iBuyPower IBP-Z001 Water Cooler - UPDATED 04/23

[Jester]

Today I just received the iBuyPower IBP-Z001 self-contained CPU liquid cooling system. It is designed to be used for a long period of time with no maintenance. I've never worked with a with a water cooling system before. My old CPU cooler was a very cheap Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 PRO which has been cooling my Intel Core 2 DUO E8400 CPU for a long time. It even cooled it at 4.05 ghz which was quite surprising. This should be quite the upgrade.

Packaging

This water cooler came in a rather large shipping box. I ordered it from Directron for $69.99 which is a great price for a water cooling unit. I went through the shipping box and found the small little iBuyPower box with a nice sticker on each side.

By boredgunner, shot with Canon PowerShot A590 IS at 2009-04-14

There was a layer of foam on the top and bottom, overall the packaging was well done.

Closer Look

The radiator came with a 120mm fan pre-attached to it and fluid in the radiator. It uses Norprene tubing. The tubes were thick, bendable, long, and very high quality. I was worried the tubes would be too long for my puny Antec 300 case.


The unit came with some AMD processor mounts and of course the LGA 775 mounts, one to attach to the base and one backplate. The base is made of copper and had a decent finish. There was some thermal compound pre-applied.

By boredgunner, shot with Canon PowerShot A590 IS at 2009-04-14

Installation

Due to the backplate which my old air cooler didn't have, installation would take quite some time. I really wish I had one of the high quality COOLER MASTER cases which have a cut out in the MOBO tray, so I wouldn't have to remove the motherboard. On my Antec 300 there are no cut outs at all, everything had to come out except for the hard drive/disk drive/fan controller, two (out of four) sticks of RAM, and all of the fans except for the rear.

The iBuyPower IBP-Z001 is designed to fit in most cases that have a 120mm rear fan (or mounts for one). Simply replace the fan with the radiator. Fitting was certainly not an issue. Once I removed the motherboard, I fitted the backplate with some of the many included screws.

By boredgunner, shot with Canon PowerShot A590 IS at 2009-04-14

Here is a shot of the backplate installed.

By boredgunner, shot with Canon PowerShot A590 IS at 2009-04-14

Do not, I repeat do not install the normal CPU bracket onto the motherboard. This has to be attached to the copper base of the water cooler.

Once the backplate is installed, I put the motherboard back in my case since it stays flat against the right side panel, so the backplate won't move out of place. I then installed the LGA 775 mount onto the copper base of the CPU cooler with the included screws, mounted the radiator in place of the rear 120mm fan, and connected the unit to the CPU. The tubes are at the bottom and it fits well.

By boredgunner, shot with Canon PowerShot A590 IS at 2009-04-14

The included fan is your normal 120mm unit and spins at 2500 RPM. Please note, this uses a 4-pin connector. Unfortunately my XFX 680i LT motherboard lacks 4-pin connections, and my fan controller uses 3-pin. I had to replace the included fan with a Logicys 120mm blue LED fan, which spins at ~1850 RPM.

Results

I re-assembled the PC and left the side panel off to make sure everything runs okay. I started it up, with my CPU at 4.05 ghz just like before (450 x 9, 1800 mhz FSB) and I was expecting some excellent results. I was overly excited since the thermal compound needs some time to set in. The pump was very quiet. Results weren't very good at all, lets see what happens over time.


By boredgunner, shot with Canon PowerShot A590 IS at 2009-04-16

In my new ATCS 840 case. Yesterday (this picture is older), I got an adapter and I'm now using the retail fan, which is MUCH more powerful.


By boredgunner, shot with Canon PowerShot A590 IS at 2009-05-09

Below are some comparisons with my E8400 at 4.05 ghz/1800 mhz FSB.

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 PRO Temps
Idle


Load (NOTE - I wasn't running IntelBurnTest for very long, when I was stress testing my CPU/RAM for long periods of time temperatures would rise near 70 degrees Celsius)


iBuyPower IBP-Z001

Idle

By boredgunner at 2009-04-14

Load (several minutes into the test)

By boredgunner at 2009-04-14

Disappointing, we will see what happens over time. This was done only several minutes after installation. When the thermal compound sets in, I am expecting much better results. If not, I'll re-apply the thermal compound using OCZ Freeze.

So, the iBuyPower IBP-Z001 keeps CPU temps around 5 degrees Celsius cooler idle and 10 degrees Celsius cooler load compared to the AC Freezer 7 PRO.

Conclusion

PROS

• Good packaging
• Everything you need included within the package
• Compatible with LGA 775 and AM2
• Decent copper finish
• Thermal compound already installed
• Once mounted, sturdy
• Great performance
• 2500 RPM 120mm fan included
• Silent pump

CONS

• Only 4-pin connector for the included 120mm fan

Overall, this unit was simple to work with even though installation took a long time. This was my entrance to the liquid cooling world and I didn't screw it up. Check my other posts for updates!

[rcranfield]

Nice review. No need to dis on the AC Freezer 7. It is actually quite good for air cooling. I think your disappointment is only because you had a good air cooler before you switched to water.
Personally I have not gotten up the nerve to try water cooling yet. I keep thinking about phase change cooling, but have not taken the plunge so far or that either.

[Jester]

Temps are already going down, idle is now down to around 30 degrees Celsius. The AC Freezer 7 PRO is cheap, I didn't say it was bad. I wouldn't call it good either. Only three heat pipes, but the construction was good. I picked it up for $20, but for its normal retail price (around $35) you can get better coolers.

I've read people have gotten more than a 5-10 degree drop with a water cooler when compared to a much higher quality air cooler. This drop in temps is pretty disappointing, but again we'll have to wait and see what happens.

[strudinox]

Excellent review! I'm sure if I were to order one, I'm sure the results would be quite drastic since I currently run a Zalman 9700. Very well documented! I also use OCZ freeze so keep us updated on how that improves your temps!!

Thanks for posting!!

[heimie]

Very good Review. I didn't get the expected gains on my first trip down Water Cooling Lane either.... Or my 2nd... And only the GPUs will be Water Cooled on my next rigs.

I was considering this for my latest build. I'm glad I waited.

The review definitely helped me make up my mind..

Thanks Jester.

[Jester]

Thanks for the comments. It appears I was right about the thermal compound, the idle temps are now borderline 30 degrees Celsius, sometimes a little bit lower. I'll update very shortly with the new load temps.

I just played some Crysis Warhead, temps never got to 50 degrees Celsius, 47-48 max and usually stayed around 45 degrees. Before it got to around 65 degrees. Pretty good!

[strudinox]

What do the temps get to say if you are running Prime or Orthos? Glad the compound did the trick for ya. I'm also looking for a good cooler, so if I do get this one, I'll have to remember to replace the stock TIM.

[Jester]

What do the temps get to say if you are running Prime or Orthos? Glad the compound did the trick for ya. I'm also looking for a good cooler, so if I do get this one, I'll have to remember to replace the stock TIM.

During IntelBurnTest, which is much more stressful than Prime95 (CPU temps are at least 10 degrees higher than testing with Prime95), temps are between 55-60 degrees Celsius (60 being max). I use a very cheap fan as well, the default one is much better. I'd like to see what some OCZ Freeze would do, as well as a pair of high quality Scythe fans (one on the outside).

Max Prime95 temps were 53 degrees Celsius.