CoolIT Domino A.L.C CPU Cooler Review

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CoolIT Domino A.L.C CPU Cooler Review

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Manufacture Product Page: Domino A.L.C.
TechWiki Info: Domino A.L.C.
Availability: Now
Price: $89.99 (direct from CoolIT)
Warranty: 2 year



It truly is amazing how many people are getting their feet wet for the first time with water cooling. Though the real amazing part is that these are the self same people who would never have even thought about water cooling just a few years ago. The aftermarket cooling industry is certainly undergoing another paradigm shift as more and more people are becoming dissatisfied with the inherit limitations of air cooling. This is not to say HDT air coolers are lacking but even the best of the best of air coolers pales in comparison to a good WC setup. Unfortunately, a lot of these beginners look at setting up a custom loop as a daunting task. This in turn has created a whole new niche market whose products are designed to help give first time wc’ers the confidence they need to take the full plunge to a full blown custom water loop (and in a lot of cases skip plain old water and go for more powerful and exotic Peltier systems like the Freezone Elite.).

While this may be a new, and albeit fledgling niche, this does not mean competition is numerous and fierce! In the past we reviewed the CoolIT PURE, and while we liked its quiet, extremely low noise envelop, it was not designed for high performance cooling. Due to this limitation the Asetek LCLC was able to beat it quite handily; well things are about to change!

Today we will be looking at all new CoolIT Domino A.L.C. (Advanced Liquid Cooling) CPU Cooling solution that offers first time users the ability to step into the water cooling arena with out really getting their feet wet in the process (pardon the pun). The Domino is advertised as having the ability to not only cool your hot running i7, 775 or AM2 CPUs, but is also able to customize its characteristics “on the fly” with a simple push of a button. This really does put a new spin on things and we are itching to see how this innovative tweak works in a realistic environment.

This bad boy has just been released and as such availability is limited; however it is available directly from CoolIT and should quickly become available at select e-tailers and retailers through out the country. The Domino has a MSRP of $80 USD, which is pretty good deal for an all in one setup. While we are going to take a close look at the push button controls, the biggest question we are going to try to provide you with an answer to is whether or not this extra monetary investment is worth it; or will the Asetek’s low price point end up poking holes in CoolIT's new baby.

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Specifications

Specifications

 

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Packaging and Accessories

Packaging and Accessories

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The Domino is packaged in a surprisingly small black box which seems way too small to house a water cooling all in one system. As with the PURE and Freezone ELITE the majority of the box is covered with information and small photos of the Domino in action; however, the front of the box’s pride of place is a large (though not life size) picture of the Domino itself. As with the other CoolIT products we have reviewed, this picture is nicely accented by a ghostly glow which certainly catches your eye.

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After you have finished drooling over the product specs, purchased it and rushed home to open it you will be greeted a different sight than the one you may have been expecting. I know we were certainly surprised to see that CoolIT has replaced the Styrofoam inner box with a plastic clamshell one. Its not that this clamshell is any worse of a packaging scheme (as it is darn good one, and may actually be better than the older style it replaces) but we have almost come to expect a “box in a box” packaging scheme from them.

This new setup will certainly take quite the beating before passing on any blunt force trauma to its contents but it still was surprising to see it. As it stands this level of protection still boarders on overkill and leaves one with the impression that what is inside really is worth all the effort that was put into protecting it.

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The accessory list, may on first blush appear a little on the short side but when you take a look at what you get you quickly realize that CoolIT went all out on this sub $100 cooling system! The full list of accessories is: allthe necessary mounting hardware for both AMD and Intel 775 systems and Intel 1336 systems (already mounted for you on the Domino) and a backplate. The manual is once again a kick ass manual as we have come to expect from CoolIT, but the real star of the show is the new 1336 capable waterblock. This bad boy of course will work on 775 systems but the fact that it comes with all the hardware needed for AM2, 775 AND 1336 is wonderful news! Right now 1336 waterblocks are few and far between so it really is nice to see CoolIT bring their “A Game” and include it for free. This is all backed up by a very well done instruction pamphlet with lots of easy to understand instructions backed up by colour photographs.

