The Cooler

The iCEAGE from 3R System is an Aluminum heatsink based on four heatpipes and uses a 120mm fan. The cooler does have the capability to run passively if a user wants an inaudible PC. It weighs in at 560 grams, which is quite light considering the size of the cooler. The fins of the cooler are coated black, which helps the looks and quality of the cooler. 3R System's logo is imprinted into the top fin, and also the heatpipe ends are covered by the top fin giving a clean finished look.


The 120mm fan is mounted via two spring clamps that slot into the cooler. They work quite well for mounting the cooler, but are not my favorite solution. The fan can be easily shifted with this mounting solution and has no form of vibration dampening. I found with the cooler on full power, it had some noticeable vibration, but nothing major.


The base of the iCEAGE is the key to this cooler. It uses what 3R System likes to call "DTH", or Direct Touch Heatpipes. In other words - The heat pipes make up the base of the cooler. This concept is to increase the amount of heat absorbed by the heatpipes, therefore moving more heat and increasing performance. One thing that worries me about this design is that it makes it very hard to fill the gap between each heatpipe risking air pockets. Though this type of cooler works off of heatpipes, so as long as the heatpipes have contact, theoretically it should be fine.


The fan used is 120mm and uses what 3R System calls "Hydraulic bearings". I fail to see how a bearing can be hydraulic, but rather a fluid bearing? Anyhow, the fan also has blue LEDs in it to give it that cooler look. Some users may not like LED fans in their cases, but the fan could easily be changed if one was so fussy. It's rated at 53.5 ~ 78.5CFM and its noise rating is 19 - 32 dBA which is great.


The kit also includes a fan controller to regulate the speed of the fan. The range is from ~1000 to 2200 RPM, so users can find the balance of performance and noise they want. When I first booted the system with the iCEAGE I got a new beep from my computer. At first I thought I was crazy, but I heard it a second time on boot. I disregarded it at first, but when I was testing the cooler, I pulled the fan wire and a loud consistent beep occurred. What it is, the fan controller has an alarm built in it, so if the fan somehow fails, the user will be alerted.