Liquid cooling is one of the facets of high-end computing that sets the hardcore apart from the casuals. Those that use it swear by it and know that there is no alternative that comes close. Those that don’t use it struggle to understand it and shy away from its general complexity. Despite the different viewpoints, one thing is clear: liquid cooling is a complicated solution that results in some of the lowest attainable temperatures.
CoolIT, a company known for its wide range of cooling solutions with a strong focus on liquid coolers, understands this gap between PC enthusiasts. The CoolIT ECO A.L.C. is an attempt to bridge that gap. The ECO is a liquid cooling solution that stresses simplicity in design, expedience with installation and longevity in operation. It comes entirely pre-assembled and sealed. It doesn’t require the user to fill the liquid loop, and promises 50,000 hours of operation on the included coolant.
Heralded as a CES Innovations 2010 Design and Engineering Awards honoree, the little cooling machine has been gathering a lot of buzz. So, we decided to have CoolIT put their money where their sockets are and let me, an enthusiast whom has never had any experiences with liquid cooling systems, attempt to install the ECO and put it to the heat.
It can be quite surprising pulling the ECO out of its box for the first time. The system is compact and all-in-one. No assembly is required for the actual cooling unit. There is a 120mm fan, which is attached to the system’s radiator. From the radiator are two flexible tubes which lead the coolant to the socket retention and pump. The pump actually sits on top of the CPU retention module and has a very low profile.
The retention bracket can be adjusted for all modern CPU sockets
The ECO supports Intel’s LGA775, LGA1156 and LGA1366 sockets, as well as AMD’s AM2, AM2+ and AM3 sockets out of the box. The retention system can easily change to the necessary socket size without the use of tools. You simply pull up on the thumb screws, slide them to the labeled socket size lines, and drop the thumb screws in. The ECO also ships with motherboard backplates for all socket sizes for additional rigidity.
Picking up the ECO, the first thing you’ll notice is that it’s quite durable. Despite the unit being pre-assembled and pre-sealed, it feels like it was constructed well. You can handle the unit from any point without fear of the liquid loop breaking apart, or the radiator falling free from the fan.
As you can see from the video, installation of the fan and radiator was a bit tricky for me. Despite claims of the ECO being able to fit into any chassis, the unit actually required me to make some modifications to my chassis, the Gigabyte 3D Aurora. I had to remove the tool-less clamp for the PCI cards, as its presence did not allow the ECO’s 120mm fan to meet the screw mounts. The design of the radiator also left me unable to use the tool-less chassis fan clamps. Finally, the top of the radiator comes into contact with my chassis’ second 120mm fan, leaving the ECO’s fan unable to be totally flush with the fan grille. All minor complaints, really, but it should be noted that compatibility with all computer cases may require some tweaking.
Results
Once the ECO A.L.C. was installed, it was time to put it to work with the OCCT Linpack Test. For this comparison, the CoolIT ECO was also tested against the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro and the stock Intel LGA775 heatsink. All coolers were evaluated on an Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 at 2.2GHz and a Vcore of 1.36V. The ECO was installed using the pre-applied thermal compound, while the Freezer 7 Pro and the stock cooler both used Arctic Silver thermal compound.
As you can see, the CoolIT ECO A.L.C. was rather evenly matched with the air coolers at idle. The trend continued under load, but the ECO did manage to pull away by 2°C over the Freezer 7 Pro. The ECO’s numbers aren’t the most impressive we’ve seen, especially for a liquid cooling solution, but they are hardly temps to scoff at, either.
Considerations
Is the ECO A.L.C. worth your hard earned cash? It really depends on who you are. The hardcore overclocking enthusiast will not be interested. The ECO isn’t the most efficient cooler out there, especially considering that there are cheaper, more efficient air-based alternatives such as the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro.
The ECO's pump is attached to the retention bracket and has a very low profile
The ECO also doesn’t make for a very effective entry product to liquid cooling, either. Despite ease of installation, the pre-sealed nature of the ECO does nothing to actually teach users about liquid cooling. From setup to maintenance, there are many important lessons to be learned in the realm of liquid cooling, lessons that cannot be taught through the installation and use of the ECO.
We certainly can’t forget the installation issues I had with the radiator. There’s a good chance that many users will install the fan without any issues at all. The very existence of a possible need for chassis modification, however, may scare off the novice users who aren’t as capable with such feats of hardware hackery.
The CoolIT ECO A.L.C. installed
On the flip side, the ECO is a very attractive cooling solution with an equally attractive price. At an MSRP of $75, the ECO is one of the most affordable liquid cooling solutions out there. CoolIT set out to create a product that delivers the best liquid cooling bang for the buck, and in the case of the ECO, they were successful.
The unit is several times less complex than typical liquid cooling solutions, which is a definite plus to any user who doesn’t want to deal with the perils of setting up their own liquid cooling loop. The ECO is also completely maintenance free, negating the need for regular coolant refills and monitoring. Such ease of use is certainly going to be compelling to users.
The ECO is also a quiet system. The pump is quiet enough that no audible noise can be heard from it above the chassis fans. The 120mm fan attached to the radiator is actually quieter than the 120mm Gigabyte fan that sits directly above it. Where some air based coolers may be more efficient than the ECO, they certainly aren’t as quiet.
Pre-applied thermal paste and multiple sized backplates ensure ease of installation
Finally, the ECO A.L.C.’s impressive compatibility with the market’s complete range of active sockets gets definite thumbs up. The unit can fit plenty of old processors, and is future-proofed with support for AM3 and 1366 socket support. Changing socket type on the retention bracket is unbelievably easy. This is a cooling solution that you can purchase and take with you as you upgrade components.
Final thoughts
In short, you need to know what you want out of cooling before buying the ECO. If you’re looking for a high-efficiency setup that will keep your processor in an ice box when you overclock it well beyond its recommended operation frequencies, then you probably should look elsewhere. If you want a simplified liquid cooling solution that shoots par for the course and won’t break the bank, then the CoolIT ECO A.L.C. is right up your alley.
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