CoolIT Boreas MTEC Chassis Review

Close Look at the Boreas MTEC Controller

The MTEC controller unit which ships with the Boreas is the exact same unit as the one we took a look at in the Elite review. This little black box is not only where all the power for the TECs, pump and fans is routed from but also it directly influences the noise and performance characteristics the Elite. This is accomplished via the LPC2141 microcontroller chip.


The LPC2141 is an ARM7TDMI-S based high-performance 32-bit RISC Microcontroller that among other things has an integrated USB 2.0 Full Speed Device Controller. This chip is what allows the MTEC software to interact with said controller allowing you to not only override the factory default settings but also customize said settings until the unit is tweaked to what you consider perfection. If you want the utmost in cooling performance you can set up a set of advanced parameters so low that the unit will do 100% all the time to meet them. Alternatively, you can have this system stay whisper quiet right up to the point where it will perform just like a stock air cooling CPU cooler. It all comes down to your needs and how you want performance.


The MTEC controller uses a standard 6 pin PIC-E cable to power the controller and the most of the Boreas. However, since 6 pin PCI-e cables are limited to "only" 75 watts you also have to plug in a 4 pin molex connector. This is simplicity itself as CoolIT includes the all in one adapter which is nothing more than a standard 4 pin cable (which feeds the Boreas TECs) with an additional two wires feeding into one end with a Molex plug on the end. This provides all the needed power for the Boreas' TECs and keeps the unit running smoothly...without any nasty side effects like cable getting so hot from the power draw they glow!

All in all, the BMC continues to validate our initial impression that this is one well crafted kit. Though the we still have the two most important sections to go. It may look good and be crafted from the finest quality components but a unit is only as good as its ease of use (or no one will want to use it!) and its performance. Lets find out how user-friendly this rig really is!