New Koolance Exos model

Just saw the review, and can't believe it draws air from the inside of the case.
I like the 3/8 tubing, and two big fans on top, but the Exos AL does the job just as good.
I don't care for the new model being in a case already. I'd rather have the Exos AL I with the new mods and call it an Exos AL II.
 
See also my thread on my EXOS intall issues

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1027220354#post1027220354

I hope it is just an issue of bad thermal paste supplied by Koolance. I have done a half dozen "take out & put back in" with the CPU-300 water block and I hope that some real Artic Silver makes this all OK.

My only case that fits the big Zalman cooler is 10 years old and junk, if I can get the Koolance to work I have a choice of either nice (>$ 200 server) case and 2 more USB on the front (which I need).

I am guessing on resolution, but if you order an old Exos kit like I did you may want to get a side order of Artic Silver at the same time.
 
NoGodForMe says:
I'd rather have the Exos AL I with the new mods and call it an Exos AL II.
Click to expand...

I believe that is what this thread was started as :) A Koolance EXOS II is coming onto the market and should be for sale on February 18th (ten days from now). As mentioned previously by Koolance their target price was $350 USD and they said they were intending on supplying it in both black and a brushed aluminum case.


Koolance says:
"The Exos-2 will be offered in black and silver brushed aluminum, and it is essentially the same cooling system as the professional series PC3-720. It has a slightly larger heat exchanger since there is more room for one in an external unit. This, plus better ambient airflow, results in slightly improved performance over the PC3-720, similar to the gain of the original Exos over the PC2-650."
Click to expand...

Now after reading the [H] test report on the PC3-720 I am getting kind of leery of their new products. From discussing this with a few of their distributors it is evident why the PC3-720 is dropping in price: Some of their dealers think of it as severly overpriced cooling in a debatable case. IMHO, if they would have used a Lian-Li case they might have fared better with their distributors. So I would predict that the PC3-720 isn't going to sell well till it hits down in the $330 price range.

I think they are way off base with their MSRP of $350 for the EXOS II and as I have said before it is going to need to sell in the sub $300 range or they are going to lose a lot of market share...

And of course my own feelings on the matter translated into my scoots going for a hybrid Koolance/DIY system today. The Koolance coolers stay, but I decided on an Eheim pump, Typhoon reservoir, and a Black Ice radiator. I went with high end components and still was way under $300 USD. However, that story doesn't belong here in this thread about the new EXOS II so I will continue my saga at the other thread I started about Koolance/DIY hybrids: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=865055

I am still waiting to see what comes of the EXOS II. If it comes in at a reasonable price I would be interested in upgrading my other box from a EXOS I to an EXOS II. If not then I will be making some mods to my current EXOS :D
 
Well I got some more info from Koolance and they say that the EXOS II pump/reservoir unit will not fit in the EXOS I. Or so they say ;-) Hmm...what about a dremel tool fantasy?

Once my other H20 cooled box becomes operational in the next couple of weeks I am going to strip my EXOS I apart and start modding the hell out of it! I think I can get in the case a large 3/8" radiator, a reservoir and a pump without too much airflow restrictions and still utilize the standard electronics I~<:)) More later and sayanora till the EXOS II makes an appearance...

Added 2-12-05:

The black EXOS I is now a discontinued item on the Koolance website...
 
It's out!!!!

Just found these references on the Koolance website:

http://www.koolance.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=190

http://www.koolance.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=28_43&products_id=189

There is a black model and a brushed aluminum model available. They are both selling for the same amount of $350 USD. Interestingly they both say they are "out of stock" which probably means they haven't figured out whether they want to allocate or otherwise distribute them. So get'em while they are hot if you want one of these babies :D

From just the pictures I have seen it appears they have consolidated their manufacturing somewhat by using the same unit for their integrated cases as well as the EXOS-2 units. The only extra on the EXOS-2 would be the bottom hunk of sheet metal. Smart move on their part if this is the case <no pun intended>.

Perhaps this is the reason we saw such a bad temp difference in the last PC3-720BK review done on [H]ardOCP recently. All the EXOS designs draw air in from the bottom of its case and if they are using the same upper unit on their integrated cases they would automatically be drawing in hot case air. Perhaps they need a switch to reverse the fan direction. Then they could just set the switch and the whole problem would go bye-bye.

However, if I surmise this correctly then it doesn't lend much credence to the claim by Koolance that they increased the price of the EXOS-2 40% to recoup their significant expenses in a completely retooled EXOS-2 case.

As a side note the new style Koolance Hydra-Pak HD-50-L06 HDD soft cooler is still not showing in stock. The three I ordered as soon as it was put on the website still haven't shown up yet. I get the feeling they are engaging in the same type paper launches that the video card industry has been engaging in lately.

Another curious situation is that if you order any of the new Lian-Li integrated cases they are taking an extra 2-4 business days to ship. At first I thought they would be importing the completed cases, but now it is somewhat obvious that they are ordering in the cases locally and modding them only when they get an order. So what does this mean? I think it means that if you order one of the EXOS units you might be able to easily retrofit their system into any case so long as it will fit in the top. What a concept, huh? I wasn't going to order one of these because I am building a Koolance/DIY hybrid, but this is much too intriguing not to now! If it turns out I am wrong I can always ditch it almost immediately on the for/sale forum :cool:
 
I think Koolance needs to get their website fixed. Now the site shows that the EXOS-2 is in stock! If I order one today I hope I don't get the "we were really just kidding" song and dance. It also appears from the specifications that both "color" models are made out of aluminum with one being clear and the other being black anodizing.
 
