Verdict: Yet more proof that sub-£80 water coolers should be avoided.

Unlike the Freezone Elite, the PURE is a straightforward water-cooling kit. It's much more compact than the Freezone Elite, although you'll still need to install it in the 120mm fan mount nearest the PC's motherboard.

The waterblock in particular is very diminutive. It's pre-fitted with a layer of viscous white TIM and mounts easily to the motherboard.

CoolIT includes a small manual that clearly explains how to install the PURE, although there aren't many stages to follow; all you have to do is screw four standoffs through the motherboard, and two 'z'-shaped pieces of wire hold the waterblock onto the CPU. Although you have to remove the motherboard from the case, installing the PURE is a very quick and easy process. The radiator and pump are combined in a single unit, along with a 120mm fan, but there's no consideration for cases with convex fan mounts, so it may not fit in every case. The two tubes between the waterblock and radiator/pump are pre-fitted, sealed and filled with an undisclosed coolant.

Ease of installation is all well and good, but unfortunately, the PURE proved to be completely incapable of keeping our test CPU cool. After just three minutes of stress testing, the CPU temperature rose so quickly that thermtrip kicked in and switched off the entire system. This is an appalling result, although given the tiny size of the individual components, it's hardly surprising that they can't dissipate nearly 250W of CPU heat effectively.

Considering that a high-end HSF such as the £33 Tuniq Tower 120 can cool this quad-core CPU when it's overvolted and overclocked to 4GHz, there's absolutely no reason to consider buying a CoolIT PURE, as it costs nearly £70.

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