Closer Examination

The Koolance CPU-400I comes inside a plastic wrap to keep it clean and free of dust out of the box, which works also with the clean finish given to the CPU water block. Removing it, we see a square block with a mounting bracket that extends at the corners for a square ILM socket mounting on Intel LGA 115x, 2011, 2011-3, and 2066. There is only one version of the block for Intel sockets, with a similar version and a different bracket for AMD sockets. For their latest version, Koolance has gone with a brushed metal cover in black over a POM acetal top and stainless steel bracket also in black. There are markings on the top cover in an egg-white color for the Koolance logo, product name, and two arrows to indicate which of the two G1/4" threaded ports are for inlet and outlet alike. I would have much rather Koolance not have the product name here at all for a cleaner look, and even have the logo on the side. Both ports are threaded well, and the acetal is cut such that the cover is flush in line with the ports. They are spaced apart enough to where all but the largest of fittings will work fine here, and in an age where 1/2" x 3/4" fittings are not very popular, there is little you should worry about as far as compatibility goes.


From the side, we can see the metal cover better, especially how it wraps around from the front and is cut such that the mounting bracket does not hit it. Flipping the block to the underside, we see a protective plastic sticker over the nickel-plated copper cold plate. The sticker also has a warning that alerts the user to remove it prior to installation, lest you end up with a thermal insulator where you don't want one. The cold plate has a mirror finish applied as seen above, and has a slightly convex box to mate with the center of a convex/flat IHS, and mounting pressure from the corners would thus assist in spreading the thermal paste for a good mount—at least assuming all goes as planned.


As always, full disassembly was done post-testing. The block itself is held in place with four countersunk stainless steel hex screws. Once the screws are removed, we see that the mounting bracket is made up of two separate pieces, and the top cover can also be lifted off at this stage. This gives us a better look at the POM top with the protruding ports, which allows the cover to be in line with them, and we can also see how there is a line left unpainted on the underside of the metal cover, which is presumably where it was held. No complaints about this, however, as it will not be seen and has no functional effect whatsoever.


The Koolance CPU-400I, as with just about any CPU block today, employs a jetplate design to split the flow in the middle, going across the microchannels in the cold plate and joining at the periphery to exit out the other port. The top has a metal piece to help direct flow through the stainless steel jetplate, which will help retain the bow of the cold plate relative to, say, a rubber piece. This central section is shaped to remain in place in the top and contacts directly with the jetplate as seen above, which is 0.8 mm thick. There are O-rings in place to make sure the coolant flows only where it should and does not leak out. The cold plate is relatively thin and large, coming in at 58 x 58 x 2.46 mm with a large number of fine microfins occupying a surface area of 31.5 x 32 mm in size. This latter measurement is the one thing other blocks released recently have an advantage in with longer microfins that will help increase the active surface area for heat transfer. However, Koolance has gone with a cold plate base that should counter some of this, and the increased density of the microfins will also help. We will test the cooling engine soon for its effect on liquid flow restriction and thermal performance of the block as a whole.

When re-assembling, just remember to put the O-rings back in place if they got dislodged and reverse these steps accordingly. As always, TechPowerUp is not liable for any issues that arise from your disassembly of the waterblock.


For those curious, these are the two options for the previous Koolance CPU block (CPU-390I). Koolance has played it a lot safer here and arguably lost some of the design choices that helped visually identify a CPU block as their own. I am not a fan of this personally, but this is a subjective thing of course.