VapoChill PE by Asetek

Company: Asetek
Product: VapoChill PE (Intel Model)
Street Price: ~$550 USD
Date Reviewed: February 6, 2003
Reviewed By: Jason R.
Rating: (9.5/10)

Conclusions & Final Thoughts:

The VapoChill is definitely a unique product. There are models available for both Intel & AMD, unfortunately we were only able to test on the Intel platform, as I would of been really curious to see how it would perform with a good B Stepping TBred. Most people report about a 500MHz-1GHz increase in performance, depending on your CPU, and what kind of cooling was used previously. For me, my final results came in at a solid 3.33GHz, but each CPU maxes out at different speeds, it all just depends on how good a core you get.

I hope I was able to explain how a refrigeration system works adequately enough, hopefully educating some people. The VapoChill definitely has the capacity to cool all current CPUs, and should be able to last you well into the future.

You shouldn't think of a VapoChill is a one-time purchase, but more like a long-term investment. The evaporator mounting seems generic enough that I'm sure Asetek could easily come out with a new adapter should AMD or Intel change their mounting specifications.

The VapoChill is the only unit I have seen that has heating elements to prevent condensation. Other companies rely solely on lots of neoprene, but Asetek has gone the extra step with the two heating elements, it really puts my mind at ease about condensation issues.

This unit does use more power than an air-cooled system, however you get what you pay for, the colder temps don't come for free. I can't really say how much more power it uses, because there are a lot of factors that go into that number. Depending on what you set the hold temperature to, how much heat your CPU generates, how much your CPU runs idle vs load, etc... all these factors play into power consumption.

The VapoChill case is pretty stylish, it does have a few sharp edges inside, but overall is very aesthetically pleasing as well as very functional. You can fit a lot of devices inside. The only thing that bugs me is that the PSU seems kind of in the way, but that had to be done to help conserve space. For people that would like to use their own case, Asetek has recently announced that they are selling just the cooling unit by itself!

The VapoChill costs currently around $550 depending on where you get it and which model you choose. You can check out the list of US Distributors or Canada Distributors to compare prices.

I would like to personally thank Asetek for sending the VapoChill for us to review.

Likes:
  Rock solid 24/7 stability
  Cooling system integrated nicely in case
  Heating elements aid in condensation prevention
  Chill Control software allows control over all aspects of cooling system
  Very quiet compared to air-cooled systems

Dislikes:
  Compressor powered by PSU instead of independent power source
  PSU location in case cases a lot of cable clutter
  There are other systems on the market that get lower temps

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