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Asetek Vapochill LS

by Mike D. published Jan 24, 2006

Filed under: overclocking, cooling

Final Touches

Once everything was starting to look good, I did some cable management and properly mounted and hid the chill control board. It fit perfectly behind the 3 1/2" drive bays. All of the Asetek provided cables were more than long enough for the location.

Notice the twisted blue and white cable above. That is the chill control 'power switching' cable that connects to the motherboard header. The chill control board decides when to start and shut down your PC. The Lian-Li power switch cable connects to another header on the chill control board. Be sure to use the provided stand-offs when mounting the chill control board, as it will certainly short out if it is placed on anything metallic without them. The chill control board on its own costs about $100, so be careful.

In the dark, the LED is very bright, so I was glad to keep it facing the non-windowed side panel where it is barely visible. Some people like these bright lights, I'm sure.

Once everything is plugged in you should see the Vapochill LCD and the chill control board light up in blue. Starting the unit up for the first time is a bit odd. Pressing the power button on your case no longer turns your PC on. It now serves other purposes: It can be used to change settings on the Vapochill (like start-up temperature) and if held for exactly one second, it will begin the startup procedure by powering up the vapochill unit and leaving the PC turned off until the temperature reaches the 'start-up' temperature.

Time to fire the Vapochill LS up!

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About the author

Mike D.

Mike D. is a lead hardware reviewer for Icrontic. Mike was recently married, and lives in Canada.

17 Comments

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  1. Sledgehammer70 said Jan 19, 2006 2:10am (ET)

    This is awesome info! I don't think I have seen a better write -up for this product. Great images, nice detail I give you 150% on this one!

    Also I have been looking into the LS for a few days now. I was thinking fo Watercooling for about $400 but I was liek why not go all the way for an extra $400 I mean if youare getting 3.3Ghz on a Opt. what do you think the FX-57 would score? It is all in the aire, but something I am looking into.

  2. TheGr81 said Jan 19, 2006 9:56am (ET)

    Excellent review, Lemonlime!

  3. paroxym said Jan 19, 2006 12:23pm (ET)

    Lemonlime: You are

    As leet as you are though you might want to spell Asetek correctly

  4. primesuspect said Jan 19, 2006 12:38pm (ET)

    wow paroxym, thanks for catching that. I'm editing it right now

  5. Shorty said Jan 19, 2006 12:40pm (ET)

    primesuspect said wow paroxym, thanks for catching that. I'm editing it right now

    He sent me an email asking me to do that, Im just about to edit but if you are.. Il wait!

  6. primesuspect said Jan 19, 2006 12:51pm (ET)

    Done

  7. lemonlime said Jan 19, 2006 1:23pm (ET)

    paroxym saidAs leet as you are though you might want to spell Asetek correctly


    Pfft, the truly hardcore do not waste their time spelling things correctly. I've got benchmarks to run my friend..

    primesuspect saidDone


    Thanks for fixing that prime

  8. Winga said Jan 19, 2006 1:37pm (ET)

    Lemonlime - I, like many others followed your trials and tribulations in the forums when you were putting together your now infamous build. All I can say is "Hats off" buddy

    Not only did you do a superb job of it, but you left a documented legacy for us all to share. And of course make us all green with envy.

  9. lemonlime said Jan 19, 2006 1:38pm (ET)

    Sledgehammer70 saidThis is awesome info! I don't think I have seen a better write -up for this product. Great images, nice detail I give you 150% on this one! ... I mean if youare getting 3.3Ghz on a Opt. what do you think the FX-57 would score?


    Thanks for the comments Sledge!

    My Opteron isn't even a terribly strong stepping stepping either . AMD really puts some love into their flagship FX series chips. 3.3-3.4GHz should be no problem if you are willing to crank up the vcore a bit. I think the best CABNE stepping FX chips can do about 3.5. It's rare to see anything higher than that though without a more extreme cooling solution (definitely not anything 24/7 like the LS). Some of them have the cold bug, so I would look up your chip's production week just to be sure.

    Winga saidLemonlime - I, like many others followed your trials and tribulations in the forums when you were putting together your now infamous build. All I can say is "Hats off" buddy

    Not only did you do a superb job of it, but you left a documented legacy for us all to share. And of course make us all green with envy.


    Thanks very much for the kind comments Winga

    TheGr81 said Excellent review, Lemonlime!


    Thanks dude

  10. TheSmJ said Jan 19, 2006 7:00pm (ET)

    Pretty cool!

    Now how about some pics/specs on that planted tank in the backround...?

  11. Keebler said Jan 19, 2006 7:32pm (ET)

    An excellent read

    I sure flubbed catching that Asetek spelling though, huh?

  12. profdlp said Jan 19, 2006 9:54pm (ET)

    Quite a lot of information and a very nice read. All in all a thoroughly enjoyable article. Well done!

  13. lemonlime said Jan 19, 2006 10:05pm (ET)

    TheSmJ saidPretty cool!

    Now how about some pics/specs on that planted tank in the backround...?


    It's a watercooled 55g long I thought you might notice the tank The anubias in the front there were pretty yellow in that picture. Cleaned them up since then. The DIY co2 I'm using now has made a huge difference.

    General Keebler saidI sure flubbed catching that Asetek spelling though, huh?


    This is the Chuck Norris of CPU coolers.. I think the vapo was so powerful that it automatically removed every third vowel from the article the last time I saved it. At least thats my excuse and I'm sticking to it

    profdlp saidQuite a lot of information and a very nice read. All in all a thoroughly enjoyable article. Well done!


    Thanks for the comments prof

  14. paroxym said Jan 20, 2006 4:00am (ET)

    This is the Chuck Norris of CPU coolers..


    Asetek Vapochills aren't hung like horses, horses are hung like Asetek Vapochills.

  15. lemonlime said Sep 2, 2006 10:42am (ET)

    Time for an 8 month update!

    The 'LS' is still going very strong. Evaporator temp has not swayed at all, and is now cooling my slightly hotter (and cold bug free) 4200+ X2 chip at 3.1GHz without breaking a sweat.

    I have had one encounter with Asetek technical support that I would like to share.

    A couple of months ago, I had an issue where the unit would not fire up every try. I'd hold the power button in as perscribed, and the LCD on the front of the unit would simply go black without starting the compressor. I'd have to unplug the unit and keep trying to get it to successfully start up. Once it did start, it ran like a champ though. I went to support.asetek.com and opened a new ticket. Someone replied very quickly, and offered to replace the chill control board. I explained that the unit was working, and that I'd be without a computer if I had to send the defective one back before receiving a replacement. They had no isses sending the replacement prior to receiving the defective one. This is a rare thing this day and age Not only did they send the new one first, it arrived within 3 days from Europe. I swapped the card for the new one, and now everything is 'good as new'.

    Other than that card replacement, I pull out some dust bunnies from the heat exchanger every month, but that is about it

  16. profdlp said Sep 2, 2006 11:06am (ET)

    Quite impressive service.

  17. Nightwolf said Sep 2, 2006 11:44am (ET)

    Nice article LL.

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