CPU Water Cooler Antec Kühler H2O 650
A compact liquid cooler that keeps up
with larger radiator models
Our hearts belong to the Corsair H75 this
issue when it comes to traditional 120mm iquid coolers, but Antec’s single fan
model gives it one hell of a run for its money, despite some markedly different
design calls.
The Antec KÜHLER H2O 650 delivers
high-performance
liquid cooling for your CPU in a quick, easy-to-install package
For just a shade under $91, it offers the
kind of cooling – and tricked out rig aesthetic – you would have gladly paid
over $165 for as recently as, ooh, those heady days when it didn’t look like
Microsoft had utterly, utterly stacked it in the console market.
The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed
that this cooler bears many similarities to the H20 1250 twin-fan cooler we
featured last month, among other things only the eagle-eyed see. We liked the
1250 – really, we did – but we were a bit put off by its non-replaceable fans,
silent though they were. The 650 inherits the same design that locked down the
1250’s spinners, with a pump mounted just above the blades, but at least
there’s only one fan to worry about rather than a pair of them.
To cut to the chase, we like the 650 more.
It asks for less space in your case, it’s a little bit easier to install, and
it doesn’t really lose anything meaningful in idle or load temperatures as a
result of slimming down the size of its aluminium radiator.
The extra-large pump circulates coolant
through optimized water channels
Fiddly fitting
We can’t go on without mentioning the
fiddly rear bracket and cradle design. Yep, the same one that drove us up the
wall last month. It’s very difficult to install without wrenching the whole motherboard
out of your case, because the rear bracket doesn’t want to stay in place while
the board is placed vertically. Please, just rip off corsair’s design, Antec.
Everyone else has.
At least your brow will unfurrow slightly
once the cold plate’s secured, because the radiator and fan simply replace your
rear fan slot at the back of your case. The radiator itself isn’t as low
profile as the corsair H75, but if your memory’s built to a low profile spec
(or if you’re using a Z77 board or older in which the RAM’S kept to the right
of the CPU) you’re laughing.
Engineered for maximum performance, the
Antec KÜHLER H2O 650
delivers liquid cooling performance at an air cooling price
Its performance is really persuasive. We
stress-tested our core i7 by maxing out each core with MaxCPU, noting down the
average idle and load temperature and the cool- down time between the two. The
big difference between this and its larger stablemate is in the cool-down
period. At just over six minutes, it’s still head and shoulders above a decent
air cooler’s performance, but will be a concern if you’re looking for a
cooler for overclocking your chip long-term.
Speaking of which, it’s a dead heat
between the corsair cooler and the 650 in tweaking terms. We squeezed a mighty
5.12GHz from our CPU using each cooler, although we did have to overvolt it
slightly more with the 650 installed.
But should you buy it? Well, the corsair
H75’s overall temperatures are breezier and it’s much simpler to fit, but it’s
a little bit pricier. If you can’t stretch beyond $91 then it’s a fine option.
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Specifications:
·
Copper cold plate is optimized for thermal
conduction
·
Extra-large pump and integrated PWM fan were
engineered to cool
the radiator efficiently
·
One Integrated PWM fan automatically adjust
fan speed based on
temperature. Built-in directional blades focus airflow through the
radiator
·
RGB LED illuminates your case and changes
color to indicate CPU
temperature
·
Intel Compatibility LGA
775/1150/1155/1156/1366/2011
·
AMD Compatibility AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+/FM1/FM2
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