Asetek Resurrects “WaterChill” Liqud Cooling Kits

Asetek WaterChill 2011C Radiator & CPU Block

Asetek is one of the most respected names when it comes to computer cooling.  They were among the first to produce closed-loop water cooling kits, which helped make water cooling somewhat affordable and low-maintenance.  Most recently, their KUHLER H20 620 CPU Kit co-developed with Antec has had a warm reception, along with their H50 and H70 kits with Corsair.

At CeBIT 2011 in Germany, which just wrapped up yesterday, Asetek announced a return of their WaterChill brand.  At one point WaterChill was Asetek’s bread and butter, not released since 2006 (if I recall correctly).  The line will include a CPU kit, and a GPU kit compatible with the NVIDIA GTX 580  “to be launched in conjunction with a graphics card partner”.  Whether or not the GPU kit will be available separately or exclusively packaged with a special edition version of a GTX 580, they haven’t said.

The CPU kit, dubbed the 2011C, will include a 240mm x 120mm radiator and four 120mm PWM fans, as well as Asetek’s ChillControl software to monitor and control cooling hardware.  The GPU kit will include a 120mm radiator with a pump and coldplate integrated into the GTX 580 itself.  Release date and pricing on the kits are due to be announced in Q2 2011.

WaterChill GPU Radiator and Block

Personally, I’m more of a fan of custom water-cooling systems since I’m more for performance than maintenance, otherwise I would go for just plain air-cooling.  However, for people new to liquid cooling systems and possibly afraid of them (which you shouldn’t be!), a closed-loop system for a decent price can be a great addition to a medium-low budget PC.

So what do you guys think?  Excited for the revival of an old name in hardware, or just fine with what’s cooling your rig at the moment?

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