The new ICE cooler and PSU
A quick page on the new ICE cooler and PSU before we move onto the spec, bundle and presentation and finally the benchmarks. Along with the cooler being sited in a new spot in the chassis, the cooler has a new design for the SB81P.The cooler doesn't abandon the previous heatpipe (nickel plated copper, filled with distilled water) method of cooling, but it is a bit different due to the CPUs it will cool and its placement in the new SB81P P-series chassis.
Click for a larger version (76KB)
The fan and ICE cooler are attached this time, with the exhaust fan on its own swing-out mounting.
Click for a larger version (91KB)
Click for a larger version (103KB)
You can see the nickel-plated heatpipes rising up from the copper heatsink core, itself attached to a fairly substantial aluminium base frame.
To attach the cooler you screw down diagonally opposite screws at first, so as not to exert too much load on the processor mounting, then you just screw down until they are finger tight.
It's not as simple to attach the new cooler in the SB81P as it is the cooler in something like the SB61G2 v3.0, but it's not rocket science either. It's the physical effort that's needed, not the mental effort, that makes the new cooler a little less appealing than the old one.
The PSU is a brand new 350W effort, giving a peak load some 100W more than any other XPC or SFF system on the market. Needed for the PCI Express graphics that the FB81 motherboard supports, it also helps when you can pack in three hard disks into the P-series chassis.
