Review: Cooler Master Aquagate ALC-U01

Conclusion

Thoughts

Overall, the Aquagate has a fair bit going for it. Although perhaps not the most exceptional water cooling kit from a performance point of view, it nevertheless performs admirably. Add to that its ease of installation thanks to a good design and manual, and you have a tempting set-up.

Marks also have to go to Cooler Master's offering on account of its great looks, further enhanced by the fact you can choose where to put it - Either keep it external or fit it into a couple of 5.25" drive bays, or even go half-way and fit the LCD internally while keeping the rest outside of your case. This could be an invaluable boon to somebody with a packed system, who otherwise wouldn't have the physical space inside their case to install this kind of setup.

The biggest issue for me was the noise, particularly at the unit's higher fan speeds - When you're sat in front of a computer all day you don't want it to make a racket that would drive you to distraction. Of course, what noise level is acceptable is highly objective, but buying a liquid cooling kit tends to suggest that you'll end up with a more silent solution that your average air cooler, not a louder one! Admittedly the slowest fan setting is a quiet one, a little quieter than your average air cooler, although even then the whine of the fan in action tends to grate. Aside from this, there really isn't a great deal I can fault here which what is otherwise a decent product at a pretty reasonable price point.

Score

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Cons

Thanks