CoolIT C240 ALC ECO review - Introduction

Summer summer summer tiihiimee .... Ah yeah it is summer time here in Europe and what better excuse to use this time of the year for a series of CPU cooler articles. We've already posted quite a few of them and we will continue to do so. Today we'll actually test a product based on forum feedback. After we tested CoolIT's Domino, ALC ECO and Vantage CPU coolers a lot of you guys were interested in learning all about the performance the ALC ECO 240. But before we get into the detail, we obviously need to explain a little about CoolIT's product series, tagged under ALC.

The ALC series are single self contained water-cooling based units, that are very easy to install. No need to fill em up, nope Sir, seat them, secure them, activate them -- and you are good go.

Earlier this year CoolIT introduced their ALC ECO. The ideas were based off the CoolIT Domino kit, a Standalone liquid CPU cooling kit. The ECO series however was improved and simplified on many levels. That product was quite a success, tagged with a launch price of 75 USD, and these days it can be found at 50 USD it certainly rocked the cooling arena a little.

The kits look nice and perform quite adequately as well. Liquid  cooling is extremely efficient as it's a very quick way to transport heat away from the processor. That by itself has several advantages, the biggest one being the overall the temperature of your processor will go down much faster than say a traditional air cooler. Another good reason for water-cooling is the noise level. When done right you can keep the volume of the fan on a radiator really quiet creating a pretty inaudible experience. Last and most certainly not least is the most simple reason of them all .. it can look freakishly cool.

Though these standalone kits are pretty darn good, some of you would prefer to see a product based on not just that 120mm radiator/fan size, but a dual-radiator 240mm product. CoolIT listened, learned and adapted. As such a couple of weeks ago they started selling a dual-radiator (ALC ECO 240) liquid cooling kit. The products are all based on the ECO series, yet with that bigger radiator and two fans. This should help shave off another 5 to 10 degrees C of the processor temperature.

Over the next pages we'll dive into the A.L.C ECO 240, a new model located in that self contained water-cooling based segment targeted at an audience that like style and gimmicks. But don't let the looks confuse you, the performance and features of this little product are really good.

Tagged at just 125 USD, will this ready to use kit live up top the reputation the predecessor products claimed and achieved? Well my man, let's find out and head on over to the next page, where we'll startup the review.