A warm welcome to everyone to the official Antec Kühler H2O club!
I would firstly like to thank grassh0ppa for initially opening this thread, and handing down the responsibility to me in January 2013.
If you have either the 620, 920, or thinking of buying one of the Antec's, then you've found yourself in the right place!
At OCN we plan to help out and input as much as we can.
If there is a question that's troubling you, please don't hesitate to ask - there is no question too dumb (don't let anyone tell you otherwise), and there is also no "constraints" in posting helpful or intriguying things.
I would however like to ask for a two simple things:
-No disrespecting of other members
-Please try and stay as ON topic as you can
Introduction:
The Antec Kühler series is known to be a good liquid cooler, that provides good temperatures to its users. Asetek is the company behind the components of the Antecs, and thus provides users with a reliable and well built cooler.
Antec has two liquid solutions:
-The Antec Kühler H2O 620
-The Antec Kühler H2O 920
Both come at a reasonable price and one that is competitive to the Corsair counterparts.
Here's a demonstrating from Asetek on how their coolers work:
Video (Click to show)
Finally, here's an insight of the internal components of the Antec 920
Installation Guides:
My written guide (this guide applies to both 920 and 620, however I own the 920 myself)
Update: My brand new video guide:
Here's another video guide, however for the 620 (same principle applies): Video (Click to show)
-SinatraFan's AMD installation guide
Video Section:
Antec 620 section
Official Videos
Overview of the 620 (Click to show) Unofficial Videos
Video Overview (Click to show) How a working pump should sound (Click to show)
Antec 920 section
Official Videos
Overview of the 920 (Click to show) Unofficial Videos
A fan comparison by myself (Click to show) My unboxing Video (Click to show) Video Overview (Click to show)
Review Section:
Antec 620:
Benchmark Reviews
Legit Reviews
Hardware Secrets
[H]ard|OCP
KitGuru
Overclockers Club
Tweak News
Other:
M3TAl's fan comparison with the stock Antec 620 fan
Antec 920:
Legit Reviews
Tweak News
Benchmark Reviews
Kit Guru
Hardware Secrets
XSreviews
Troubleshooting of the Antec systems:
The most common problem people face is the pump noise being very loud - almost like a motor sounding stuck/dry.
The way to naturally fix this is to allow the pump to run for around 5-10 minutes. Do monitor your CPU temps, just in case there's no cooling occurring. The reason behind this, is due to the fact that there are air bubbles stuck in the pump. Just like a watercooling system, where it needs to run for a little while in order to become fully efficient, the liquid coolers are no different.
There are a few people however that still despite leaving it on for a little while have reported problems. A possible fix for this is to shake, move the pump around.
Here's a video from Asetek showing us that:
Video (Click to show)
If you still face problems with your unit, please don't hesitate to contact Antec or your reseller.
Here's some questions and answers to the Antec units, by Asetek:
Note: All these questions and answers were taken from this thread.
Official Answers by Asetek (Click to show)
Useful info from Antec, directly - regarding some questions I had: Stefan @ Antec answers' will be in BOLD:
Click to view (Click to show)
The modification section:
Any sort of mods, relating to the Antec units, will go in here
-Plywood99's mod
-DirtyTrickster's dismantled Antec 620
-Evil Genius Jr's guide to changing the tubes
-DjBodya's Antec 1200 Case Mod - to fit the Antec 920
-[CyGnus]'s white tube mod
-Lapping the Antec plate does NOT void its warranty - Official confirmation by Antec (thanks to M3TAl for pointing this out)
Adding this thread in your signature:
Here's the signature code: Code (Click to show)
Here's how it will look like:
Antec Kühler H2O 620/920 Club
Please feel free to share pictures of your rig, with your Antec installed - or any other cool things you would like to show!
Here's the sign up form!
Here's the Spreadsheet!
It will automatically update after awhile and you should see your name come up in here after adding it via the sing-up form
ALL ENTRIES start from the 7th of February 2013 - all other older entries haven't been put in.
Old dated Spreadsheet (Click to show)
Edited by Totally Dubbed - 5/15/13 at 2:21pm
I would firstly like to thank grassh0ppa for initially opening this thread, and handing down the responsibility to me in January 2013.
If you have either the 620, 920, or thinking of buying one of the Antec's, then you've found yourself in the right place!
At OCN we plan to help out and input as much as we can.
If there is a question that's troubling you, please don't hesitate to ask - there is no question too dumb (don't let anyone tell you otherwise), and there is also no "constraints" in posting helpful or intriguying things.
I would however like to ask for a two simple things:
-No disrespecting of other members
-Please try and stay as ON topic as you can
Introduction:
The Antec Kühler series is known to be a good liquid cooler, that provides good temperatures to its users. Asetek is the company behind the components of the Antecs, and thus provides users with a reliable and well built cooler.
Antec has two liquid solutions:
-The Antec Kühler H2O 620
-The Antec Kühler H2O 920
Both come at a reasonable price and one that is competitive to the Corsair counterparts.
Here's a demonstrating from Asetek on how their coolers work:
Video (Click to show)
Finally, here's an insight of the internal components of the Antec 920
Installation Guides:
My written guide (this guide applies to both 920 and 620, however I own the 920 myself)
Update: My brand new video guide:
Here's another video guide, however for the 620 (same principle applies): Video (Click to show)
-SinatraFan's AMD installation guide
Video Section:
Antec 620 section
Official Videos
Overview of the 620 (Click to show) Unofficial Videos
Video Overview (Click to show) How a working pump should sound (Click to show)
Antec 920 section
Official Videos
Overview of the 920 (Click to show) Unofficial Videos
A fan comparison by myself (Click to show) My unboxing Video (Click to show) Video Overview (Click to show)
Review Section:
Antec 620:
Benchmark Reviews
Legit Reviews
Hardware Secrets
[H]ard|OCP
KitGuru
Overclockers Club
Tweak News
Other:
M3TAl's fan comparison with the stock Antec 620 fan
Antec 920:
Legit Reviews
Tweak News
Benchmark Reviews
Kit Guru
Hardware Secrets
XSreviews
Troubleshooting of the Antec systems:
The most common problem people face is the pump noise being very loud - almost like a motor sounding stuck/dry.
The way to naturally fix this is to allow the pump to run for around 5-10 minutes. Do monitor your CPU temps, just in case there's no cooling occurring. The reason behind this, is due to the fact that there are air bubbles stuck in the pump. Just like a watercooling system, where it needs to run for a little while in order to become fully efficient, the liquid coolers are no different.
There are a few people however that still despite leaving it on for a little while have reported problems. A possible fix for this is to shake, move the pump around.
Here's a video from Asetek showing us that:
Video (Click to show)
If you still face problems with your unit, please don't hesitate to contact Antec or your reseller.
Here's some questions and answers to the Antec units, by Asetek:
Note: All these questions and answers were taken from this thread.
Official Answers by Asetek (Click to show)
How do the Antec units differ from the Corsair units?
Is the mounting hardware identical to the hardware used in the H50 and H70? Could I remove my H50, put the Kuhler in it's place, and simply tighten the screws?
In the description for installing the Kuhler, I noted that it said the fan should draw air in from the case and exhaust it out the back...this is different then the H50 and the H70, which had you get air from outside the case, and push it into the case. For me, I need to know, as my case (an ATCS 840) is fairly well setup for the pull air from the outside of the case and exhaust it from with the case style of fan orientation.
Is the inner diameter of the tubing greater then that of the H50 and/or H70?
It's mentioned that the fan RPM is controlled by the liquid temperature inside the pump...is there a way to connect that to the motherboard, or other monitoring accessory? That's information I'm sure people would like to know.
What are the amperage limits of the built in fan controller?
What thermal paste has been pre-applied to the 620 and 920 units?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Asetek_Stu;12783500
Same rad, but other improvements make this an upgrade over previous generation Asetek products. Our tweaks to both the cold plate and the tubes have yielded us better performance at a lower cost which is what engineering is all about.
Same rad, but other improvements make this an upgrade over previous generation Asetek products. Our tweaks to both the cold plate and the tubes have yielded us better performance at a lower cost which is what engineering is all about.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Asetek_Stu;12513905
Btw this differs from the H50 on several major points.
