CoolIT Vantage ALC for CPUs

For a number of years now CoolIT Systems have been designing a range of all in one liquid cooling products for processors. Their first product of note was the Freezone which we looked at in 2006, then in 2007 we saw the launch of the Elite and Pure revisions of the Freezone. These were reasonably impressive products however their price level was a little high for all but the enthusiast market.

In 2008 everything changed with the release of the Domino A.L.C., a unit which took a similar approach to product design but placed it at a price level which compared well with high end air coolers. We were hugely impressed by the ease of install and performance when we reviewed the Domino and for a while it was unchallenged on the market. The first product to take on the Domino at its own game was the Corsair H50, designed by Asetek. The H50 offered better performance than the Domino but wasnt quite as easy to install and so end users had a tough choice to make.

During this period CoolIT were hard at work designing their next range of products and the first to market was the ECO A.L.C. which improved on the build quality and performance of the Domino. It also refined the installation method making it a cooler which was incredibly simple to install, even for novice users. As good as the ECO was, it didnt deliver a knockout blow to the H50 as performance of the two units was quite similar.

Today that could change as we get the chance to look at CoolITs new high end cooler, the Vantage A.L.C. In this review we will discover how it compares to the H50 in terms of performance and also look at it in detail to find out what features it has which could take processor cooling to a new level.