Cooler Master Seidon 120V

Daktologist

So I decided to make the switch to water cooling this week. Seeing as the Seidon 120V was the cheapest water cooling kit available locally and having favourable reviews, I decided to get one. Originally I was using a Corsair A70 cooler but as it has to be mounted so that the fans are blowing vertically through the case drawing hot air off of my GPU causing CPU temps to idle at around 45 degrees C. Not to mention how much space the A70 takes up in a mid tower case. Even installing the graphics card required disassembly of the case to fit it in as there was around 3 mm of overhang from the HDD rack to slide it in. At present the CPU idles at around 42 degrees C in this summer heat we are having but drops to 33 degrees when night falls. Under load it rarely exceeds 50 degrees C which is a major improvement over the A70.

Noise wise the pump is kinda noisy for its size but other than that it runs pretty quietly and as the heat from the CPU is pushed out the back of the case, internal temps are much lower than they were. Installation is simple, as I am using a socket AM3 processor (AMD Phenom II X4) there is a back plate for the cooler mounting bracket that needs to be removed prior to installation. A new plate is provided with the cooler and is held down by the front bracket on the cooler and four thumb screws which should be tightened about 1/4 of a turn with a screwdriver once screwing them tight by hand. The radiator affixes to the case via four pan head machine screws as does the fan. The fan is a four pin PWM type 120 mm fan and the pump has a three pin plug on it which should be run at 12 volts constantly to provide sufficient cooling (EDIT: after testing, it can be run at 7 volts without any real drop in cooling performance as well as a big drop in noise).

Overall for the price I paid for it ($102 NZD), it performs well in my machine. Not to mention the extra space in my case and improved air flow because of this.

Dfg

Yeah my temps are okay in winter but man I think I would need that awesome cooler for summer. There is no way in hell my temps would be below 70 then.

Dfg

Found a picture from June 2012



Hmm, a lot changed from 2012 to 2013 hahha.

Daktologist

I found that if you drop the pump voltage to say 7 volts, not only is there no real difference in temps but a significant reduction in pump noise. Even at reduced flow, my temps under full load never really exceed 49-50 degrees C. Idle is around 40-41 during the day when its hot dropping to 36-37 at night when its cooler. There seems to be a small pocket of air which makes a hell of a loud noise when run at 12 volts. That disappears at 7 volts.

Dfg

Hmm, I am doing primecoins at the moment and I think pump would be a GOOD choice.

Daktologist

For an all in one water cooler it performs well. Beats the hell out of the air cooler I was using. Plus being able to run the pump at low speed without a drop in cooling makes a huge difference in noise output. Pakistan being as hot as it sounds during summer, it should make a difference in temperatures for sure. I personally recommend it and at the low price, its affordable. Sure there are better options when it comes to water cooling but if you are on a budget it will work fine IMO.