Der8auer reviewed a new modular water cooling concept from a company called Lynx+ that is designed to bring cheap, long-lasting, and highly expandable liquid cooling to graphics card owners. The AIO is a modular unit designed to be reusable with different GPUs and also be expandable by plugging in multiple GPUs and radiators. Best of all, the AIO is designed to be very cost competitive and will be priced similarly to air coolers if it comes to market.
The unit is a custom-built AIO that features disconnecting hoses and a pump inside the radiator (similar to the NZXT M22). The disconnecting hoses allow owners to change any components connected to the liquid cooler with new GPUs/cooling units or additional radiators if needed to increase cooling capacity.
The pump location is specifically designed to improve AIO compatibility, allowing you to use the AIO in almost any orientation without trapping air inside the pump. This is a typical problem with most AIOs on the market today, and if you don't mount them correctly, air can get trapped inside the pump, vastly reducing its lifespan. The AIO also has a pair of mini "reservoirs" on either side of the radiator to further reduce the likelihood of air becoming trapped inside the pump.
The GPU water blocks will be sold separately and will be designed for specific GPU models. Der8auer showed off an RTX 3080 and RX 7900 XTX design, featuring a die-cast aluminum block that is easy to manufacture but still offers powerful cooling. The block also features several mini "reservoirs" inside the block that controls where the air gets trapped, just like the radiator.
In the video, Der8auer demonstrated the Lynx+ concept cooler running on a Radeon RX 7900 XTX. The GPU temps were incredibly cold, hovering at just 48C on the GPU core temp and just 76C on the hotspot while the GPU was running Furmark. For comparison, standard air-cooled versions of the RX 7900 XTX run at least 10-15C hotter, meaning there is plenty of thermal headroom to spare. This can be great for overclocking or expanding the life of your GPU.
The real highlight of the Lynx+ water cooling concept is its very competitive pricing and its functionality. Expandable AIOs with a low barrier to entry are non-existent in the cooling market today. They could be fantastic for anyone getting into PC liquid cooling for anything more than just CPU cooling. With this cooler, you can start with a simple GPU cooling loop, then expand to multiple GPUs or radiators down the road. You could also use it through multiple upgrade cycles if water block support extends beyond the initial launch.
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I sure hope they're not using Apaltek to manufacture it like NZXT is, since if they are, it's only a matter of time before it's clogged with sediment due to Apaltek's neverending quality control issues (most recently with the Lian Li coolers, but also the NZXT M22/Kraken 120, MSI CoreLiquid R series, and Fractal Lumen).
A liquid cooling solution simply cannot be as cheap to produce as an air solution.
The radiator and fan is present in both. The liquid cooler adds another metal heat exchanger, a water pump, and the sealed liquid path. It will always cost more.
