Gigabyte 3D Galaxy Liquid Cooler Review :: Packaging And Specifications

Coming in one of the longest retail boxes to trouble our couriers in a while, The 3D Galaxy is on display for everybody to see right from the get go. Across the top of the package are all of the well known goods for your typical watercooling system, those being the Liquid, Radiator, Water block, Pump and a fan. When you slide back the overly colourful and information rich outer panel reveals a rather lifeless black box, holding the molded plastic packaging in place so it doesn't get damaged.

As for the goods, they're intended to cool almost any modern processor you can throw at them, and considering the support for all of the recent sockets, it shouldn't be much trouble to move this setup over when it comes time to upgrade. Mounting hardware for Sockets 775, 478 and 754/939/940 is tucked away within the recesses of the box, along with some tubing which, as you can see, has a pretty good amount of give in it before it finds a kink. Of course, mounting hardware is the exact same for the 478 and 775 platforms, as Gigabyte has included their adapter bracket, one which lets you slap any Socket 478 clip on heatsink onto the LGA platform, which is convenience at it's best.

As to the remainder of the kit, we'll start on what'll heat the water. Gigabyte includes a custom made, chrome and plexi topped water block with offset barbs, so your water tubes can easily travel around the bundled 92mm fan. Now, for those of you wondering what the purpose of having this fan is, that is simple, said quiet fan is included in the kit to blow cool air across the CPU socket area to help cool down the mofsets, in order to replace all the airflow that's lost with the removal of the traditional monolithic heatsink. Considering that the power draw of some of Intel's reactors can be nearing 200 Watts, we'd think it's a good idea to keep these chips cooled, so that they don't set fire to themselves before making a slow, silvery path toward the video card.

With the bundled liquid heating up nicely in the water block, we'll need a way to cool it down. Included in this kit is a decidedly external radiator, which will need a 120mm fan mount to attach to. Inbuilt within the radiator's plastic housing is a fan which pulls air across the radiator's core, one which can also be used (if properly placed) to expel the warmth from your case. Also visible on the radiator's rump are mounting holes for an additional 120mm fan, which would allow you to use long machine screws (of about an inch and a half or so) to attach a second fan for a push-pull configuration, an idea which die hard overclockers have been abiding by for years now. In order to get the now chilly liquid back into the system, the radiator will rely on a PCI Pass thru plate which also has a fan control knob and power connector on it. Thankfully, due to the pre drilled holes, we were able to just pass the tubes into the case without issue.

The final stop in the system also happens to be one of the most important. Since us humans haven't figured out how to use telepathy to move or store objects (much less liquids), we've got to rely on a quite well made pump/reservoir combo for the moment to store and transport our liquids. Now, while all the previous elements are indeed critical to the system, a failed pump or a leaky reservoir will most likely prove the worst, as the water inside the CPU block will slowly boil, eventually causing your system to come to a screeching halt. As to if the reservoir cracks? (Something which we haven't seen in production units since the Ahanix Days) Well, we don't need to tell you what will happen. On the plus side, the sturdily made reservoir sits on the pump's inlet, which will greatly simplify the filling and bleeding process, and considering that the pump can operate off your standard Molex connector, it reduces the need to hack holes in your case to run additional power cables out of, and that's always a perk. With the basics of the system aside, let's get on to seeing our test rig, how difficult installation was, and finally, a performing conclusion.

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