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VapoChill XE "Xtreme Edition"

Asetek brings their VapoChill line of vapor phase CPU cooling packages to new levels.

Introduction

Most of you are familiar with Asetek as a company, if not, you have certainly heard of their flagship product the VapoChill. HardOCP has brought you reviews of each version of the VapoChill since the first system was introduced in 1999. Our second VapoChill review came in 2001 and the third version in late 2002. HardOCP even used a custom VapoChill unit with dual cooling units to overclock a 3.06GHz CPU to 4.44GHz in January of 2003. Over the last 5 years, we have watched Asetek grow from a company which was basically a one trick pony with the VapoChill into a world class distributor of high end cooling solutions. Asetek has even branched out into the water cooling sector with its line of WaterChill products. Today, we take a look at the second revision of the mighty VapoChill, the VapoChill XE.

Asetek announced the latest member of the VapoChill family, the VapoChill “Xtreme Edition” ( XE ) in this press release on June 18, 2003:

Asetek Inc. is proud to announce that a new edition of the VapoChill® CPU cooling system is released for sale. The VapoChill family has been extended and now includes the VapoChill Extreme Edition. The VapoChill XE offers an amazing 180 Watts of cooling at sub-zero temperatures for the hardcore and extreme overclocker! The VapoChill XE offers an amazing 180 Watts of cooling at sub-zero temperatures for the hardcore and extreme overclocker. Unlike the rest of the VapoChill family the Xtreme Edition is based on another coolant; R404a, which is more powerful and effective in removing the heat from your CPU. The result - lower CPU core temperatures at maximum overclocks. Besides the XE is equipped with an extra fan to cool compressor electronics and a standard case window. The XE will be available in Titanium case color only (no white cases).

The VapoChill XE should be considered an upgrade to the existing line of VapoChill products and not a “new” VapoChill. The reason for this is that Asetek has made only one minor change to the previous VapoChill unit tested here in our December 2002 review. Asetek has decided to replace the previous HFC ( hydrofluorocarbon ) refrigerant that is commonly used for automotive air conditioning called R134A with a different refrigerant R404A. According to Asetek the better cooling properties of the new refrigerant allow for the VapoChill XE to dissipate up to 180W of heat energy, a full 50W more than previous VapoChill units.

Also included in this review is the new VapoChill Socket Kit offered as a option with the VapoChillXE. The new socket kit addresses many of the complaints associated with the original CPU head kit. The new socket kit allows existing VapoChill units to be used with not only the Intel socket 478 but also the AMD socket 754 and 940 mainboards.

VapoChill Basics

Although you may have heard this more than a few times, it is extremely important that this time around that you read and understand the way a phase change cooling system works because it is a significant part of this review, as you will soon see. This is our standard “basic” explanation of phase change cooling that we use in all of our VapoChill reviews:

The VapoChill produces subzero temperatures much in the same manner as the refrigerator or freezer in your kitchen does. The system basically consists of the following components: Refrigerant, compressor, condenser, expansion valve, and evaporator that work in a constant cycle.

The cycle is divided into basically two sections, hot and cold. At the starting point of the cycle the refrigerant is compressed to a high pressure in the compressor. The refrigerant then passes through the air cooled condenser in which it is condensed into saturated liquid at high pressure and temperature. During condensation, the heat-exchanging coils dissipate the heat of pressurization and then exhaust it into the air. The refrigerant then passes from the condenser through an expansion valve that reduces the pressure of the refrigerant from a high pressure zone to a low-pressure zone, allowing it to expand and evaporate. When evaporating, the process absorbs heat, making it extremely cold in the evaporator ( CPU cooling head ). The refrigerant then continues to repeat this cycle of exchanging energy over and over.

Case Features:

The VapoChill chassis remains unchanged, with the exception of a few additional internal fans, from the previous version. The same massive 22 inch, 45lb, charcoal gray, full sized ATX case is used again for the VapoChill XE. The now famous front bezel remains unchanged, the massive oval holes at the top of the front fascia are still used to move large amounts of air, unimpeded, through the compressor while a second set of oval port holes at the base of the case allow for good ventilation to the bottom half of the chassis. The VapoChill case, though a bit on the "large" side, is easily one of the best looking cases around.

The VapoChill XE has the same dimensions for components as previous models with support for a single external 3.5” drive as well as a three external 5.25” optical drives. Internally the VapoChill can support a total of 5 more 3.5” internal drives. The complete list of case specifications are: