Friday, January 17th 2020

Touring the Bitspower Suite at CES 2020

Visiting Bitspower at CES or Computex is a real adventure of sorts in terms of not knowing what to expect. Last year, for example, we were greeted to LN2 pots of all things, in addition to new blocks and fans that made their way to the retail market over the subsequent months. It was also interesting to take a look back at the concept of the Premium Summit M CPU block from last year, knowing what it turned out now. This year, the company hosted us again at CES and had a large hotel suite full of products- refreshes, and new alike. We take a look at their offerings here, and be sure to read past the break for more.

The very first thing we saw was a distribution plate/case hybrid, which Bitspower wants to bring out as a test bench case later this year. There have been other such executions come out recently, including some at CES from other companies, and this is a natural extension of the distro plate development that has caught the mind of several custom watercooling companies for one reason or another. This particular version uses two Xylem DDC pumps with Bitspower heatsinks, and has four large feet to prop up the finished build horizontally for testing/display. Bitspower expects to introduce the finalized version at Computex later this year, and are seeking feedback from our readers on what features they would like to see here.
Next to it was an actual case which arguably surprised us more. This mini ITX form factor chassis was developed out of a collaboration with Vikingdom Creation, a Chinese case design and modding entity. It appears to be a result of Vikingdom wanting to use the Bitspower brand awareness to get their Vikingdom M1 case out in the larger market, with an initial launch in China followed by outside soon after. The case can fit and cool graphics cards up to the NVIDIA RTX 2080 Ti (likely the Founders Edition), but more details are scarce at this point.

On another table were examples of Bitspower's refreshed Leviathan series of radiators, which they say are now manufactured by their own factory to their own design, as opposed to using Hardware Labs as an OEM before. The new radiators come in an 80/92/120/140 mm fan size range with 30 and 60 mm thickness depending on the specific version. For example, the 80 mm fan size range comes in 160, 240, and 320 mm sizes (double, triple, quad 80 mm) and in 60 mm thickness only. These radiators claim to be made of pure copper, although we do not yet know if this is a language barrier in place as to whether it is a copper alloy used for the radiator tank itself.

Following these was an example of Bitspower's next CPU block design, especially as it pertains to full metal top blocks outside of their newly introduced Premium lineup. There was a full copper block on display, with nickel plating on the top and cold plate alike, and the top having a patterned dimpled surface as seen below. This effectively means less material on the block, although they still have to remove it from about the same amount of metal compared to one with a flat surface, so pricing would not be much different, if not higher, due to the processing involved. There were also examples of some of their recently introduced hardline tube fittings alongside, which involve a lot more parts now than before to cater to a more secure fit for OEMs wanting to transport fully built PCs across a country or outside.

Speaking of their Premium product lineup, we saw the final version of their new Premium reservoir, a sneak peek of which we had at Computex. At that time, the reservoir employed a rectangular cuboid form factor, but with a glass cylinder and metal struts on the corners which brought out comparisons to the Watercool Heatkiller reservoirs. Bitspower took that to heart and have gone with a fully rectangular cuboid shape even for the glass now, something Swiftech tried but with an acetal block for installation. Bitspower instead uses metal brackets at the top and bottom, presumably mating to the glass with O-ring seals in between, and has pump mounts to use with Xylen DDC (or D5) pumps as seen below. There was also an example flat reservoir/distro plate combination which is more universal in compatibility in terms of occupying 120 mm fan hole spacing, and can be mounted to the back of radiators or empty fan spaces in cases.
Everyone appears to be partaking in the AIO cooler party now, and Bitspower wants in too. They have had CPU cooler kits and coolers before, but primarily those that shipped individually and still required assembly. At CES, they showed off a fully assembled CPU cooler AIO solution using copper internals for the block and radiator, the latter of which uses one of the newer Leviathan series from above. The pump is integrated off the side of the radiator to avoid potential IP issues, and the CPU block has integrated dRGB lighting as well. They plan to bring out the 240 AIO first, using a dual 120 mm radiator, and there is no information available on potential pricing yet. The company also showed what they call the "Detection Suite", an inline sensor with a large OLED display that helps monitor the coolant temperature and air pressure inside the loop. An alarm can be set to trigger if the air pressure is out of set bounds, in the case of over-pressure or a leak, which Bitspower believes is a better solution to the end user compared to reservoir depth sensors produced by some of their competitors.

Rounding off the suite tour was a table of their upcoming new fans, which is hilarious to us since we are getting ready to submit reviews of their current fans still. These are still a ways off, however, and the main attraction come in the form of dRGB fans with light loops on either side and in the center similar to what CORSAIR and Thermaltake have done recently. The fans will come in 1500 or 1800 RPM versions, employ a 9-blade rotor and hydraulic bearings, and the LEDs are powered and controlled via onboard 5 V, 3-pin dRGB LED headers on motherboards for maximum compatibility. Joining in the RGB fun was a concept chassis light panel, which is part of their case mod portfolio, and replaces the stock case window/front panel depending on what Bitspower designs. This concept piece also had a Bitspower logo display, which apparently can be changed for further customization, and lighting comes in the form of multiple small LEDs all along three sides and shining light inwards.
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13 Comments on Touring the Bitspower Suite at CES 2020

