The Koolance Titan/GTX780 VID-NXTTTN water block, like the Swiftech block, comes with it’s own backplate. However it’s not a full size backplate as it’s more functional than aesthetic. The block comes in the usual black Koolance packaging:
The block also comes with two thicknesses of thermal pad so that you can tailor the card fit to the core height. The 0.7mm thickness that is recommended was perfect, any small increase in height caused worse performance.
Some TIM is included, but it’s unnamed white stuff that isn’t in a syringe. I’d much rather see name brand TIM so at least it’s known how poorly it performs before you replace it with something better. The block looks good, in fact better in person than in photos. The Koolance logo is milled out of the acetal top, and the ports like most Koolance blocks are widely spaced. Koolance have recently launched bridge connectors to replace the individual ports if you want. This is nice and makes it easy to configure exactly what you want in terms of series/parallel or a mixture of both without Koolance having to make a bunch of different bridges.
The base is nickel plated copper and has similar cutouts to the other blocks:
The added standoffs are better than tapping a screw thread into the raw copper as copper is very soft and liable to strip. The backplate lines up exactly with the block:
Because the block does not run the length of the board therefore the backplate does not either:
I think a full cover backplate would have looked better, as would black washers. The shiny clear distracts from the rest of the clean design. The way that the backplate curves around the PCB is pretty unique and cool:
It also contains etched markings to show where to apply the thermal pads. Overall the block itself looks great and the backplate is at least unique:
For the GTX780, the backplate should not be fitted as without the VRAM the backplate will not be positioned properly to avoid shorting components. Shorter screws are included now for the block to be used on the GTX780.
Internals
These are taken after testing so some wear and tear on the block is expected. The Koolance block has a lot of machining done both to the nickel plated copper and the black acetal top:
The surface area on the core and VRM cooling is immense.
Performance
For more detail of the testing check out the detailed analysis page. The Koolance performs in the middle of the pack for single GPU core temperatures:
The same is true for lower flow rates and this is not bad because the results are so close:
Testing on the VRAM temperatures did not use the backplate and so potentially the Koolance might do a little better than this average score:
The familiar story continues with the VRMs:
Flow wise the block is near the top, certainly not restrictive enough to complain about:
Fitting
The Koolance block fits well, at first I struggled with the block and had some card warping issues, but this turned out to be user error. It’s a simple basic install as should be expected.
Summary – 8/10
The Koolance GTX780/Titan block is a strong contender with no real weaknesses. It’s good at everything but doesn’t top any individual parametric. It feels high quality, looks good and is priced well.
Where to buy: PPCs: $129 (includes backplate)
Next -> Swiftech
