Some readers will no doubt do a double take: Corsair makes water coolers? I always thought they were responsible for fast memory modules, they'll say. That's right, in principle, but it's no reason for Corsair not to develop a product that is the first of its kind. We're talking about their powerful CPU water-cooling system that can be mounted by a layman in a matter of minutes. Because of its modular concept (CPU water block, control board in the PC and external unit with pump, radiator and de-gas tank), the Hydrocool200 is also eminently suitable for LAN partygoers. With a maximum cooling capacity of 200 W, the system is even capable of coping with the heat losses of the upcoming processor generations.

The Hydrocool200 was developed in a sort of joint venture between Corsair and Delphi, a producer that's a name primarily in the automotive sector. Delphi makes air-conditioning units and is the specialist in efficient cooling. The product idea, design, control electronics and programming for the Hydrocool200 were provided by Corsair, while Delphi concentrated on designing its CPU water block and the radiator - in other words, the company focused on all of the system components directly related to its "cooling" expertise.

The Hydrocool200 is an all-around, carefree package.

The result is none too shabby. The kit sent to us for testing really does contain everything that a user would expect from an all-around CPU cooling system. The manufacturer even went to the trouble of providing an easy-to-understand installation and user manual. The Hydrocool200 has several features that the competition either don't offer at all or charge extra for, including:

• temperature sensor on the CPU water block;
• four-digit LCD display on the external unit;
• automatic/ manual switching between two cooling modes (Whisper/ Turbo);
• acoustic alarm when temperature thresholds are reached (Alarm 1);
• automatic PC switch-off function when a maximum temperature set by the user is reached (Alarm 2);
• illuminated visual flow meter;
• water-level sensor on the degas tank;
• low water level display;
• choice of temperature display (degrees Celsius/ Fahrenheit).