a higher performance dual pass single bay radiator (or even double or triple bay ones for that matter). Of course this would totally void not only the warranty but the whole reason behind this unit, namely the fact it requires no maintenance, no replacement of fluid, and most of all no hassles. Though honestly, if you intend to mod this unit, you might as well spend your money on the individual parts and build your own kit.


One very nice touch which really shows that the CoolIT engineers were on their toes was the inclusion of a fan shroud. As most water cooler aficionados know, having a small covered gap between the fan and the radiator can improve the efficiency of the unit as there are less “hot spots” on the radiator (such as where the fan housing would be). To make it even better this fan shroud can be mounted in various positions to help tweak the exact location of where the radiator (and the whole PURE system for that matter) sits in your computer case. In practical terms this means the PURE can fit in a wide variety of computer cases which some other units may have trouble squeezing into.


The one area where we really had mixed feelings over is the tubing used in the PURE. On the positive side it is Neoprene tubing so it should last a long while and it is fully wrapped in anti-kink wire so as to minimize the chances of getting a kink in the lines (which next to an actual leak is about the biggest potential down side to water cooling which can occur). This was a nice little bonus and was certainly a welcome addition to the PURE. However, on the negative side CoolIT went for only ¼" Inner Diameter tubing. Yes, neoprene is expensive and does add to the PURE’s cost but would 3/8" ID been that much more expensive?

On the positive side, all the tubing of the PURE as been crimped into place using heavy duty steel pinch clamps. This ensures a good long-term leak proof fit but you can forget about modding this unit as those suckers are impossible to remove; you have to cut the tubing free and then pry them off one by one, all the while hoping that you don’t bend or break any of the fittings. This clearly shows this unit is aimed at first time water coolers who certainly don’t have the time, experience or even the inclination to “improve” upon the PURE with aftermarket modifications. Oh well, c’est la vie!


Also on the positive side, the base of the water block (AKA Fluid Heat Exchanger) is perfectly flat but shows some major tooling marks, some minor polishing marks and some big time scratches! For its price range this level of quality is well below average and was very disappointing to see. One has to wonder how much this will effect the PURE’s cooling abilities. On a side note this water block came with TIM already pre-applied in a nice thin and even layer. For shipping it comes with a plastic protection shield held over the water block via a rubber band. While it may not be a high tech way of keeping the protector in place you can’t argue with results. To keep things as even as possible for the testing phase of this review we removed this TIM and used Arctic Silver MX-2 on all CPU cooling solutions.

The heart of the PURE CPU Cooling solution is a low noise moderate flow pump which is rated to move 3.5L of fluid per minute. While this is just short of the 1 Gallon Per Minute mark which most people agree should be the absolute minimum fluid movement, this pump makes up for its lack of speed with ultra low noise. Only time and testing will see if this sub 1gpm loop has enough cooling potential to handle the high thermal loads of modern overclocked CPU’s.


The fan of this unit is the NoiseBlocker BlackSilent Fan XL2. This sleeved bearing fan rotates at a nominal 1400rpm at which speed it moves approximately 57CFM of air and more importantly has an impressive 2.0mmH20 of static pressure. The best thing about this fan is that it is extremely quiet and is (technically) much quieter than even a Noctua NF-P12-1300. Great performance and low noise, what more could you ask?

All in all the PURE is leaves one with a cautiously optimistic first impression. The only issues we have with the PURE’s level of quality is with the sub 1GPM pump (which is not that big of a deal) but mainly with in CoolIT’s quality control department. All pictures used in this review were taken before we used this unit and to see a water block in that bad condition was not only disheartening but really did mar an otherwise great first impression. Whoever applied the TIM to the base of this unit’s water block could have been the one who badly scratched it and instead of yanking it from the production line they decided to pass it instead. Was this PURE a “Friday build”? Please do not get the wrong impression, we are sure this water block was an anomaly but we would truly be remiss in not mentioning it.