CoolIT Boreas MTEC Chassis Review Comment Thread

[misterlarry]

Sorry AKG. Don't know how I missed that.

[3.0charlie]

Originally Posted by Cptn Vortex

$$$$$$$$$$$$

Well, the system retails for 850$ at NCIX; now, look at it this way:

TJ07: 325$ with no side windows.
MCP-655: 70$
Micro-res: 20$
PA120.2: 120$
Apogee GTZ: 70$
Tygon, 1/2" 10 feet: 40$
SFF21Fs, x4: 60$

Total: 705$. Add barbs, clamps, liquid, etc...

For a system that is better than the wc setup I just proposed, the 145$ diffference may well be justified.

[SKYMTL]

Originally Posted by MpG

I don't think the PCI-E cable is physically limited to 75W, that's just the PCI-E specifications. Technically, a 4 pin molex can supply 75W (~6A) without much trouble, and it's only got a single 12V line, whereas the PCI-E cable's got two of them. So things are probably okay there.

I tend not to agree to a certain extent. The specification is there for a reason and in my opinion it should be followed to a tee be it due to the mechanical specifications of the 18g (or lower gauge) wire used on the PCI-E cable or whatever other reason.

[MpG]

Originally Posted by SKYMTL

I tend not to agree to a certain extent. The specification is there for a reason and in my opinion it should be followed to a tee be it due to the mechanical specifications of the 18g (or lower gauge) wire used on the PCI-E cable or whatever other reason.

Granted, but the AWG rating for 18g wire over shorter distances is about 16A. And if I'm not mistaken, even Molex originally rated their 4-pin connector design for that kind of current (although I'd never go that high myself). I'm not saying it's a perfect setup, but I don't think I'd feel any worry about it.

[SKYMTL]

Originally Posted by MpG

Granted, but the AWG rating for 18g wire over shorter distances is about 16A. And if I'm not mistaken, even Molex originally rated their 4-pin connector design for that kind of current (although I'd never go that high myself). I'm not saying it's a perfect setup, but I don't think I'd feel any worry about it.

I don't really worry about it either but think of it this way:

Say if someone has a 600W PSU with lower-powered card like an 8800GTS 512MB and that 600W PSU has a pair of PCI-E connectors. Now, one of those connectors will go to the GPU (which in this case has a board power of about 120W) and then runs the other PCI-E connector to the Boreas to cool the dickens off their CPU. Now say your 600W PSU is pretty good and has a pair of 20A +12V rails. One of those rails will naturally go towards the CPU connector and another (should) have...well, everything else on it. That means 20A (240W) for the Boreas (140W @ Max), the GPU (120W Max) and all the hard drives and other goodies which use the +12V rail.

See what I am getting at? The single PCI-E connector on the Boreas may be ok in theory but it also makes the unit accessible to people with lower-end power supplies. It is for this reason that GPU manufacturers include the "extra" 6-pin PCI-E connector on their cards. Most don't need it (75W from the PCI-E connector + 75W from a PCI-E 1.1 slot is sufficient) but it is there as a safe guard measure against people trying to eke by more than anything else.

You could say that people won't cheap on the PSU when buying an $800 uber product like this but let me tell you, the PSU will be the first thing that takes a hit when it comes to fitting the Boreas in someone's budget.

THAT is why I think there should be another connector on the unit.

[MpG]

Le sigh. Good point. Very good point.

[Cptn Vortex]

I would personally go with the custom WC setup though, easy to add GPUs and other stuff. Plus more silent.

[matsta31]

The cooling unit without the case is retailing for how much ?

I am not sure a website like hardware canuck, where most of the people build the whole rig, loop included, is the kind of customer they are looking for... but anyway nice product.

Wonder what is the elecricity cost of this thing.

[SKYMTL]

Originally Posted by matsta31

The cooling unit without the case is retailing for how much ?

I am not sure a website like hardware canuck, where most of the people build the whole rig, loop included, is the kind of customer they are looking for... but anyway nice product.

Wonder what is the elecricity cost of this thing.

I believe the cost of just the Boreas is around $550.

The cost should not be much at ALL for electricity since at stock speeds it consumes less than a 100W lightbulb.

[cadaveca]

Ah, the real reason why multi-rail PSUs suck rears it's head again. I've been wanting to buy one of these for a while(boreas chiller), but failed in finding COOLit blocks for my 3870x2's...and now have moved onto 4870x2's...


But, what has me curious, is how the cooling system performs under a full system load, vgas and all, as I see this as marketed as a full-system cooling solution, and the elite or whatever would be system only. Temps are great, as should be with TEC cooling, but I aam very curious as to the overall capacity of the unit....