 

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Up Close and Personal

Up Close and Personal

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The very first thing that pops out at you is the fact that this unit is ready to go right out of the box. Just like the PURE model, there is no need to add any coolant for the entire life cycle of the Domino. This is a huge selling point for new users who are afraid that while filling up a reservoir/radiator/etc some fluid may spill out and fry a computer part. Let’s face it; this is an overblown fear especially if you use non-conductive liquid (such as Feser One for example) but it is still reassuring when you don’t have to do anything besides plug in a regular 3 pin fan.

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The next thing that is blatantly obvious is CoolIT has taken what was a compact design and then made it even more so. It still is your basic 3 piece setup (water block, pump, radiator) and melded it all into a small closed loop system and then added in a controller and LCD panel for good measure. Unlike the PURE, all this miniaturization is not lost by the inclusion of a short shroud that blocks one's view of the hardware when installed in a case. This shroud may be shorter than the PURE’s but it is actually useful! This improved shroud houses the push-button controller (which controls the noise of the Domino) but also a cornucopia of information via a built in Liquid Crystal Display.

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When one takes a good look at the Radiator which accompanies the Domino and then takes a look at PURE’s it quickly becomes obvious they are the same unit. This is further reinforced by the matching specifications for both rads. This is not a bad thing, per say, as it is a tried and true single pass copper unit which is 157x133x25mm and weighs in at 205 grams.

We wish CoolIT had addressed the one area in which both the PURE and now the Domino does fall a little flat: this perceived limitation is the fact that this Rad is “only” a single 120 bay design and thus is not as efficient as the double, triple and (now) quad radiators which are available. We are not suggesting they go to a double bay design as that would make it too unwieldy but we really do wish they would beef up the rad to a dual pass design similar to a Thermochill PA120.1.

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Moving on, we were puzzled to see that the built in fan shroud which accompanies the PURE model is missing from the Domino. This of course does help explain how they were able to make this unit shorter than the PURE but that fan shroud did help remove the cooling dead zone directly in front of the fan hub. It certainly will be interesting to see if it in any way hinders its performance and we will make a special note of it in the testing results for you.

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The one area where the Domino has clearly improved upon the PURE is in the tubing department. Yes, it still is “only” ¼ ID tubing; however the layout of the loop itself has been drastically improved. The loop is a lot smaller than the PURE’s and has been set up in a neater way, with the CFF1 pump closer to the radiator's output port. This improved layout should help airflow in and around the CPU area of the motherboard and help keep hot air pockets from forming. All in all this is a clear and obvious upgrade from the PURE. The only thing we were disappointed to see missing is the pinch clamps; instead of those reliable heavy duty steel pinch clamps it appears that CoolIT has opted for a multi-barb approach to keep the tubes in place. Why this was changed we are not sure, but it really does not matter too much; if the lack of pinch clamps bothers you it is fairly easy to add them at a later date.

 

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Up Close and Personal p.2

Up Close and Personal Con’t

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As mentioned earlier in this review, the Domino comes with not only an LCD and audible alarms to provide you with a warning should anything go wrong with the Domino but also an easy to use and very intuitive method for fine tuning the characteristics of the unit. In a nut shell you have a small push button located on the side of the shroud which has three built in settings.

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In the first setting you will hear 1 beep and this signifies that the Domino is in its low speed / low noise setting. In this setting the fan will make as little noise as possible (rated at about 19dba @ 1030rpm (1060rpms for us) but it will be to the detriment of its performance.

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Pushing the button again will move the unit to its middle “performance” setting (2 beeps), in this medium setting you get fairly decent compromise between noise and performance; the fan will rotate at about 1500rpm (ours idled at about 1450rpm) and is rated to do it at a moderate 26dba.

