After careful consideration I have decided to transfer all hardware review activities to a new domain. I purchased Hardwareasylum.com in 2012 and have been working hard to build a new and improved Ninjalane on that domain. If you are reading this you have reached one of the archived articles, news, projects and/or reviews that were left behind during the site migration.
Please update your bookmarks and be sure to visit the new and improved Ninjalane at Hardwareasylum.com
Corsair Ice T30 Dominator Memory Cooler Review
Author: Dennis Garcia
Published: Saturday, September 12, 2009
Conclusion
The Corsair Ice T30 Dominator Memory cooler is a very unique product. We first saw a prototype on display during CES and based on the archival photos it hasn't changed much.
We all have seen the circus of memory coolers on the market and while most are just elaborated heat spreaders that include things like extended heatsinks, heatpipe coolers, and in one case a full waterblock but none of them can match the innovation found in the T30. The Ice T30 is a sub-ambient cooler that uses a TEC to help super cool your Dominator memory and does so in a very smart and elegant way.
So who can benefit from the Corsair Ice T30?? Well anyone can, as our temperature chart shows the 2000Mhz Dominator memory does get quite warm and that additional heat can affect stability in high performance situations. Using the T30 can keep internal case temperatures down by removing heat without dumping it directly into the case. The sub-ambient temperature can also increase stability.
Hardware enthusiasts will also enjoy the T30 as it affords them a variety of cooling opportunities. The obvious is improved cooling so they can push their systems even further under extreme overclocking conditions. Also given the size of the cold plate you could easily add a more powerful TEC module or even double them up for even more cooling power.
Now for the ever popular list of Good things and Bad things.
We all have seen the circus of memory coolers on the market and while most are just elaborated heat spreaders that include things like extended heatsinks, heatpipe coolers, and in one case a full waterblock but none of them can match the innovation found in the T30. The Ice T30 is a sub-ambient cooler that uses a TEC to help super cool your Dominator memory and does so in a very smart and elegant way.
So who can benefit from the Corsair Ice T30?? Well anyone can, as our temperature chart shows the 2000Mhz Dominator memory does get quite warm and that additional heat can affect stability in high performance situations. Using the T30 can keep internal case temperatures down by removing heat without dumping it directly into the case. The sub-ambient temperature can also increase stability.
Hardware enthusiasts will also enjoy the T30 as it affords them a variety of cooling opportunities. The obvious is improved cooling so they can push their systems even further under extreme overclocking conditions. Also given the size of the cold plate you could easily add a more powerful TEC module or even double them up for even more cooling power.
Now for the ever popular list of Good things and Bad things.
Good Things
Sub-ambient memory cooling
Add memory cooling to your watercooling loop
Reduce internal case temperatures
Perfect accessory for Dominator memory
No condensation when using humidity sensor
Add memory cooling to your watercooling loop
Reduce internal case temperatures
Perfect accessory for Dominator memory
No condensation when using humidity sensor
Bad Things
Requires a lot of power to run
Complex installation
No 1/2" barb option
Complex installation
No 1/2" barb option
Ninjalane Rating
We would like to thank Corsair for making this review possible.