The Asetek Waterchill Hard Drive Water Cooler is a two-piece unit and is very appealing. The top is an acrylic cover with “Waterchill" labeled across. The cover is also the location for the inlet and outlet. At the base is an all copper plate to help with heat absorption. The copper plate isn't very thick but provides enough heat capacity for the hard drive's released heat wattage.
Unlike water-blocks where the flow pathways are designed and carved on the copper plate, the pathways for the Hard Drive Water Cooler are located at the acrylic cover. Personally I would have liked to see that the pathways be made of copper to provide more surface area, but the copper base plate is already enough for heat absorption.
The copper plate is lapped well but is not very reflective. Many enthusiasts often believe that having a shiny base means that the base is flat, but that is not entirely true. Well lapped bases using high grit sandpaper will lead to a reflective mirror finish, but if not done correctly on a perfectly flat surface, the lap job will lead to uneven bases. Thus, having a flat base is more important than having reflective bases. The hex wrench included in the package did not allow me to disassemble the Hard Drive Water Cooler for further inspection. I couldn't get any up close looks and shots of the internals.
Like all heatsinks, thermal interface material is required to provide maximum heat transfer. Thermal interface fills the small microscopic gaps and grooves to ensure full contact. Normally, thermal grease is used to provide full contact, but with such a large area to cover, a thermal pad is more ideal. Asetek provides a white thermal pad for maximum contact. The pad will need to be trimmed down to fit the size of the Hard Drive Water Cooler. The thermal pad is soft and very flexible, allowing it to mold to the shapes of components on the hard drive. Of course before you use it, peel off the protective layer.