- Asetek's Generation 3 coldplate
- more flexible tubing
- low profile pump compared with H50s high profile pump. Its more compact and quieter.
Btw this differs from the H50 on several major points.
- Asetek's Generation 3 coldplate
- more flexible tubing
- low profile pump compared with H50s high profile pump. Its more compact and quieter.
Is the mounting hardware identical to the hardware used in the H50 and H70? Could I remove my H50, put the Kuhler in it's place, and simply tighten the screws?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Asetek_Stu;12514448
The mounting hardware is indeed identical on this product and you will be able to do exactly as you described.
The mounting hardware is indeed identical on this product and you will be able to do exactly as you described.
In the description for installing the Kuhler, I noted that it said the fan should draw air in from the case and exhaust it out the back...this is different then the H50 and the H70, which had you get air from outside the case, and push it into the case. For me, I need to know, as my case (an ATCS 840) is fairly well setup for the pull air from the outside of the case and exhaust it from with the case style of fan orientation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Asetek_Stu;12514448
So Airflow is actually something I am going to write about on our blog. The fact is that the cooler the air is entering the rad, the better the cooler will perform. It is of course personal preference on how you setup up your chassis. Ultimately, you can mount it anyway you want, but the liquid cooler will perform better when cooler air is moving through the hex.
So Airflow is actually something I am going to write about on our blog. The fact is that the cooler the air is entering the rad, the better the cooler will perform. It is of course personal preference on how you setup up your chassis. Ultimately, you can mount it anyway you want, but the liquid cooler will perform better when cooler air is moving through the hex.
Is the inner diameter of the tubing greater then that of the H50 and/or H70?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Asetek_Stu;12514448
The ID of the tubing is, in fact, smaller. However, the flow rate is equivalent. The corrugation of the old tubes creates miniature back currents in the tube vs. the new tube has a smooth inner path. Thus, despite a slightly smaller ID, the flow rate remains the same The tricky thing about flow rates is that higher isn't always better. It lives on a logarithmic curve. Too fast and the liquid spends too little time on the coldplate and the hex, too slow and the liquid spends too much time in those areas. Thus, there is an ideal range that we have observed and optimized our systems for. We heard the cries that the old tubes were a pain in the ass and this was our answer =)
The ID of the tubing is, in fact, smaller. However, the flow rate is equivalent. The corrugation of the old tubes creates miniature back currents in the tube vs. the new tube has a smooth inner path. Thus, despite a slightly smaller ID, the flow rate remains the same The tricky thing about flow rates is that higher isn't always better. It lives on a logarithmic curve. Too fast and the liquid spends too little time on the coldplate and the hex, too slow and the liquid spends too much time in those areas. Thus, there is an ideal range that we have observed and optimized our systems for. We heard the cries that the old tubes were a pain in the ass and this was our answer =)
It's mentioned that the fan RPM is controlled by the liquid temperature inside the pump...is there a way to connect that to the motherboard, or other monitoring accessory? That's information I'm sure people would like to know.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Asetek_Stu;12514448
The fan is only controlled by the liquid temp when the fan is plugged into the provided fan header that comes from the pump. Feel free to plug your fans into the motherboard, another fan control system, or anything else.
The fan is only controlled by the liquid temp when the fan is plugged into the provided fan header that comes from the pump. Feel free to plug your fans into the motherboard, another fan control system, or anything else.
What are the amperage limits of the built in fan controller?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Asetek_Stu;12510450
The official word from engineering:
The official word from engineering:
Quote:
From plugging in as many fans as I could I got a max draw of about 400mAThe maximum fan current is 800 mA, the limit is determine by the switch transistor internal on the PCB.
But the overall current consumption, the Motherboard spec has to been taken in to account.
But the overall current consumption, the Motherboard spec has to been taken in to account.
What thermal paste has been pre-applied to the 620 and 920 units?
Quote:
ShinEtsu X23-7868-2D
Useful info from Antec, directly - regarding some questions I had: Stefan @ Antec answers' will be in BOLD:
Click to view (Click to show)
Closed loop, maintenance free water cooling kits like the Antec/Corsair/Thermaltake/Zalman
etc. ones have their limitations. The temps you can achieve with these depend
highly on how you configure the fans on the radiator as well as the case
temperature that additionally will heat up the radiator and cause higher temps
in the long run.
