Best Watercooling 2017

Winner: Aqua Computer cuplex kryos NEXT CPU Block

The cuplex kryos NEXT CPU water block is actually a lineup of multiple different products, with the first ones having come out towards the end of 2016 itself. However, the winner here specifically is the one we covered - the PVD-coated VISION/VARIO model. Aqua Computer realized that there is only so much one can do in terms of engineering the fluid path and cold plate before physics gets the better of you, especially with internal bottlenecks to heat transfer becoming an ever larger factor (No thanks to you, Intel). As such, they opted to instead add in features thus far not seen on a CPU block, or really any other component we use. The specific CPU block here has a fantastic titanium coating that is scratch-resistant and looks/feel gorgeous while also sporting an OLED display with an integrated microprocessor and a thermal probe to display vital statistics right there on the CPU block. To round it off, Aqua Computer also added in a feature called VARIO that helps account for subtle changes in the CPU IHS from sample to sample, and this alone can bring about a larger change in performance than simply swapping to a different block. With a variety of SKUs at different price points and the ability for users to pick and choose between the many options available, Aqua Computer has made the cuplex kryos NEXT a real winner this year.

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Runner-up: Corsair ML120 PRO RGB Fan

Take a brand with global recognition and retail channels, partner up with a fan maker with years of experience and a novel bearing-design patent and you get the Corsair ML fans featuring a magnetic levitation bearing. I was a big fan of these when they first came out last year, and the performance/noise ratio is excellent even today. However, 2017 being the year of RGBs just as much as 2016 was, something had to give. Enter the ML120 PRO RGB in 2017 - it combined the best parts of two different fan products Corsair offered last year and made them all better by adding software control over lighting as well. We tested the 3-fan pack here, which comes with all you need to control the four addressable RGB LEDs on the fans thanks to the included Lighting NODE PRO. Corsair Link, along with any motherboard's fan controls, will also help control the speed of these 1600 RPM rated static-pressure-optimized fans that are as close to the unicorn fan as ever before. A little birdy says to expect better software control real soon too, so this will only get better.

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Honorable Mentions

Watercooling is really a group of categories within itself, as water blocks are differently treated and tested compared to, say, radiators or pumps or fans. Even within water blocks, there are specific versions for the various CPUs and GPUs as well. In order to not have this take up as many pages as the rest of the categories combined, I decided to combine them, and have some notable mentions separately in this section. Take for example the Black Ice Nemesis GTR radiator that really is the pinnacle of engineering in this otherwise cookie-cutter subset, featuring shorter, ultra-thin splitter fins that allow more fin stacks at the same FPI, which changes its optimized application drastically from the older Black Ice Nemesis GTX. Phanteks also impressed a lot with their first steps into this market as the Glacier 1080 GPU water block offers a premium experience throughout - unboxing, accessories, RGB lighting, build quality, and excellent performance alike. Lastly, a mention goes out to EK Waterblocks for bringing to market something others would not have dared with an all-aluminum Fluid Gaming kit that offers the DIY watercooling experience at a much more wallet-friendly price without as big a performance deficit as one might expect.

Looking forward to 2018

The last few years have been bad to DIY watercooling, with many retailers and brands biting the dust. 2017 bucked the trend, possibly with more influencers using custom watercooling in their builds to where this is now a legitimate part of the DIY experience. Larger companies have shown interest in joining in, and I expect to see others follow - Corsair has all but announced their product lineup. At the same time, new brands are going to appear globally in 2018 with some as startups and others that were thus far content to be in one region of the world only. These existing brands can no longer afford to rest on their laurels, and 2018 should be an exciting time for everyone across all the sub-categories that encompass DIY watercooling.