Hands Across Four Water Cooling Systems
Installation
Tube fasteners are the same ones used with all Innovatek components
As the HTCS Radiator involves only an external radiator for an existing water cooler, installation is relatively complicated in comparison to competing products. With Innovatek the user has to plan precisely which components are to be used. Slot brackets for routing hoses, plastic sleeves and a four-meter tube are all included ; everything else has to be purchased separately.
The pump is not included with the HTCS Radiator and has to be installed separately. It is therefore a good idea to mount it inside the computer. Screwing the pump into the case requires some work. The reservoir simply plugs into the side of the HPPS pump. The hoses are fastened using the tried-and-true screw plugs, making them absolutely leak-free. No additional tools are required.
The XX-Flow CPU cooler that we chose for the test.
Included with the package of the HTCS Radiator are two metal tube conduits and a slot bracket for routing the hoses into the housing. The hoses can be removed when using the metal tube conduits, though Innovatek doesn’t provide clamps for sealing. Alternatively, special stoppers are available from Innovatek for sealing the hoses. Innovatek’s system is not really suited for transport. The stoppers should really be seen more as a fallback measure when modifying the water-cooling system. Holes have to be drilled into the case when using the metal conduits, and then the hoses can be easily removed. Installation is easier using the slot bracket, but then the hoses can no longer be separated. Special hose connectors can be used for this purpose, which are inserted between the hoses.
The HPPS pump is connected with a 5.25" power connector. This ensures that the pump is turned on at system startup, which represents a simple and effective solution, although automatic shutdown during overheating is not available as with the water coolers from Koolance and Corsair. Users have to program any desired shutdown conditions in the BIOS.
Cooling Performance
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Cooling performance of Innovatek’s water-cooling system with the fan-less, passive HTCS Radiator is not as good as that of active cooling systems that cool the radiator with a fan. Still, it obtains good results with thermal resistance of 0.28 K/W and operates completely without noise.