ZALMAN LQ-315 Water Cooler

Pros: Blue LED

Cons: -Difficult install brackets - just overly complicated
-Cooling power was worse than stock cooler
-Pump on the radiator was louder than the fan
-Took up a lot of real estate inside the case

Other Thoughts: Returned it for a well-made Cooler Master Tower Air Cooler. I figure, weather I am on water or air I will still have 120MM fan spinning. But one also has a loud water pump churning.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear valued customer,

We sincerely apologize for the issue. Please contact our customer service e-mail support.usa@zalmanusa.com or via toll free number 1-888-925-6266 for further assistance.

Thank you.

Best regards,

Zalman USA Customer Service

Pros: The LQ-315 kept my moderately OC'ed 3770K in the high-30's C at load and right around 30 C at idle. Fits well in a Bitfenix Prodigy in various orientations. The block for the CPU is not the most intuitive thing to install, but after 35 minutes of second-guessing myself, I had it installed.

Cons: Mine was defective. The water pump sounded like a deep-fryer was running inside my case. Although the noise was nearly unbearable, it still kept my CPU cool.

Instructions are best described as slightly-more usable than unusable.

Other Thoughts: If you are a lucky one that gets a non-defective one, I am certain that this liquid cooling solution will serve you well. I would recommend upgrading to a better fan to achieve better cooling with less noise.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear valued customer,

We sincerely apologize for the issue. Please contact our customer service e-mail support.usa@zalmanusa.com or via toll free number 1-888-925-6266 for further assistance.

Thank you.

Best regards,

Zalman USA Customer Service

Pros: Quiet and efficient...this makes no noise period...much quieter than air cooler.

Cons: None

Other Thoughts: Had concerns based on other reviews that this would be loud BUT it is dead silent and keeps temp low on my I5-3570K...I'm not a gamer so I may not be taxing system. I very pleased with this system...Zalman makes great stuff.

Pros: Easy install, keeps temps low, comes with hardware for a second fan, feels well made and looks darn good.

Cons: Pump and fan are loud

Other Thoughts: This is a great cooler. I just got done pairing it with an i5 3570k and I must say that the install went by far less painfully than other closed loop coolers. Idle temps are below 30C most of the time with high activity never topping 40C. To me this is excellent performance, but it comes with a cost - noise. This unit can get very loud, so plan accordingly.

Pros: Quiet and effective. I have a FX 8350. The stock heatsink is super loud (tiny fan blowing fast). This thing runs quieter than my case fans.

Results
I used Win7 with no apps, then AMD Overdrives Benchmark (in Celsius):
Stock: 15, 44
Liquid: 10, 34

Cons: None so far. Just got it recently.

Pros: This worked extremely well on my AMD 965. Temperatures under load never spiked over 35C, and it kept my system extremely stable.

Cons: I recently switched to the Intel i5 using the ASUS Sabertooth Z77 board, and the backplate provided with this kit does not line up to the mounting holes on the motherboard. Looking at the backplate, there are no "1155" slots as this claims to have. I was abel to jimmy rig the plate using the 1156 connectors, but the backplate was flexing a little. Because of the flex, the cooling block - when bolted down - did not apply the right amount of force to hold the CPU into place; thus causing the system to not boot.

I'll be switching to the H80i as I need water cooling in my machine... Sucks I can't reuse this beast.

Oh, and the radiator is rather bulking in a midtower case. I have the Antec Nine Hundred case and the side panel flexes when putting it back on. l'd say this radiator is about .25" too wide...

Pros: It works, temps below 40 at idle.

Cons: The pump itself is annoyingly loud. I powered it up prior to installation and it sounded like bacon frying, loudly. After installation it sounds a lot like the impeller in a fish tank filter that has a pebble stuck in it. I don't think I can take the sound and will have to remove it. I assume mine is not performing as it should be. I have used a lot of Zalman products over the years and this is an anomaly.

Other Thoughts: Installation was easy enough and it looks nice.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear valued customer,

We sincerely apologize for the issue. Please contact our customer service e-mail support.usa@zalmanusa.com or via toll free number 1-888-925-6266 for further assistance.

Thank you.

Best regards,

Zalman USA Customer Service

Pros: Product is extremely quiet and effective. I lived with the horrible dying water cooling solution that came with my computer for so long I almost forgot that a computer could run this quiet. Not to mention, it has dropped the temp of my CPU nearly 20 degrees (celcius) both idle and under load.

Cons: It's always a pain remove the motherboard to replace a dying CPU cooling system, but it is an expected con to the project.

Pros: have this hooked up to a AMD FX-8350 over clocked to 4.6 stable. Normal Operating temp 33C Load 41-42.5C.

Cons: as said in other posts, the plastic does kinda add a bit of cheapness to the machine lol.

Other Thoughts: would of been nice if they preplaced the plastic with solid metal pieces.

Pros: Large radiator cools well

Cons: Only comes with one fan. Radiator is thick, though you can kind of tell that from the photo.

Other Thoughts: Replaced an Antec 620 with this and it reduced temps by about 12C. Pump runs quiet, it does make noise but I can only hear if I press my ear against it. I'm not using the stock fan on this, I replaced it with two Cooler Master R4-BMBS-20PK-R0 but I am using the stock fan on the 620 in a different case and it's quiet. Would recommend this over the H80 as it's a little less expensive and cools better according to the reviews I've read.