Verdict: One of the most effective water-cooling kits.

We've seen a few XSPC water-cooling kits before, but this is the first time the UK-based company has sent us a high-end custom kit to evaluate. As with all the custom kits, XSPC doesn't supply a single unified manual, but to save you tracking down all the components individually, it has arranged a custom web link, where you can order the entire kit, including all the accessories and fittings.

CPU cooling duties are handled by a very weighty X20 Delta V2 waterblock. This has a spacious copper interior, in which coolant flows between more than 1,000 copper pins studded into the base.

Rather than being directly mounted on the motherboard, the Delta V2 is held down by a large brass plate. This plate is secured by four bolts, which have to be screwed through the motherboard. This is a rather complex procedure that's only possible when the motherboard is placed horizontally on a flat surface. Still, the block's input and output holes are very widely spaced, making it easy to mount the barbs and secure the tubing.

An X20 Delta Chipset waterblock with the same complex mounting mechanism as the X20 Delta V2 CPU waterblock cooled the Northbridge of our test PC. The interior is also studded with copper pins, although they're much larger than those of the X20 Delta V2 to avoid impeding coolant flow too much. Again, there's plenty of space between the barbs, thereby avoiding the main problem of most Northbridge waterblocks, in which the barbs are so close together that it's hard to secure the tubing.

The Razor 8800GT/GTS (G92) graphics card waterblock is a seriously heavy lump of copper with two inputs and outputs, so it will be very easy to configure in SLI. Like a lot of GeForce 8800 GT waterblocks, it's also compatible with 512MB GeForce 8800 GTS cards. The top is made from transparent plastic (in this case, coloured UV-reactive blue), and to add to the effect, XSPC has drilled two small holes in the lower edge of the top for inserting LEDs. Despite its weight, the Razor 8800GT/GTS (G92) is very easy to mount - you simply screw it through the PCB.

The transparent plastic reservoir and Laing DDC pump are boxed as separate items, so they need to be connected before attaching the barbs and tubing. The first stage is to unscrew the original top from the pump, which can be safely discarded. The base of the pump should then be screwed into the base of the reservoir. This is simply a matter of of loosening and tightening four screws, but it seems a little ridiculous that XSPC doesn't supply the pump/reservoir already assembled.

Like all variants of the Laing DDC, the XSPC version is powered by a single Molex connector. The reservoir is compact and most cases will easily accommodate it. It's also very easy to fill and bleed.

The radiator supplied with the kit is the RS360, on which we mounted three 120mm Xinruilian fans. However, as with all high-end radiators, you could mount another three fans to act in a push/pull configuration. Unfortunately, no fixtures or fittings were included to secure the radiator inside the case. Still, as it's a lot thinner than the monstrous ThermoChill PA120.3 radiator supplied with the D-TEK and EK custom kits, it will be much easier to fit inside smaller cases.

XSPC supplied a generous 3m of 1/2in ID tubing with the kit along with 2l of Feser One. We only needed to use around 750ml of this pre-mixed coolant, which combines the properties of a corrosion inhibitor with ethylene glycol to enhance thermal conductivity.

With the three fans spinning at 12V, the XSPC custom kit proved to be quiet and brilliantly effective at cooling our test PC. The most notable temperature reading was from the CPU, which ran 15ûC cooler than it did with the Tuniq Tower 120 fitted. This is an incredible achievement, given how much we overclocked and overvolted the CPU, and it was several degrees cooler than most of the other kits.

The Razor 8800GT/GTS (G92) graphics card waterblock also proved to be very effective, as the GPU ran 42ûC cooler than it did with the reference Nvidia HSF.

Like all the custom kits, the XSPC lacks a single unified manual, and takes several hours to install. However, it's capable of cooling your CPU and graphics card to a level unmatched by most of the other kits. Considering its competitive price, the XSPC should be near the top of your shopping list.

• Media PC components - 22nd August 2008
• PSUs - 14th July 2008
• Multi-GPU graphics - 20th June 2008
• CPU water cooling - 17th June 2008
• Hard disks - 20th March 2008
• Audio hardware - 29th February 2008
• Graphics cards - 24th January 2008

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