A Closer Look At The Domino
Inside the clam shell you will find everything you need to get this unit up and running on your current computer system. In the picture below you will see tha the bundle includes two Intel motherboard back plates for socket LGA775 and LGA1366 processor as well as a top mounting bracket for AMD socket AM2 systems.
Also included are optional mounting screws for mounting the fan, four stand-offs for AMD mounting bracket and an extra pair of rubber vibration isolators and clips for the stand-offs. Last, but not least is the users manual that covers installation of the CoolIT Systems Domino A.L.C. if needed.
Taking a closer look at the Domino A.L.C. a couple things stood out to me right off the bat. For starters it has a decent sized high contrast backlit LCD that looks really nice and the screwless mounting design left me a little confused. Did CoolIT Systems really expect the Domino A.L.C. really to hang off the back of the case with just some rubber mounts? I took the Domino A.L.C. to the postal scale in my office and found that it weighed in at 2 pounds 4 ounces, which is lighter than I thought it felt. I guess we'll find out how the cooler does when installed in a case without any real screws holding it to the back!
The 120mm fan that CoolIT uses on the Domino A.L.C. is a long life, low noise model that is 25mm thick. It has a minimal noise level of 19.2 dBA. The entire Domino A.L.C. system connects to the motherboard using a single 3-pin motherboard fan connector. This fan operates between 1100 RPM and 2900 RPM and is virtually silent below 2000 RPM. The pump seems to stay right around 3100 RPM.
From this angle you can get a better look at the CFF1 (Compact Form Factor Version 1) long life ceramic bearing water pump. This pump puts out at most 21 dBA and was promised to be better than pumps used in older CoolIT Systems like the Eliminator as a few too many of our readers had pumps fail during continuous use. One of our forum members thread on the CoolIT Eliminator has over 18,500 reads on it, so obviously the problem was associated with more than one isolated unit. Geoff Lyon promised me that the pump issues are a thing of the past and since he shook my hand I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt on this one. For those curious what coolant the pump is running, I found out that it is running a proprietary coolant (25% propylene glycol mixture with anticorrosion/antifungal additives).
The radiator being used on the CoolIT Domino A.L.C. is a one off design that was built just for this cooler. This 147mm x 133mm x 25mm aluminum radiator should offer great performance. CoolIT Systems informed us that they have gone through some shock and vibe testing with the assembly screwed into a case hitting 40G¡¯s and passed without any leaks. This means that if your FedEx driver thinks he is Adam Vinatieri and tries to make a game winning field goal with your package you should still be safe sans some bent fins if he shanks it.
The last and most often overlooked part when it comes to any review is the surface of the cooler. After removing the pre-applied thermal compound a very nicely finished surface appeared before my eyes. Using a spring from the mounting kit to sit atop the surface you can see just how perfect the reflection is.
