Corsair Nautilus 500 Water Cooling kit Evaluation

Introduction:
Water-cooling has always been considered an enthusiast-only project. Most mainstream users shudder at the thought of water, or any
other liquid, running through their computer. In fact, many people do not even
understand the importance of cooling as a whole. While there are water-cooling
kits and all-in-one packages, these are still primarily for the advanced user.

Enter Corsair, who show up with a simple, yet effective product:
the Nautilus500. It is an all-in-one cooling unit that boasts an install time of about
10 minutes.
Corsair has been kind enough to send a Nautilus500 our way
(insert joke about submarines here).  We will see if it is as simple and effective
as they say.

{mospagebreak title=Packaging/Construction}
Packaging/Construction: 4.8 Score out
of 5
First Impressions:

I have, in the past,
made comments about the way that Corsair packages their RAM. I can say that
after having tested two of their water-cooling systems, they have no shortcomings in packaging here. The large box the Nautilus500 comes in is made of
sturdy cardboard with full color pictures of the unit and major accessories.

The back and sides
are also covered with these images. The back of the box has additional
information as well; a list of included accessories is right above a graph to show the
cooling potential that can be achieved if you are in a temperature controlled
test lab.

Inside the box, the
contents are securely packaged with the main unit swathed in a cocoon of
cardboard protecting it from impact damage. The water block and other
accessories are in their own compartment, and the bottle of cooling fluid is
also secured in a cardboard compartment of its own.

The Nautilus500 includes:
1 Cool Block with 10 feet of Tubing (2x 5ft Lengths)
1 AMD Socket Retention Bracket (754, 939, 940)
1 Intel LGA 775 Retention Bracket
1 Intel Socket 478 Retention Bracket
1 Foam Pad
1 Syringe with Thermal Paste
1 PCI Pass through Bracket with 4-pin power connector
1 Power Extension Cable
2 Quick Connect self sealing connectors
2 Quick grip clamps
1 bottle of Corsair Cool Coolant
1 Operating Manual

Construction:

The Components:
The Nautilus500 is a lightweight yet sturdy box. The unit itself weighs no more
than three pounds, when full and measures eight inches by nine inches. The front has a curved
faceplate with the Nautilus500 logo on the right hand side and a fill window
visible on the left.

Almost directly above the fill window is the fill port. This
can be easily opened with either a screwdriver or a nickel or quarter. Further
back on the top is the opening for the 120mm fan, this pulls air into the unit
and through the radiator which is directly underneath. The Nautilus stands on
four short legs to give room under the unit for air flow. Along the back of the
Nautilus500 are the 4-pin power connector, the fan speed selector switch, and
the intake and outlet ports. The two ports use quick disconnect fittings for
easy setup with minimal leakage.

Flipping the unit over like a turtle (tell me in simple
words, only the good things that come to your mind, about your mother?) you can
see the fins of the aluminum radiator.

From the outside the Nautilus500 looks to be a well built,
solid device.

Internal Components:

All of the major
components are housed inside the Nautilus? black shell.

Although at first it
would appear that the case is snapped together, a quick examination of the
casing reveals that there are screws hidden under the rubber pads on the feet.

After the removal of
the 4 screws keeping the top of the unit on, we can flip the Nautilus500 back
over and lift off the top.

Underneath the top
cover we find loads of chocolate and goodies? Uh wrong story, actually what you
find is a well laid out setup. All wiring and tubing is routed in such a way
that nothing is blocking the air flow from the fan through the radiator.

The reservoir and
pump are neatly tucked away along the left side of the case. On the right we
see the radiator securely glued in place. All of the wiring is also glued to
the back of the housing; this prevents any of it from moving into the fan and
either stopping the fan or hindering airflow. My impression of a well built and
study unit continues with our look under the shell.

