Intel's new Sandy Bridge?E processors offer outstanding performance, but the high price of chips such as the Core i7-3960X doesn't get you everything you need. Finally admitting that the enthusiasts most interested in this tier of products will probably want to buy their own coolers for keeping the chip chill, Intel has stopped packaging one with each processor. But Intel knows enough to keep its foot in the door, and is doing so with its own line of cooling devices. Among these is the RTS2011LC Liquid Cooling Solution ($85-$100 list), a closed-loop propylene glycol cooler the company has wisely designed to fit any of its contemporary sockets (LGA2011, LGA1155, LGA1156, and LGA1366). The good news is that it works as advertised; the bad news is that using it may get you hot under the collar.
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Because Intel intended the RTS2011LC to work with so many sockets, a lot of hardware is included in the package. In addition to the pump, which comes preconnected to the radiator, you'll find a 120mm exhaust fan, two mounting brackets (and the necessary double-sided tape for attaching one to the motherboard if required), three sets of screws, and two sets of retention screws (one for use with the LGA2011 socket, one for everything else), a set of four spacers to assist in unusual installation scenarios, two packets of thermal interface material (TIM), and zip ties for keeping everything organized. The only extra tool you'll need will be a Phillips screwdriver (which you should have within arm's reach of your computer all the time anyway), but you'll use it only briefly.
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Oh yes, something else is included as well: installation instructions. That, however, is a term I must use incredibly loosely. The bound sheaf of pages is, frankly, more of a picture book. The front matter and warranty information are rendered in a dozen different languages, but no explanation in any language is provided for the series of diagrams in between that supposedly show to attach the RTS2011LC to your motherboard.
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If you're experienced doing this sort of thing, you'll be able to puzzle it out. But even then you may have to work at it. The problems with the images begin immediately, with the two sets of screws and the two sets of the screw-in socket mounts looking terrifyingly alike. (One set of each is a bit shorter than the others, but there's no other visible difference.) Then, in step one of the procedure, the same item is shown as being used in two different ways, and with two different letter labels: L one place, and J in another. (The L is correct; J, judging by the parts "list," is an entirely different object meant for another purpose altogether.) Later, a double-headed arrow bookended by socket names appears over a picture of another piece of hardware, with no specific clue as to what it means or what it's supposed to do. A few pages further on, there are bewildering breakdowns of how to set up the radiator, with two pages that apparently directly contradict each other, and the pump, which uses two arrows in a clumsy attempt to convey idea that would benefit from at least two or three sentences.
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Let me tell you what the manual doesn't.? Screw the radiator to the inside of the case (on either the rear or the top, wherever you have room) and?affix an exhaust fan onto its inside plane. If the?four feet on the?retention bracket?do not?display the name of the socket onto which you're?installing the cooler, rotate them until they do.? After adding a dollop of TIM?to the CPU, place the?bracket around the pump, secure the pump inside by rotating it a quarter-inch or so, then secure the?brackets to the motherboard itself (and thus the pump onto the CPU) by screwing it into place, either with your screwdriver or your fingers.?In other words, this is nowhere near as complicated as the diagrams make it look.? But to have so many things in them be misleading or incorrect, and to not have a written step-by-step guide to accompany them, is simply bewildering. Intel has made available, on YouTube and its website, a video?(complete with?narration in crystal-clear English) that demonstrates the installation procedure. Watching it?should not be required for something like this, but it?will add much-needed clarity for inexperienced cooler installers.
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Even after sorting out the process, however, following it wasn't painless. The retention bracket was?difficult to work with. You're supposed to hold it in one hand,?guide the pump through it with the other, twist the pump so the teeth on it and the teeth on the bracket match up (so the pump won't move), and then screw down the whole apparatus. But several times while we were trying to do this, the pump got disengaged and we had to start all over. A couple of other times, the top knobs of the bracket's?thumbscrews came off in our hands and had to be reattached?necessitating putting down the pump and top bracket, and restarting from the beginning yet again.? Few?aftermarket coolers we've dealt with have been this fussy.
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That said, once we got it running in a test system with a Core i7-3960X on an Intel DX79SI motherboard, everything was fine. For what it's worth, it looked understated and handsome, its?general black coloring nicely highlighted by?blue LEDs in both the fan and the pump.? Our system idled at about 93 degrees Fahrenheit at its stock 3.3GHz clock speed, and at 98 degrees while overclocked to 4.6GHz. With all six of?our Core i7-3960X's?cores operating under full load, the temperatures?averaged 139.5 degrees at 3.3GHz and 166.3 degrees at 4.6GHz. This is the only LGA2011 cooler we've assessed so far, but these numbers strike us as well?within acceptable ranges given what we've seen?on systems using?other Intel sockets. This may not be a spectacular choice for keeping your processor's temperature under control?we're just not sure yet?but it definitely works. There should even be enough additional headroom for further overclocking.
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No, performance is not a particular problem with the Intel RTS2011LC Liquid Cooling Solution, and that's a good thing given its unwieldy design. Being able to install it on any current Intel socket is nice, but we've used coolers from other companies like Thermaltake, Cooler Master, and Antec that also fit multiple platforms and are considerably less aggravating. As soon as we can, we'll get some of their newer (or revised) models in for use with the LGA2011 socket and see if they're less troublesome. Until then, if you feel that traditional air cooling by way of Intel's simpler models isn't enough for you, the RTS2011LC will do the job?just know you'll run the risk of losing your own cool while trying to install it.
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/u-2yRL7wBNc/0,2817,2396285,00.asp
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