It was two years ago that Dell announced the release of the XPS 710 H2C, and with it a water-cooling mechanism designed specifically for the XPS itself. Designing a cooling solution for a specific chassis and component set has added advantages over the generic cooling sets you can get from your local electronics boutique, as it can be optimized for specific hardware to further increase performance. Since then liquid cooling was something Dell owners could only get on the largest of the Dell XPS machines, the XPS 700 series.
That’s now changing.
Dell customers now have the option of getting an Asetek liquid cooling solution with the XPS 625 & XPS 630 straight from the factory, bringing the benefits of liquid cooling to the smaller form factor machines in the XPS lineup. Though the cooler itself isn’t designed specifically for the XPS, the Asetek cooling hardware is tried and true, and has quickly become an industry standard. What’s in it for me, you may be asking?
First of all, I’ve got an XPS 730x sitting right next to me, and when I turn the beast on, it literally sounds like a jet engine spinning up. Some people enjoy the feeling of power they get when their computers sound like they’re about to liftoff when they hit the button, but for others, noise is a definite concern. Liquid cooled systems are very quiet. Except for the low hum of the power supply and the occasional click-whir from the hard drives, the only reason you’d know your computer is on is because you’re using it.
For the second reason I once again turn to the noble XPS 730x sitting next to me to demonstrate. I can overclock this system a good 10% or so using the air-cooled solution provided, but if it were an H2C model, I could easily triple that and still have a stable system. Liquid cooling keeps the temperature on those chips down so that instead of grinding to a halt, those 1’s and 0’s keep whizzing by. You can crank up the heat and bleed every last drop of performance from your system’s components.
Want another reason to make the switch to liquid cooling? It is far more efficient than cooling by air, and since heat is the primary factor in lowering electronic component lifespan, a liquid cooling solution can help reduce the daily wear and tear on computer components. That’s right: water cooling can actually help your gaming rig live longer.
If you really want to turn up the heat, liquid cooling is a must. At only $120 it’s a fairly inexpensive way to get the most performance possible out of the XPS 630 and 625.
A final note for all you overclocking nuts out there: the XPS 625 comes with an AMD Athlon X2 Black Edition processor, meaning you can try to push the limits as far as they’ll go. While you’re at it, feel free to bundle EVE Online with your new XPS. With the available horsepower in these beauties, you’re out of excuses.