First things first: Get it out of the trash. I want it and will come pick it up or will pay to have you ship it to me :)

Well I have one on order just as you do and I think it will come a day or two before I leave for Florida :( However, I have discussed this issue with Koolance a few times so I can relate what was told to me. The Colder devices were not used because they impeded the flow as they are on 1/4" native devices. The 3/8" QD are still 1/4" inside so that would be a no go.

So what they said they were going to do was to run 90* elbows out the back of the EXOS II. Now whether they are just hose barbs or compression fittings I don't know. I would bet on the compression fittings though. The tubes go down to the computer and through the PCI port as usual and I understand there was no changes in the circuitry internal to the case proper that turns the EXOS on and off.

The EXOS II pump, electronics, and reservoir are identical to the newer PC3 series. I also think they said the radiator was slightly larger. I kinda doubt that, but who knows. Inside the EXOS II everything is all natively 3/8". This does however present a slight problem in coolant flow. If you run 3/8" to the CPU cooler you then have to run a dual flow system off the CPU cooler output or you start running into a reduced flow condition.

We had this discussion above or here about the flow characteristics, but the bottom line was that it was probably better to split into three 1/4" lines than 2 of them or reconfigure the system to run 3/8" all the way through.
 
Top Nurse said:
First things first: Get it out of the trash. I want it and will come pick it up or will pay to have you ship it to me :)

Well I have one on order just as you do and I think it will come a day or two before I leave for Florida :( However, I have discussed this issue with Koolance a few times so I can relate what was told to me. The Colder devices were not used because they impeded the flow as they are on 1/4" native devices. The 3/8" QD are still 1/4" inside so that would be a no go.

So what they said they were going to do was to run 90* elbows out the back of the EXOS II. Now whether they are just hose barbs or compression fittings I don't know. I would bet on the compression fittings though. The tubes go down to the computer and through the PCI port as usual and I understand there was no changes in the circuitry internal to the case proper that turns the EXOS on and off.

The EXOS II pump, electronics, and reservoir are identical to the newer PC3 series. I also think they said the radiator was slightly larger. I kinda doubt that, but who knows. Inside the EXOS II everything is all natively 3/8". This does however present a slight problem in coolant flow. If you run 3/8" to the CPU cooler you then have to run a dual flow system off the CPU cooler output or you start running into a reduced flow condition.

We had this discussion above or here about the flow characteristics, but the bottom line was that it was probably better to split into three 1/4" lines than 2 of them or reconfigure the system to run 3/8" all the way through.
Click to expand...


Ok,
But I dont think that 3/8" tubing will fit through a PCI slot. So I guess what I am confused about is the fact that it doesn't matter if the internals are 3/8 inch if you are running 1/4 inch tubing to the cooler. As you mentioned, that would be a reduced flow condition. I noticed an lack of photos on koolance.com and this has me nervous. Now I also know that they have released a bunch of splitters recently...not sure what to make of it. All I know is that if they want to have the springy things on the PCI bracket....we are screwed with 1/4 inch.
 
I think they will use a 3/8 double ended hose barb type connector similar to the ones used by Swiftech. They normally call them bulkhead connectors. You will get two (2) of the fancy Y fittings with the EXOS II so you can split to 1/4" x 2 and then reverse back to 3/8" before it goes back out the case.
 
Mysogonist said:
Ok,
But I dont think that 3/8" tubing will fit through a PCI slot. So I guess what I am confused about is the fact that it doesn't matter if the internals are 3/8 inch if you are running 1/4 inch tubing to the cooler. As you mentioned, that would be a reduced flow condition. I noticed an lack of photos on koolance.com and this has me nervous. Now I also know that they have released a bunch of splitters recently...not sure what to make of it. All I know is that if they want to have the springy things on the PCI bracket....we are screwed with 1/4 inch.
Click to expand...


No, it's a tight squeeze but 3/8" ID hose will fit through a PCI slot, I've seen it done plenty of times before, either just pushed through the hole or where someone cuts holes into a PCI slot bracket cover and puts the tubes through that.

.
 
for anyone who hasnt seen them yet...

Koolance Exos-2, Silver...

ex2750slp26yd.jpg



looking forward to some reviews on it.
 
Can't wait to get mine! Should be here any day now, BUT I'm going to Florida for a couple of weeks :(

It appears that Koolance came up with a swivel 90* elbow from the various pics I have seen lately at the back of the EXOS II.
 
Mine should be here tommorrow .....

I will be comparing it to my other water cooling system

TDX block nozzle 4
Swiftech 600 pump
Bonneville 1977 heatcore.
1/2 tube

Interested to see how it performs

FYI

Best price is
PcPowerzone
$313.50 with $50 blocks

I talked to one of the reps, seems like a good company and shipping is well price too.
They drop ship from Koolance so your order will come from the west coast.

The Exos 2 manuel is up in the koolance website too...
 
I looked at the manual and nothing really has changed in the way the EXOS II plumbing is installed. So the only thing you need to do is to get a 3/8" CPU cooler and your in business! As I said earlier if you want to cool something besides the CPU you will need to get a splitter to go from 3/8" to the 1/4" native coolers for the rest of the system. Of course you might want to look into using another brand of cooler who are natively 3/8" which would make things somewhat easier. Though if you do that watch out for the dissimilar metal corrosion problem.

Here is the link to the Koolance manuals.
 
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