Back in December I received a beta sample of the new CPU block from Koolance – the CPU-390. We couldn’t tell you about it at the time, but finally we have the updated sample and can share some pictures with you. We love being involved in beta testing and were able to give our feedback on the initial design and since then improvements have been made. A big thanks then to Koolance for involving us and for sending us these latest samples for review!
The CPU-390 is the new model which is a somewhat predictable name given the last few generations of the block. However as with all things, what’s in the box is far more important than the name on the box.
Inside the box are the usual Koolance accessories which will be very familiar if you’ve owned a CPU-380. The mounts are identical, which is not a bad thing as the CPU-380’s mount was part of the reason it tested so well.
There are no instructions included in this box – this is still a pre release sample as it won’t go on sale for a few more weeks. We do expect instructions to be included in the launch version as they are on the CPU-380 today.
Unlike the CPU-380 though there are now additional versions of the block:
Both come in sealed plastic bags. One is a sexy plexi topped version which is a change from recent Koolance designs, while the other is a full metal version with a nickel plated copper top. The demarcation of the I on the CPU-390I box means that this is the Intel version which means it comes with a set of mounting parts for socket 2011/2011-3 and another set for Socket 115X. There will therefore presumably be a separate AMD version with a different mounting bracket for the block. The CPU-390CI of course has an additional C in the product name and we believe this stands for copper, as in the top of the block is nickel plated copper.
The last Koolance block with any acrylic on it that I remember was my GTX480 water block. That was a long time ago now and plexi topped blocks have only grown in popularity since then. It’s good to see Koolance addressing this market need. Then of course for those who are worried about plexi’s strength or possibly want the last ounce of performance there is the full copper block with a nickel finish:
The logos are subtler on the full metal version which is also nice. As is usually the case the direction of the ports does matter and hence the ports are marked with small triangles.
It’s worth mentioning that on both versions the mounting bracket is thick metal. I will assume it’s Aluminum although as it’s powder coated black I can’t be sure. Although the arms are slender there is absolutely no flex – the block feels solid and it’s nice that there are no screw heads presented on the face of the block.
The underneath is nickel plated copper and Koolance have made sure to protect the polished finish with an easy peel sticker. The block is secured together with 4 torx head screws. Handily a torx head allen key is included in the box to service the block.
Comparing to the older CPU-380 design we can see that the mounting bracket is far less bulky and the black bracket is more inconspicuous leaving the attention to be drawn to the center of the block instead.
One of the concerns with CPU water blocks is always how far are the ports spaced and can larger fittings fit on the block:
1/2″ x 3/4″ fittings are usually the most troublesome, and Koolance’s own do indeed fit with plenty of margin.
Smaller fittings will leave more of the block visible which may be an advantage for those with dye.
Once fitted to an X99 board then the socket is still visible beyond the mounting bracket. This is the downside to a small elegant block and bracket.
Also distracting are the thumb nuts. We had hoped Koolance would improve these from the CPU-380 but they are the same. While we do like the grip on them being easy to use with tools or fingers, we find that the screw thread coming through the centre is more ugly than some of the competition’s designs. The advantage of course is that you can fine tune the pressure more than for example EK’s Supremacy where the thumb nuts will bottom out and prevent you from applying too much pressure.
However if you tighten enough that the screw head shows through, well that’s just going to look a little messy.
This is a minor quibble however and the visual update overall is much appreciated.
Now we simply have to test the block to see if the performance is improved. The beta sample makes us think we will have a top performer on our hands – hopefully it lives up to that expectation! The CPU-380 did extremely well in our prior testing:
3930K based testing – CPU-380 was #1 back in 2012:
It then did very well on the 4770K too:
By the time we tested on the 4930K and 5820K there were newer blocks and the CPU-380 has fallen a little behind newer designs – in particular the Heatkiller IV:
So Koolance are no strangers to performance and with the 4 year old CPU-380 design only lagging about 0.5 degrees behind the latest blocks it’s clear that an improvement to that design might dominate the rankings.
Pricing is yet to be announced but we wouldn’t expect a huge deviation from the current CPU-380’s MSRP of $75.
Over all we are impressed so far, Koolance’s quality is great as always and if our only quibble so far are the thumb nuts then we are off to a flying start.