Let me try to answer your questions:
1. Why is the backplate provided a plastic one? As it seems hardly stable enough
to hold the bolts in place (in fact mine have started rounding the backplate,
after a few mounts) - which also leads me unto another question regarding the
backplate: Do I need to use the adhesive strips to fasten it in-place? As now I
have no adhesive strips (as I had to remove it).
Metal would certainly be nicer for durability, but most people do not unmount
their cooler several times within a build. Overtightening the screws can lead to
what you experienced. Judging by the numbers of coolers sold and people
complaining about this problem only a very small number of customers seem to
experience these issues. If you need a new backplate and adhesive strips, we can
send you some. Just forward me your invoice to sgeler@antec.com together with
your shipping address.
2. I couldn't make use of the metal washers provided, simply because when I
added them, they wouldn't fit the rad/motherboard properly. Where are they
supposed to be fitted?
The metal washers are to be used with the radiator only. Some enclosures have
special mounting holes for fans, and the screws would simply slide through.
3. Why are the instructions, provided in the Antec 920 out-dated by a year? As
you can see I created an instruction guide, simply because the one provided was
out-dated and was no longer applicable to the installation (mainly the plastic
ring and the twisting motion)
Some boxes had older manuals included while including newer parts already. This
was a mistake, and customers asking about it received the newer manual along
with an extra sheet that includes info on the plastic ring.
4. Why did I find a scratch on my Antec 920 copper plate, after removing the
stock paste?
Honestly, no clue. All coolers I have handled so far had a blemish free base.
5. Could you also let me know what paste is actually used for the Antec cooling
systems? As you will be able to see from that thread, the Antec paste seemed to
have had completely evaporated.
http://www.overclock.net/t/1350571/antec-k-hler-h2o-920-stock-paste-removal-and-replacement-an-interesting-discovery
I have no specific details on the paste at the moment, but asked the engineers
for details. The evaporation is weird though. I haven't experienced this first
hand, and I have mounted quite a few already. I will ask and get back to you
about this asap.
Me asking about temperatures:
"Let's talk about the temps first. Seeing a max temperature of 70°C at 100% load
is not unusual on an i7 3770K with these compact liquid coolers. Did you use the
stock fans while testing this, or the Corsair ones from your installation guide?
A method to reach better temps is to switch around the fans directions so cool
air is sucked into the radiator from the back into the case. Your top mounted
fans will handle the exhaust function just fine, and the positive side effect is
that the cooling performance will become better. Please give it a shot when you
have the chance."
etc. ones have their limitations. The temps you can achieve with these depend
highly on how you configure the fans on the radiator as well as the case
temperature that additionally will heat up the radiator and cause higher temps
in the long run.
Let me try to answer your questions:
1. Why is the backplate provided a plastic one? As it seems hardly stable enough
to hold the bolts in place (in fact mine have started rounding the backplate,
after a few mounts) - which also leads me unto another question regarding the
backplate: Do I need to use the adhesive strips to fasten it in-place? As now I
have no adhesive strips (as I had to remove it).
Metal would certainly be nicer for durability, but most people do not unmount
their cooler several times within a build. Overtightening the screws can lead to
what you experienced. Judging by the numbers of coolers sold and people
complaining about this problem only a very small number of customers seem to
experience these issues. If you need a new backplate and adhesive strips, we can
send you some. Just forward me your invoice to sgeler@antec.com together with
your shipping address.
2. I couldn't make use of the metal washers provided, simply because when I
added them, they wouldn't fit the rad/motherboard properly. Where are they
supposed to be fitted?
The metal washers are to be used with the radiator only. Some enclosures have
special mounting holes for fans, and the screws would simply slide through.
3. Why are the instructions, provided in the Antec 920 out-dated by a year? As
you can see I created an instruction guide, simply because the one provided was
out-dated and was no longer applicable to the installation (mainly the plastic
ring and the twisting motion)
Some boxes had older manuals included while including newer parts already. This
was a mistake, and customers asking about it received the newer manual along
with an extra sheet that includes info on the plastic ring.
