I was feeling good about the Koolance CPU-400I until I was made aware of the price point. At $89.99, it is a lot more expensive than other acetal top CPU water blocks, and even more so than some full metal top blocks as well. Quite a lot of these end up better in the performance per dollar chart because they cost less, and nearly every other block offers options and sometimes even bundles in a few things to sweeten the deal—RGB lighting, for example. It does not help that Koolance is currently offering the (still) excellent CPU-390I on sale at just $64.95, so in many ways, they are hurting sales of the new CPU-400I until stock clears for the older block.

It is a good thing then that some things do go in favor of the CPU-400I, and perhaps the most important of those is thermal performance. With the usual caveats to be considered, it came in as the best among the regular CPU blocks and was only bested by one with a feature allowing customization to best fit any specific CPU IHS. Koolance also finally added in precise mounting here, leaving behind the older installation methods involving guesswork. Aesthetics here are a mixed bag in that Koolance took away the ID that helped differentiate their products among others, but there is no denying that the CPU-400I looks nice with the predominantly black color scheme with the POM acetal top and brushed metal cover on top. The color scheme also helps make it fit in well with just about any build, and the ability to fit in just about any fitting will also help.

Overall, Koolance did itself no justice by pricing the CPU-400I at the current price point. Knowing also that there is no big breakthrough with thermal performance here means people will not be frothing at the mouth to make a purchase here, and the brand does not enjoy the market awareness a few others do. The warranty policy also does not help their case even though I understand where they are coming from, but their blocks at the very least have been exceptionally reliable over the years. As it stands now, unless you quite fancy the aesthetics here or want to get that extra bit of performance, there are other blocks that offer more for the money.