Closer Examination

The Bitspower Summit M Silver Metal Version CPU water block is a hefty little thing, primarily as a result of the full copper construction for the top and cold plate alike. These are then plated for aesthetics, which produces the native silver finish we typically see with nickel-plated copper parts. So yes, the "silver metal" in the name can be misleading since there are CPU blocks with cold plates out of extremely pure silver (Aqua Computer in particular). Whether it is the language barrier or not, potential customers need to be aware of this.

On top are two BSP G1/4" threaded ports, and there are arrows alongside to indicate the preferred inlet or outlet ports. These ports are very well threaded, and we also see the Bitspower logo inside a hexagonal cutout above. This is a typical full metal block and lacks any RGB lighting or the OLED display the other Summit M versions reviewed last year have. The top gets a mirror finish and polish with beveled edges that then dip down to the Intel mounting bracket, which is preinstalled. The mounting bracket has a satin finish and is actually quite sharp. So unless you want an accidental cut on your finger, be careful holding the block.


Flipping the block over, we see a plastic cover to protect the cold plate during transit, which also has a warning to remove it prior to installation. The cold plate is nickel-plated copper and has been given a mirror finish. The two ports are spaced such that all but the largest of fittings used in this market will fit without issue. The recent trend is to go with smaller tubing and fittings compared to even a few years ago (think 12–14 mm vs. 16–19 mm before), and those will work just fine here.


As per usual, disassembly was done after all testing was complete, and the included hex tool works well for removing the four screws on the bottom that hold the block together. There are four large pieces that make up the Bitspower Summit M Silver Metal Version block, including the top and cold plate we saw before. The top is also where the bulk of the mass of the block resides, having been machined out of a solid chunk of copper. On the underside, we see an O-ring seal to keep coolant going through one way only, as well as a cutout on the side which makes me think it was also used with the RGB-supporting models at one point. We see machining marks all over the place here, which may irk some but is the way to go practically to save on resources in manufacturing these in bulk. You will never see any of these in use, and they don't cause any performance deficits anyway.


The two pieces in the middle include the mounting bracket itself, and this is also how you would swap over to an AMD mounting bracket. Bitspower thus provides the tool for disassembly knowing users may want to use the block across CPU sockets, which is a nice change from the socket-specific blocks sold by others, and Bitspower. It goes without saying that disassembly does not void the warranty, but make sure you re-assemble things correctly. An acrylic insert here also acts as a jet plate, guiding the coolant into a central channel that then splits into the microchannels machined into the cold plate before the individual streams collectively depart out the second port.


The cold plate has a rubber O-ring to ensure no coolant leaks, and 300 µm machined microfins and channels add to the overall surface area of heat transfer to get heat from the CPU to the coolant. The cold plate is 3 mm thick, and each side is ~56 mm in size. The fins themselves occupy an area of 33 x 21.1 mm, with the average fin height ~1.5 mm, but take this last measurement with a grain of salt as it is not the easiest to take with vernier callipers. The area occupied by the fins is smaller than average, and the fins are thicker than average. Competitors have hit a higher number of thinner fins in the same area, but there is always a trade-off between coolant flow restriction and heat transfer, the latter of which also plateaus really quickly. So having more fins is not always a guarantee of better thermal performance, either.

Installation

Installation of the Bitspower Summit M Silvert Metal Version CPU block on Intel's LGA 115x and LGA 1200 is no different from most other such blocks in that the absence of an integrated socket backplate for CPU cooling requires you add one of your own. The Bitspower version has three pieces, with the rubber back pad touching the PCB to prevent electrical shorting, and the metal back plane in contact through a sticker pad. The backplate assemble has holes which should align with those in the motherboard, and you may want to double check to ensure there are no components interfering here, as may be the case with crowded m-ITX motherboards. With that done, use the provided four screws through and upward the other way and have four of the provided plastic washers in before locking them in place with the spacer nuts. This provides the base for the CPU block to go through and over the CPU IHS, so apply the thermal paste of your choosing, place the block, and have the other washers and springs over each of the four posts before locking them down in a diagonal manner using the thumb nuts until you run out of thread. This is a precise installation system with a lot of moving parts, but it is easily done if you go through the manual and take your time.

Installation is tool-less, although it can be hard to get the locking thumb nuts caught on the screws if you don't align the backplate assembly correctly and tighten the screws fully. The process will be even simpler on the Intel LGA 20xx and AMD sTR4/AM4 platforms. Make sure you have the correct mounting bracket and screw the M4-threaded mounting posts into the cooler mounting holes in the motherboard. Then simply repeat the steps from before, beginning with the thermal paste application. Unfortunately, I am in the middle of revamping my CPU block test systems, so I only have an Intel LGA 115x setup for these installation demos at this time. Refer to this page going over the process with the Bitspower Premium Summit M for a look at such an example.