We have an unusual candidate in the lab, The Antec KÜHLER H₂O 920. There is no doubt that this is a liquid cooling system but it has been created to be very user friendly, maintenance free and much closer to the price range of a high performance air cooler then a elaborate custom water cooling setup. Systems like the 920 have been around for 2-3 years now, longer depending on what you consider fitting this category, and Antec did a good job with the first release of their version of an all-in-one system. Antec did not jump right in the market at the first opportunity but rather took the time and learned from the mistakes some early adopters have made and in addition improved upon it. The Antec KÜHLER H₂O 920 is feature rich and leaves little to be missed.
The Antec KÜHLER H₂O 920 is based on Asetek's 570LC but has been improved and customized very well by Antec. The included software works well and is optimized for the unit. There are two pre-established profiles for silent cooling and for extreme performance. Many settings can be customized including the color of the LED on top of the head unit. The software is not required to operate the unit and actually will automatically adjust to system conditions and remember them on restart. The software monitors and displays the temperature of the liquid in the system, noise levels as well as fan speed and pump speed. The communication between the head unit and your system occurs via a cable with an internal USB header that should be attached to a internal USB port.
We were hoping to be able to provide you with a lot more detailed information about this unit. In particular the radiator and the pump but much of the information is just not available. Thanks to Nick from Antec; however, we were able to paint you much more complete picture then otherwise possible. We did get a good picture of the performance and capabilities of the KÜHLER H₂O 920. All in all, this is a mature, well manufactured and well improved device.
Previously the Antec KÜHLER H₂O 920 did not ship with the new Intel LGA 2011 socket mounting bracket included. Antec is keeping up with the beat and offers anyone who has purchased this cooler and has not received the mounting bracket to get one for FREE. All you need to do is contact Antec support and provide your proof of purchase and Antec will ship it out to you.
The Antec KÜHLER H₂O 920 is available at retailers now and has a current MSRP of $119.95 USD. The Newegg price as of 01/15/2012 is $97.99 USD. The performance of this cooler proves this cooler to be a good value and worth the price.
We would like to thank Antec and the Antec representative for making this review possible and our readers for your continued support.
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