#1
MDWiley
The DRGB fans look good and I’m glad there’s an 1800rpm model. I’m so over this trend of gimping performance and price gouging *cough Corsair Thermaltake cough*
Posted on Reply
#2
AnarchoPrimitiv
Ok, distroplates are officially lame and boring now, thanks every company for taking a nice idea and murdering the hell out of it (that's capitalism)
MDWileyThe DRGB fans look good and I’m glad there’s an 1800rpm model. I’m so over this trend of gimping performance and price gouging *cough Corsair Thermaltake cough*
The fans look exactly like at least a half dozen OEM fans that have been available on aliexpress for three years
Posted on Reply
#3
ypsylon
Yeap. BP got it bad too. RGBized totally.

I always liked BP because of superb quality and no RGB but in last 2 years they really contracted this virulent disease and there is no cure in sight.

And I agree on disroplates. I never was a fan - maintaining them and cleaning is utter pain, serve no purpose unless in some specific project where routing tubes is problematic, have no cooling potential whatsoever. And worst of all every 50, 100 or more tiny screws add another 50/100/more potential leakage points to the system. After RGB it looks like another disease is creeping up... :kookoo:
Posted on Reply
#4
bonehead123
meh...

fans, rads, plates, pumps etc, and all the obligatory R.friggin.G.friggin.B. thrown in just so they can say they have it like everyone else......

So..... can someone please remind me EXACTLY what was the point of this display, cause me seez nothin new or exciting & certainly NO innovation here....

y/A/w/N...

Oh poopoo...I forgots about that case, but it aint exactly groundbreaking either, with all of the usual same ole same same lame lame rectangular boxen heritage intact,,,
Posted on Reply
#5
VSG
Editor, Reviews & News
bonehead123meh...

fans, rads, plates, pumps etc, and all the obligatory R.friggin.G.friggin.B. thrown in just so they can say they have it like everyone else......

So..... can someone please remind me EXACTLY what was the point of this display, cause me seez nothin new or exciting & certainly NO innovation here....

y/A/w/N...

Oh poopoo...I forgots about that case, but it aint exactly groundbreaking either, with all of the usual same ole same same lame lame rectangular boxen heritage intact,,,
Feel free to share your ideas on new things companies can make, I am sure they appreciate constructive feedback.
Posted on Reply
#6
Ferrum Master
VSGFeel free to share your ideas on new things companies can make, I am sure they appreciate constructive feedback.
There is no need for new ones... old things must be refined.

How about making water cooled PSU's again. Especially SFX ones that are often loud.

The radiator shrouds needs to redone for years. Large area. It can reside a proper LCD. There are ~ 1920x132 bar type panels... and china ones from Schenzhen, cut the crap with RGB. Put some real small screens there. Mobile and smartwatch screens are everywhere, also pure china origin that costs peanuts for them. Drive the via raspberry or any other super small china alternative.

It will uncover massive design possibilities and put the RGB craze into history...
Posted on Reply
#7
MxPhenom 216
ASIC Engineer
MDWileyThe DRGB fans look good and I’m glad there’s an 1800rpm model. I’m so over this trend of gimping performance and price gouging *cough Corsair Thermaltake cough*
I agree, Corsair should release an SL version or something of the LL fans that spin at 1800-2200 max. SL = Super Light instead of LL = Light Loops
Posted on Reply
#8
goodeedidid
Waste your money with thing you don't need.
Posted on Reply
#9
BakerMan1971
I'm liking the top design of the CPU block
looking for something new later this year, could be a contender

That M-ITX case is well designed too, maybe a larger version for us E-ATX users could be made, vertical GPU as standard very nice.
Posted on Reply
#10
MDWiley
MxPhenom 216I agree, Corsair should release an SL version or something of the LL fans that spin at 1800-2200 max. SL = Super Light instead of LL = Light Loops
Now that'd be cool. Maybe even a fan blade design optimized for radiators, like the NF-A12x25's or EKWB Vardars. Might stick with EKWB though, assuming they release D-RGB 120mm fans soon.
Posted on Reply
#11
VSG
Editor, Reviews & News
MDWileyNow that'd be cool. Maybe even a fan blade design optimized for radiators, like the NF-A12x25's or EKWB Vardars. Might stick with EKWB though, assuming they release D-RGB 120mm fans soon.
The ML fans from CORSAIR are pretty much what you are looking for.
Posted on Reply
#12
MxPhenom 216
ASIC Engineer
VSGThe ML fans from CORSAIR are pretty much what you are looking for.
Unless you want addressable RGB lights like the LL fans via iCue. The MLs aren't that. MLs have the inner loop thats lit but that kind of sucks. ML RGB ones dont have much more static pressure either.
Posted on Reply
#13
VSG
Editor, Reviews & News
MxPhenom 216Unless you want addressable RGB lights like the LL fans via iCue. The MLs aren't that. MLs have the inner loop thats lit but that kind of sucks. ML RGB ones dont have much more static pressure either.
Look at all the fan reviews here, the ML fans are really good for those prioritizing both performance and noise as a radiator fan.
Posted on Reply
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