Self-Contained Water Coolers: Xigmatek AIO vs. Evercool Silver Knight

Xigmatek AIO

Xigmatek Co., Ltd. is a new name in thermal products, It is a Taiwan company affiliated with the Xinruilian Science & Technology Co. Ltd., located out of China. This company is one of the largest fan and PC power supply makers in the world and produces the well-known X-Fan line of PC system fans. There are six founders and one major investor in Xigmatek - all of whom have many years of direct experience in the PC cooler industry. More information about Xigmatek and the company's product line is available at the Xigmatek website.

Xigmatek is currently entering the US market, which is why the products will likely be unfamiliar to US readers. However, the company currently distributes products through primary distributors in Germany and Japan, and the products are available throughout Asia. While final pricing of the AIO will be set by the US distributor, MSRP is $69.95 with a likely street price of the Xigmatek AIO of around $60.


As the Xigmatek package proclaims, this self-contained water cooler is the AIO, or All-In-One, with an official model number of the AIO-S800P. The 800 in this case likely refers to the 80mm fan used in the design, and the P perhaps refers to "parallel" since the Xigmatek uses a pair of radiators for liquid cooling.


Inside the box is a ready-to-mount AIO, the mounting accessories for mounting the AIO on an Intel socket 775 or socket 478, and the mounts for AMD socket 754/939/940 and AM2. Xigmatek also includes an installation guide, two power converters for the fan headers to Molex connectors, and a packet of thermal grease. Everything in the package is protected by an inner plastic clamshell. Our sample was well-protected during shipping and had no visible damage when we unpacked the cooler.


If the Xigmatek looks to you like an old-time car radiator, there is a reason for that. Xigmatek has combined a bottom reservoir, just above the copper mounting plate, with a super quiet 12V pump in the reservoir area. This delivers liquid to the two radiators - one on each end of the tower - with an 80mm fan sandwiched in-between for cooling. Unique to the Xigmatek design is that no water pipes are used and water continues to cirulate even when the system is off. Xigmatel claims this design provides the least resistance to the flow of water into the radiator, which delivers an impressive 72 L/hr flow from a small 80mm design.


There are two fan connectors. One is a standard 3-pin for the water pump. If you are more comfortable this connector can be driven by an included Molex connector - useful for boards with anemic fan header wattage. There is also a standard Intel 4-pin fan connector for the variable fan speed, and an included adapter to Molex for those who prefer that route. We connected the 4-pin to the Intel header and the 3-pin to the Molex adapter for safety and experienced no problems during our testing.


Air-flow direction is indicated by an arrow on the top of the cooler, and the arrow should generally be pointed toward the back of the case, an exhaust vent, or a case fan. You can also see the cap for refilling the water system if needed. It is covered with "Warranty Void" tape, however, to reflect the fact that Xigmatek specifies a useful life of 30,000 hours before any refilling or topping off of the liquid is required.

Mounting is simple and reasonably secure with either 775 or AMD. The cooler mounts to a mounting cage (AMD) or adapters (775) that are screwed to the motherboard. The cooler rests on the mounting cage and is secured by four spring-loaded screws. You will need to remove the motherboard for mounting the AIO, but it is otherwise a fairly painless install.

The AMD/AM2 install is the more secure since it uses a complete rigid cage for mounting the cooler. The Intel install uses half-adapters molded from rigid plastic. The adapters seem rigid enough, but the half-adapter design allows a fair amount of flexing on the socket 775 motherboard used to test the Xigmatek AIO. The complete cage used for the AMD/AM2 install appears to provide better support for the 840g self-contained water cooling system.

Our sincere thanks to Frozen CPU and Xigmatek for arranging a retail review sample of the AIO.

Specifications

Our test system is Intel socket 775, but the AIO will mount on any recent AMD socket as well - including 754/939/940 and AM2. The Xigmatek kit includes the cage and spring-loaded screws for AMD processors. All the needed hardware is included, and installation is very easy on AMD/AM2 sockets once the motherboard is removed from the case.

Xigmatek AIO Specifications
Heatsink
Dimensions	114(W) X 121(D) X 127(H)mm
Weight	840g
Material	Copper Base and dual corrugated Aluminum Fin radiators
Water Block	Copper 70x54x14
Radiators	Two Aluminum 80x88.7x22mm
Water System	Refillable, should not require refilling for at least 30,000 hours
Rated Voltage	DC 12V
Pump
Voltage/Input Current	12V/0.3A
Speed	3500rpm
Water Flow	72 L/hr
Bearing Type	Ceramic Shaft
Life Expectancy	50,000 hours
Noise Level	19dBA
Fan
Fan Size	80x80x25mm
Bearing Type	Ball Bearing
Fan Life	50,000 hours
Connector	4-pin (Intel 4-pin, PWM Ready) Variable Speed
Thermal Resistance	0.21-0.35C/W
Speed	Lo Speed	1,800rpm	Hi Speed	3,500rpm
Noise Level	Lo Speed	20dBA	Hi Speed	32dBA
Fan Output	Lo Speed	27.88cfm	Hi Speed	52.72cfm
Air Pressure	Lo Speed	1.84mmH2O	Hi Speed	5.56mmH2O

The Xigmatek is relatively small compared to heatpipe towers. This is mostly because it is based on an 80mm fan and 80mm radiators. At 127mm high it should fit in most cases. You will need to check on the clearances for HTPC cases. The test bed EVGA 680i is a difficult to fit board due to the copper-finned heatsink and fan cooling the Northbridge. The AIO fit comfortably on the 680i. Installation was also an easy task on the ASUS Striker and ASUS Commando, and on the two new P35 ASUS boards - the P5K Deluxe and P5K3 Deluxe. The P5K3 Deluxe is another "difficult-fit" board since the heatpipes completely circle the CPU socket and connect various cooling heatsinks around the CPU socket.