A Closer Look

The Akasa Revo is a bit of an unusual looking cooler. It looks like an "all-in-one" compact watercooling kit, but it is a bit different than that. In a sense, it uses bubbles to move the internal coolant around the loop instead of a mechanical pump. Here is the information straight from Akasa:

1. Heat is absorbed from the CPU into a chamber which stores a specially designed dual-component liquid-coolant.
2. From the CPU chamber heat moves to the radiator along the up-pipe of a hermetically sealed circuit. The specially designed dual-component liquid-coolant acts as a bubble pump to force the heat rapidly to the radiator.
3. Heat is dispersed from the radiator by a 92mm fan rotating at low speed.
4. The dual-component coolant is cooled by the airflow from the fan and returns along the down-pipe of the hermetically sealed circuit to the chamber for another round.

The Revo features an all aluminum structure, which consists of a base, supply tube, radiator and return tube. There is a clear plastic cover over the radiator and a black bracket on top of the base that will aid in the installation process.


The fan used is a 92mm model with a clear frame and transparent blue fins. This is a PWM style fan, so it comes complete with a 4-pin connector for use with motherboards that support this feature.


The clear plastic cover for the radiator makes the radiator look nice but it also helps to hold the fan in place. There are clips at each corner which hold the fan, as well as some tabs that tighten up the mounting and reduce vibrations. Also, in the left picture the fill port for the system can be seen more clearly. This has been sealed after filling, and it is highly recommended that this should not be tampered with.


The Revo we received was one of the initial production units, so there are some things to keep in mind while discussing the base. In the picture on the left there are some small circular marks and some darker spots around them. According to Akasa, the circular marks on the base are from the assembly process, but note that these marks are outside of the CPU contact area. The darker areas around the circular marks appear to be some residue left from the testing process. Akasa had tested each one of these early production models individually to make sure they were performing correctly. Unfortunately, the unit we received was not cleaned completely before being shipped to us. Akasa has assured us that all of the retail units will be thoroughly cleaned before packaging and shipping. Although not polished or shiny, the base does feel fairly smooth. With the razor blade test it was difficult to see exactly how flat the base was, because the edges were raised higher than the center. Again, the edges are far away from the area that will make contact to the CPU, so they should not have any effect on performance.