4. Why did I find a scratch on my Antec 920 copper plate, after removing the
stock paste?
Honestly, no clue. All coolers I have handled so far had a blemish free base.
5. Could you also let me know what paste is actually used for the Antec cooling
systems? As you will be able to see from that thread, the Antec paste seemed to
have had completely evaporated.
http://www.overclock.net/t/1350571/antec-k-hler-h2o-920-stock-paste-removal-and-replacement-an-interesting-discovery
I have no specific details on the paste at the moment, but asked the engineers
for details. The evaporation is weird though. I haven't experienced this first
hand, and I have mounted quite a few already. I will ask and get back to you
about this asap.
Me asking about temperatures:
"Let's talk about the temps first. Seeing a max temperature of 70°C at 100% load
is not unusual on an i7 3770K with these compact liquid coolers. Did you use the
stock fans while testing this, or the Corsair ones from your installation guide?
A method to reach better temps is to switch around the fans directions so cool
air is sucked into the radiator from the back into the case. Your top mounted
fans will handle the exhaust function just fine, and the positive side effect is
that the cooling performance will become better. Please give it a shot when you
have the chance."
The modification section:
Any sort of mods, relating to the Antec units, will go in here
-Plywood99's mod
-DirtyTrickster's dismantled Antec 620
-Evil Genius Jr's guide to changing the tubes
-DjBodya's Antec 1200 Case Mod - to fit the Antec 920
-[CyGnus]'s white tube mod
-Lapping the Antec plate does NOT void its warranty - Official confirmation by Antec (thanks to M3TAl for pointing this out)
Adding this thread in your signature:
Here's the signature code: Code (Click to show)
Code:
:Snorkle:[B][COLOR="Blue"][URL="http://www.overclock.net/t/990111/official-antec-k-hler-h2o-620-920-owners-club"]Antec Kühler H2O 620/920 Club[/URL][/COLOR][/B]:Snorkle:
Here's how it will look like:
Antec Kühler H2O 620/920 ClubPlease feel free to share pictures of your rig, with your Antec installed - or any other cool things you would like to show!
Here's the sign up form!
Here's the Spreadsheet!
It will automatically update after awhile and you should see your name come up in here after adding it via the sing-up form
ALL ENTRIES start from the 7th of February 2013 - all other older entries haven't been put in.
Old dated Spreadsheet (Click to show)
Edited by Totally Dubbed - 5/15/13 at 2:21pm
My Silent Beauty
(22 items) |
Byte Sized
(15 items) |
| CPU | Motherboard | RAM | Hard Drive |
|---|---|---|---|
| I3-3225 | Gigabyte Z77M-D3H | Corsair Vengeance 9-9-9-24 | Western Digital Black Caviar |
| Optical Drive | Cooling | OS | Monitor |
| LG GH24NS90.AUAA50B | Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 | Windows 7 Professional | LG IPS234V |
| Keyboard | Power | Case | Mouse |
| Logitech K350 Wave | Corsair Builder Series CX 430W V2 | Fractal Design Core 1000 Series Micro ATX Case | Logitech MX Revolution |
| Audio | Audio | Other | |
| Asus Xonar D1 Soundcard | Logitech X-540 Sound System | Logitech C270 HD Webcam | |
| View all | |||
|
My Silent Beauty
(22 items) |
Byte Sized
(15 items) |
| CPU | Motherboard | RAM | Hard Drive |
|---|---|---|---|
| I3-3225 | Gigabyte Z77M-D3H | Corsair Vengeance 9-9-9-24 | Western Digital Black Caviar |
| Optical Drive | Cooling | OS | Monitor |
| LG GH24NS90.AUAA50B | Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 | Windows 7 Professional | LG IPS234V |
| Keyboard | Power | Case | Mouse |
| Logitech K350 Wave | Corsair Builder Series CX 430W V2 | Fractal Design Core 1000 Series Micro ATX Case | Logitech MX Revolution |
| Audio | Audio | Other | |
| Asus Xonar D1 Soundcard | Logitech X-540 Sound System | Logitech C270 HD Webcam | |
| View all | |||