{mospagebreak title=Installation}
Installation Score: 4.85 out of 5

On the Nautilus500?s box it says installation is as easy as 1, 2, 3. I would
not go so far as to say it is that easy, however, I will say it is the easiest
water cooling rig I have ever set up. Even a complete novice would be able to
set this up in no time. The only area that I see as an issue is getting the
system filled with coolant. Corsair?s instructions say to just turn the unit on
and allow it to fill. This may be an issue as the reservoir will only fill to a
certain level, and coolant does not get into the tubing and water block easily.
To thoroughly fill the Nautilus500 you will want to un-plug your power supply
from the board, then using an insulated wire, jumper pins 13 and 14 (green and
black wires side by side) this will power up the unit and allow it to fill
properly without the risk of damage to your CPU.

The included instructions from Corsair are very easy to
follow, and with the noted exception above, are very complete. Corsair has also
included mounting brackets that do not require you to remove your mainboard, or
take off the mounting bracket. This is a huge improvement over many third party
cooling systems and over just about every water-cooling system I have ever
worked with.

Even with the filling issue I was able to go from closed box
to a powered on system in about 10 minutes. I would like to see Corsair include
a simple plug to allow the system to be run without danger to the CPU.

{mospagebreak title=Performance}
Performance: 4.8 out of 5

The Test Systems:
AMD Opteron 170
DFI LanParty UT CFX3200-DR
1GB GeIL One DDR600 RAM (2x512MB)
2x 74GB Western Digital Raptors (RAID0)
ATi X1900 Crossfire Edition/ ATi X1900XTX (Crossfire Mode)
SilverStone ST75ZF 750 Watt PSU

AMD AM2 X2 5000+
Foxconn C51XEM2AA
2GB Corsair XMS2 Twin2X2048-6400C4 (2x1GB)
4x74GB Western Digital Raptors (RAID5)
2x Leadtek PX7900GTX TDH 512MB Extreme (SLI)
SilverStone ST75ZF 750 Watt PSU

Tests were run at stock and overclocked to 2.6GHz for the Opteron
170 and 3.0GHz for the AM2 X2 5000+.
Voltage for the overclock on the Opteron 170 was 1.57 for the X2 5000+ Voltage for the overclock was 1.45.

As you can see for a minimum in cost and effort you can have
an extremely efficient water cooling setup.

The only hitch with using the Nautilus500 as it was sent to
us is the need to bend the tabs on the hold-down bracket. Otherwise the installation was a snap. I have heard from Corsair that there will be a new bracket sent with future kits that will support the AM2 socket.

{mospagebreak title=Price/Warranty}
Price/Warranty: 4.7 out of 5
The cost of the Nautilus500 is a very reasonable $154.99.  With the performance
that the Nautilus brings to the table this is an amazing value.

The warranty on the Nautilus500 is a standard one year. More information on Corsairs warranty policies and for RMA information visit Corsair’s website.

{mospagebreak title=Conclusion}

Conclusion:
When it comes to cooling, the average consumer has had but few options. While some
may have gone with a more advanced air cooling system, very few have made the
plunge into water cooling. Now with the ease, low cost and performance of the
Nautilus500, that will surely change. Corsair?s latest entry into the water
cooling market offers something that has never been offered before, an
installation method that does not require any modification to the mainboard.
With the Nautilus you do not need to remove the mounting bracket from the
board, or even remove the board at all. It is simply the easiest water cooling
system to install that you can find. Corsair also has included mounting
brackets for all of the currently used sockets, making this kit easy to use
regardless of your CPU tastes. The performance on the Nautilus is simply
incredible for what you pay. I can say that if you are looking for a good solid
product for your cooling needs the Corsair Nautilus500 should be at the top of
your list.

Pros:
Easy Installation
Excellent Cooling
Quiet Operation
Versatile Right out of the box

Cons:
No Jumper Block for Running the System during Filling

Scores:
Packaging/Construction: 4.8 out of 5
Installation: 4.8 out of 5
Performance: 4.8 out of 5
Price/Warranty: 4.7 out of 5
Final Score: 19.1 out of 20

The Corasir Nautilus500 earns our Best on the Planet award.

Acknowledgments:


I would like to thank Vivian
Lein from Corsair for providing us with the Nautilus500 for this evaluation.

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