Corsair Nautilus 500

CONCLUSION

I have to say I am really impressed with this product. I have been toying with the idea of trying water cooling for some time now and even went as far as to learn how different pumps work with different radiators, etc. Corsair takes out all the guess work and gives you a rock solid item that offers very good performance. I was also shocked how easily it beat out the Big Typhoon. I knew it would do well but it really flexed its muscles when the heat got turned up. The sound from the unit was also easy on the ears. If you run multiple fans at full speed then this unit will give you a much quieter experience. Though if you typically run 1 or 2 low flow fans you may notice a small increase in sound, mostly from the pump. It is rare that I find a product as well thought out as this. There is always something, not matter how small, that I can find to improve the product in some manner. In this case nothing I did helped the Nautilus cool any better and that was a pleasant surprise. I would strongly suggest anyone thinking about getting into water cooling to give this unit a hard look. It is a great way to try out water cooling without the fear of destroying your system.

FINAL WORDS

To give you a clear picture of how I rated this product I chose four distinct areas of interest and scored them out of a possible 10.

Installation: 9.0 - Installing the unit was easy and straight forward even for a novice like me. I am concerned about the PCI bracket pinching the tubes especially if your case has sharp edges.

Performance: 8.5 - This unit does what it sets out to do. It cools your CPU better then a good heatsink and fan combo. There are better performing components out there but none this easy to handle. Noise levels were apparent though not overly intrusive which lowered the score a bit here.

Price: 9.0 - I was able to find this kit for $150 online easily and at that price I find it to be a great bargain.

Value: 10 - For the level of performance this kit offers at the price it retails for this is a good purchase.

Pros:

+  Fast and easy setup
+  Excellent cooling
+  Expandable to GPU (Not included)
+  Quiet

Cons:

-  PCI bracket pinches tubes slightly

Final score: 9 out of 10 and the Bjorn3D Seal of Approval.