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The third press of the button gets you into the high performance setting where the fan and pump are going full speed and is of course the noisiest. In this mode the fan is going to be spinning at about 2550rpms (though ours went WAY faster than this at 2800+ rpms) and making a little over 39dba. As with all cooler reviews, we would take these dba ratings with a grain of salt as they do not tell the whole story. Later in this review we will go into more detail about the noise characteristics of this fan but for now, let's say it is quieter than you would think.

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Please note that just like all higher end CoolIT products, the Domino has a built-in coolant temperature probe and this what you are tweaking by using the various modes. In silent mode it will keep the fan at a low speed at darn near all times (we assume that if coolant temps get dangerously high it will kick in a safety override and increase fan speed).

The performance setting is interesting as it will keep the fan noise low unless the coolant temperatures start to rise. Meanwhile, the full speed setting is just as the name implies and the fan goes full bore even during CPU idle times.

This ability to self adjust is a great addition and takes the controller of this unit out of the realm of passive controllers (i.e. auto volt modding) and places it firmly in the realm of fully functional active controllers. The fact you get all this technology for less than a hundred bucks is simply amazing and really does show that CoolIT was not being pretentious in calling this an Active Liquid Cooling kit.

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With a quick removal of just a few screws we uncovered the secret to the Domino’s advanced capabilities. At the heart of the Domino beats a 8-Bit RS08 20mhz Central Processing Unit. To be specific it is a Freescale Semiconductor’s MC9RS08KA8 CPU. This is the the processor which converts this unit from an ordinary all in one beginner's water cooling kit (albeit a above average one) to the big leagues.

 

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Up Close and Personal p.3

Up Close and Personal Con’t

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The most interesting new feature of the Domino (besides its push button controller) is the new and improved pump. This ceramic bearing pump, dubbed the CFF1 or “Compact Form Factor Version 1” is a brand new unit designed to not only deliver a small noise envelope but increase durability as well. As a side benefit to this new pump design is it now fits inside the side shroud, further decreasing the size of the Domino. Our only concern with this unit is the lack of information with regards to flow rate, head pressure or any detail specifications at all for that matter. We can only assume as time goes by CoolIT will start to release more information about their brand new (and proprietary) shiny new pump. In either case, quality will always shine through in the performance numbers and we will then be able to make a more educated judgment. For now, it looks to be a moderate flow pump at best and it is unclear whether or not the new mounting location will result in more or less vibration related noise.

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Also on the positive side, the base of the water block (AKA Fluid Heat Exchanger) is perfectly flat but it does show some minor polishing and tool marks. For its price range it is fairly good and is better than the PURE’s. On a side note this water block came with TIM already pre-applied in a nice thin and even layer (though ours had some very nice circular smudges in it, we are putting this down to either shipping bumps and bangs or our fumble finer handling).

For shipping it comes with a plastic protection shield held over the water block via a rubber band. While it may not be a high tech way of keeping the protector in place you can’t argue with results. To keep things as even as possible for the testing phase of this review we removed this TIM and used Arctic Cooling MX-2 on all CPU cooling solutions.

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Before we move on there is one very interesting feature worth noting about this new water block: it has an improved retaining mechanism. This new mechanism consists of a large nut and washer directly in the center of the waterblock which holds the proper mounting bracket in place. To swap out the i7 bracket for the AMD one, you simply spin the nut off and lift it out, put the new one in place and screw it down. Since the retaining nut is directly in the center of the block and the retaining bracket is firmly melded with the majority of the top of the waterblock, this combination should easily provide constant and even pressure over the entire water block when you install it onto your CPU. Constant pressure is the number one critical component in WC’ing and without it the best loop in the world with only give mediocre results at best.

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The fan of this unit is a complete mystery to us as it has been “sterilized” and is missing any and all clues which could give away its identity (besides being made in China). With that being said, CoolIT does provide some basic information about it. This fan rotates at anywhere from 1100rpm to 2500+ rpm. This in and of itself is not much information to go on but after working with this unit (and playing with the fan while it was removed from the Domino) we are able to make some educated guesses about it. To us it feels looks, sounds and acts like a ball bearing fan.

