The cooler

As we mentioned before, the whole cooling system comes pre-assembled and filled from the factory. The pump, tank and waterblock are the same unit. Another great thing about this system is that the pump, which is inside the waterblock, is powered via a typical 3-pin fan connector through the CPU fan connector of the motherboard. Not only that but it provides an RPM reading too, so you can have your motherboard shut down the system if it loses the RPM signal (i.e. the pump fails). The radiator looks much like the successful black ice radiators but is somewhat smaller and quite lighter, although the basic design is the same. The hoses are thin and all black. They are very strong and nearly impossible to kink, however the downside is that they are not too flexible either.

At the side of the waterblock-pump-tank assembly, you will find a small sticker with the specifications of the pump. Although the pump specifications are rather low (160 L/H max, 1.5m water lift max) it should be more than enough for such a small assembly with thin hose lines. The base of the cooler is quite smooth but not machined down to a mirror finish well enough. While the finish is very smooth, effective and satisfactory for 95% of the enthusiasts out there, the other 5% might buy their own grit paper and work it down to a perfect mirror finish. At the base you will find the four holes where you will install the retention bracket for your CPU.

To begin with, you will have to fasten the provided screws counter clockwise on the retention plate. The Xeon processor users will have to skip this step. Then you have to secure the retention plate to the waterblock by fastening the provided small screws clockwise.

Then you will have to place the anti-vibration soft pads on the support holes and mount the Aquagate Mini on the motherboard(For the Xeon processor, just secure the Xeon screws to complete the installation.

Finally you have to turn to the back of the motherboard and mount the motherboard support back plate with the provided nuts. K7 motherboard owners have to skip that step and use the provided insulation rings and nuts instead of the backplate. Fasten the nuts clockwise securely on the motherboard. Do not use excessive force or you might damage the motherboard!