Chip-Con Prometeia Cooling System

Chip-Con sent us both the Intel and AMD CPU kits for testing. We’ll show the results of both systems in our benchmark section, but for now we’ll focus on installing the AMD kit. There’s not much difference in installing the Intel kit, so this should be adequate.

Once you get the kit, make absolutely sure that all components are included. The AMD CPU kit should include the following;

• Two screws for evaporator mounting with load springs, shim spacers and O-ring seals
• Shim plates (Both for Intel and AMD Athlon/XP CPUs.
• One upper mounting bracket without threaded holes.
• Seal string. This is the substance you use to seal the Microfreezer and CPU together. The sealstring is a specially formulated material, combining the following desired parameters: water resistant, none curring, adheasing but still detacheable, highly flexible and non greasy, and non toxic.
• One rear cover without mounting holes (in the P4 kit it has mounting holes !)
• One rear cover Gasket
• One tube of Arctic Alumina Thermal compound.
• There should also be a special tool to adjust the screws

This is all that’s provided in the CPU kit, so make sure you get them all. Alright, now it’s time to get the ball rolling…

Even though I have not had the opportunity to take a look at a Vapochill system, from what I have seen and heard installing that kit is far from easy. This is another area where Chip-con’s Prometeia system excels. I really didn’t expect the installation procedure to be so easy and straight forward. The first installation took me around 45 Minutes to assemble everything since I needed to double check with the manual everything I did. Once you know where everything fits, the total installation procedure won’t take you more that half an hour to get the PC running.

Before we go any further, the key point you should keep in mind is “how to avoid condensation”. When a surface in free air goes below the temperature of its surroundings (also called the dew point), water builds up on that surface, this is because our normal ambient air contains somewhere around 50-70% humidity at 20 to 30 degrees, and whereas warm air can carry such humidity cold air cannot, and a freezingly cold surface works like a true vapour to ice pump, causing extremely fast build-ups of ice if surrounding free air is able to get access to the surfaces. Elementary electronics have taught us not to mix water with electronic equipment, and as such you must take utmost care to prevent condensation from forming inside the Microfreezer unit. We do this by sealing every possible entry point where air could get in, thus making it air tight.

First you need to place the rear cover on the back of your mainboard directly below the CPU socket. Use the supplied seal string to make sure the rear of the socket is fully air tight. Next you place the CPU inside the socket and attach the shim-plate provided for added support. Thereafter you attach the clip provided to the CPU socket legs, pretty much like attaching a CPU cooler. The clip comes with 6 eyes to ensure optimum safety and support; however I wish chip-con had a better clip design than this, since removing and putting the clip back on results in it bending in very awkward ways. This happened to me every time I removed the clip from the socket and as such I’m sure most of you would go through this as well. If you don’t plan on removing it that often (Which is most likely the case) then this is not a major problem.

This was what we were told by Chip-con support on removing the clip;

“put the screws in the brass stands and use the screws as levers, presseing them together when you want to bend the Clips to open it. Be sure to hold the Clips against one side of the socket when pulling it over the taps at the other side. It seems the easiest to detach it from the taps in the end where the CPU is closest.”

Finally you place the upper bracket around the CPU socket and seal it well. Take extra care to seal components that are caught under the bracket or else air will get inside the socket and ruin the whole operation. The seal string provided is very flexible and surprisingly not sticky. So you can easily remove it from unwanted places as required. The seal string that’s provided seems to be very much similar to a water sealant I have used on various domestic works. Do not use any other product that you may find on the market without first making sure it’s able to sustain the extreme cool temperatures the Prometeia system attains.

Once the installation is complete it should look something as follows;

Viola!!! You’re now ready for some brand spanking action:. Well not quite yet, but almost there.

The Enlight case has a removable motherboard tray, so secure your mainboard onto the tray. Personally I’m not very impressed with the casing provided, but as Chip-con says, the only reason for going for such a casing was to keep the costs down. So if you already have a fancy case that matches the dimensions of the cooling unit, I would suggest you go with that. Once the mainboard is attached to the case, it’s just a matter of attaching the Micro Freezer and the other required cables and then you’re done. The manual provided does a very good job in detailing out everything you need to know.

The digital chip controller located at the front bottom of the case is an indicator to show the temperature of the Micro Freezer unit. You can also program the unit to settings you want the system to work in, but it’s not recommended by Chip-con and they explicitly mention that they do not take any responsibility for the consequences resulting from these changes. The chip controller has been programmed to work at its optimum level by default when sent out by Chip-con, so unless you really know what you’re doing, don’t mess around with it.

Once the PC was fully loaded, it was time to turn on this super cooled beast. And I really do mean it when I say “super cooled beast”. The link below is a small video clip I made just to show you guys what kind of temperatures we’re dealing with. I don’t know whether you’ll notice but listen carefully when the temperature changes from -32c to -33c. This is when the system has attained its normal cooling temperature and the fan speed slows down. The Reset button and the Power button are both connected to the Chip-Controller. The system does not boot until the temperature in the Micro Freezer has reached -33c. The Chip Controller keeps sending a reset signal to the mainboard until this temperature is achieved and once it’s so, the reset signal is released.

Even though the clip doesn’t show it, the system was running at -50c at default. (Please note this is the temperature at very low or no load, and that it obviously might differ a bit from system to system)

Raising the issue of noise levels, as the system is turned on it’s quite loud since all fans are turning at full speed to attain the desired temperature. However once it reaches the operating temperature it’s hardly noticeable. In fact I could hardly here it working on top of the case fans and PSU fan. This will be heaven for someone who has been using Deltas which just seem to blast its way through the case. You simply cannot be annoyed by the noise since it’s not repulsive at all. When was the last time you were repulsed by the sound of an air conditioner?

Now that you have seen what the Prometeia system is capable of, it’s time to put this system to the test.