While the amount of vibrations it makes is on the low end of the spectrum, the fan does have that ball bearing “clicky” feeling to it. The “click” vibration it makes does not feel like a rifle ball bearing setup nor does the amount and type of noise point towards ceramic ball bearing. It is our opinion that this is your standard high end 2 ball bearing fan. It is possible that it is a bad example of either a ceramic or rifle bearing fan but the odds are against it.

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In any case, the fan is very tight and exhibits almost no shaft nor off axis slop. Like we said earlier it’s a darn good fan. Besides the FDB wish we really, really wish CoolIT had taken their Boreas / Freezone Elite 120x120x38mm Panflo fan and stuck it on this bad boy as it would have certainly increased the radiator's performance. Of course this would have been to the detriment of the noise characteristics which CoolIT was aiming for and as such was a darn good choice…even if any and all 25mm thick fans make my WC’ing snob side cringe.

 

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Installation

Installation

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While the installation of the Domino is very similar to all of CoolITs other products, it appears CoolIT not only upgraded the backplate and retaining mechanism but the four retaining screws as well. As with the other CoolIT models we have reviewed, your first start by removing the motherboard from your case (unless you have a ATCS 840 or HAF 932 that is) to install the backplate. The backplate is a plastic but given the lightweight nature of the Domino this is not a concern.

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What is a concern are those new long retaining screws / bolts CoolIT has gone with. With "gone" being the operative word, as in gone is the easy finger spinning tightening ability from past CoolIT products. Unlike past models whose screws were more like bolts with a recessed Philips screwdriver head which you could get started by just spinning it; the new models are more like screws with a big free spinning plastic cup on the top. The idea behind this is just in case your screwdriver slips it will not take out your motherboard, and to be fair it does do a good job at this.

If you are like us and you are used to the installation of CoolITs products please make sure no one is in the room to laugh at you as you spin those little black cups for the first time….just to have the waterblock pop off ‘cause you were just wasting your time turning these things for nothing. This is certainly one area where the old saying “just because its new doesn’t mean its better” is in full effect.

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Of course, before you even get to the “make an ass of yourself in front of your friends or family” stage the first thing you may need to do is adjust the location of the four screws as their default setup is for the new i7 mounting bracket. If you are like us and are installing it in a 775 system you first need to pop off the retaining C clamp which holds each screw in place and reposition it slightly (though in its own separate hole). The easiest way to do this is to remove the bracket from the waterblock and lay it on a smooth flat surface so all four screws are supporting the bracket off your table; then using you hand press firmly (and evenly) down on the center of the bracket. This removes the spring tension and allows you to take a micro-tip screwdriver and pop the C clamps off. When you have one popped off we recommend repositioning it and then reinstalling the C clamp by once again pressing firmly down on the bracket. When one is done, simply rinse and repeat until all four screws are in their 775 mounting position.

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When the bracket is properly set up, you can reinstall the bracket and then add a bit of TIM to your CPU and position the water block into position. At this point, tighten down towo opposite retaining screws (with a screwdriver!). You then repeat this procedure for the other two screws, alternately tightening all four in this back and forth manner. When all four screws are tightened down you can then reinstall your motherboard back into your case. Yes, you are really ready to install the Domino at this point as CoolIT has combined the waterblock and retaining mechanism installation procedures into the one easy (once you understand the cups are not attached to anything) process.

As with the PURE and Freezone Elite, the next thing you have to do is remove your computer case’s rear 120mm fan (if you have two of them you should remove the topmost one). Once this is done you then reinstall the whole works back into your case which is actually more difficult than the old way and may require a second set of hands to hold the attached Domino. You can the gently flip the unit over and install the Domino by mounting the fan into the back 120mm fan area.

Unlike the PURE and Freezone Elite, securing the Domino in place involves sticking the four rubber grommet tips through their appropriate mounting holes and pulling the rest of the grommets through to lock the Domino in place. This certainly reduces vibration noise, but does so at the expense of dependability and security. I personally do not know if I would install the Domino this way and leave it hanging over my expensive GPUs like some modern day sword of Damocles. Luckily, CoolIT has foreseen this potential issue and include the (old school) mounting screws.

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When this simple and quick task is accomplished you simply have to insert the lone three pin fan header into your motherboard to provide the unit with all its power. As we wanted to make sure our motherboard was not going to interfere with the 3 settings (by adjusting the voltage sent to the attached “fan”) we used a 3 pin to Molex adapter to provide it with the trickle of power the Domino needs.

Overall this is an easy, if slightly quirky installation process; as long as you go into it with no preconceptions and you have a second set of hands to hold the Domino while reinstalling the motherboard it should not take you more than 7 minutes to accomplish. This really is a good introduction to the wonderful world of water cooling and will make a great starter kit for anyone interested in water cooling their first computer. Lets face it, you always remember your first time so you might as well splurge and go for a high end professional introduction.

 

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Testing Methodology

Testing Methodology

To ensure that the results from one review to another are not only reproducible but actually pertinent to this review, the Testing Methodology will be the same throughout all reviews used. If something does change we will be sure to make a special note of it and explain why this change was done and more importantly why it had to be changed or altered.

Any all CPU AIR Cooling Solutions which do not come with their own fan, a Noctua NF-P12-1300 will be used if it accepts 120mm fans, if it only accepts 92mm a Noctua NF-B9-1600 will be used. However, as the Asetek watercooling unit did not come with its own fan the Domino’s fan will be removed from that unit, and used on the Asetek as well.

Except where noted all comparison testing was done on an open bench with an ambient temperature of 20c. Recorded temps were as reported via CoreTemp's "Temp Log". Average load temps were taken after 15 minutes of running Prime95 v25.4 “small fft” and are taken directly from CoreTemp’s temperature text file. Excel was used to average the results of all cores. Idle temps were taken 15 minutes after Load testing ceased. Motherboard temperatures were recorded using SpeedFan. All CPU throttling technology was disabled in the BIOS but due to the fact that the Domino was not even plugged into the motherboard this really can be considered overkill. All CPU fan failure warnings were also disabled.

Arctic Cooling MX-2 thermal paste was used for all coolers during these tests unless otherwise noted. Application of thermal paste for the U9B was in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions; and while not necessary, the TIM was allowed to cure for 48 hours under moderate to high loads (with periods of low loads) prior to testing.

All tests were run a minimum of 4 times and only best results are represented.

Please Note: When viewing the results of the Q6600 and the e4600 please understand that in this instance the quad @ 1.45 volts actually is a cooler running chip than the relatively bad overclocker chip e4600 used. This is usually not the way it works but due to the variable nature of overclocking we happened to get a "good" quad and a bad "dual"; in that the quad is a good cool running chip when extra voltage is applied where as the dual heats up very quickly as extra voltage is applied. It would not surprise us if 1.4 volts is significantly shortening the life of the dual e4600 and that it will die a lot earlier than the quad q6600.

Please Note: To keep the motherboard chipsets from overheating a single 40mm Scythe Ultra Kaze was used, but was orientated in such a way as to not interfere with nor help the CPU cooler (i.e. it was basically on top of the South Bridge and pointed down). The 120mm Scythe E on the side of the open test bench was unplugged during temperature testing.

Notes about Overclocking:

For Q6600’s I consider 1.45 volts to be the most that I would seriously consider for a moderate-to-long term overclock.

For E4600’s I consider 1.4 volts to be the most that I would seriously consider for a moderate-to-long term overclock.

Yes you can go much higher but the longevity of the CPU is then called into question. Just as importantly the CPU should average out at LESS than 65c as this is also what I consider the safest, maximum long term overclocking temp. For the purposes of these tests I was willing to overlook temperatures as long as they averaged below 70c and did not peak over 75c. If 75c was displayed for more than 10seconds in CoreTemp all testing was stopped and that test run was considered a fail.

With these two general guidelines I overclocked both systems until either one (or both) of these "rules" was needed to be broken to continue.

Overclocking was accomplished by increasing FSB speed and then Vcore (only if necessary).

Before testing for idle and max temperatures Orthos was run for 1 hour to make sure that it was stable at a given overclock and voltage. If both finished with no errors SuperPi set to 32m was run twice. After the stability testing was accomplished the given system was allowed to sit idle for 30minutes before starting the official tests. IF both of the above stated guidelines were not broken then testing continued with an increased overclock. These steps were then repeated until 1 or both of the general guidelines were broken.

As they have no bearing on these tests the RAM’s voltage and timings are not recorded, the RAM was set to run at or as close to as possible PC-6400 speeds by running various CPU : memory dividers. Please do not consider this a full “how to” review on overclocking or “safe guidelines” for overclocking nor even an indicator on how well a given CPU will overclock. IF you are interested in OC’ing your system, and use these guidelines we at HWC take no responsibility for the results. Bad Things can happen if you are not careful.


Complete Test System:

Processor: Q6600 & E4600
Motherboard: Gigabyte p35 DS4
Memory: 4GB G.Skill PC2-6400
Graphics card: Asus 8800GT
Hard Drives: 1x Western Digital Se16 320GB (single platter)
Power Supply: Seasonic S12 600W

 

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E4600 Performance Testing

E4600 Performance Testing

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As you can see the Domino certainly has the potential for high performance. As with most things in life this performance comes at a price: namely the full speed “High” setting is loud. It is actually hard to quantify whether or not the Freezone Elite’s 38mm thick Panaflo is louder or not as the noise characteristics are much smoother with that fan, with most of the noise coming from “wind noise”. Indeed, when you contrast that very, very good Panaflo with the Domino’s fan, the Domino looses hands down. This 25mm thick fan produces a very pronounced whine-like sound which was easily heard at greater distances than the Elite’s. On the positive side this mildly annoying characteristic is only present when the unit is in full speed mode and only when in a case with ultra quiet fans.

In performance mode this fan will be inaudible in most cases. In this mode it stayed very docile throughout the testing phase but it did cause higher temperatures. However, this only tells half the story as the unit did take a while to ramp up to its eventual operating RPM speed and thus temperature scores did suffer. We are positive if the testing had been a half hour (or longer) test the difference between the full speed mode and the much quieter “performance” mode would have not have been as severe. While silent mode is not listed in these tests (it will be covered later in the review) the Domino certainly lived up to this mode's name as it was inaudible even in an open bench environment!

This unit covers a wide gamut of possibilities and depending upon your needs, one of these three settings should cover it. All in all, the Domino was a very well behaved, yet powerful cooler which easily beats both its predecessor the PURE and the Asetek LLC in both adaptability and shear performance potential. Unfortunately, it doesn't compete very well versus top-end air coolers.

 

[AkG]

Q6600 Performance Testing

Q6600 Performance Testing

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When the heat is really on, this cooler begins to shine. At our max “safe long term OC” of 3.4GHz the Domino comes very close to matching the best air coolers out there, and if this unit had been released before the HDT units, it would have been considered better than air. Considering this price point of this entry level all in one water cooling device, this is certainly impressive. As a side note, the performance numbers were once again hindered by its slower ramp up, but once again this lower intial performance is balanced by a very minor noise envelope. As time went by we became more and more impressed with this medium setting as it allowed the Domino to be extremely quiet for the majority of time and even as water temperatures rose (and thus fan RPMs) it still was quiet enough to result in an enjoyable experience in an open bench environment. The same cannot be said of the Asetek whose pump noise was extremely perceptible this time around.

Low noise, good numbers and an LCD readout….what more could you ask for besides 6 Peltier cooler units, and double thick rad?