Colorful was the first graphics card maker to announce a factory-overclocked GeForce GTX TITAN, only it held back with adding its own customization because manufacturers are not permitted to modify reference-design GTX TITAN, with the exception of pre-installing full-coverage water-blocks, such as in the case of EVGA GTX TITAN HydroCopper. Colorful followed this path, by innovating a full-coverage block of its own.

Pictured below are two iterations of Colorful's card, one with a see-through acrylic top, and another with a classy POM-acetal top. The underlying block appears to use nickel-plated copper, and features a dense micro-channel stack over the GPU area, where the highest heat is generated and needs to be dissipated. The coolant channel appears to flow through the entire VRM area; the block actively cools all memory chips on the obverse side of the PCB. Colorful is running opinion polls on Chinese social-media on which block better suits the PCB, which ultimately is an NVIDIA-reference design one. Colorful plans to deploy factory-overclocked speeds of 954 MHz core, 1006 MHz GPU Boost, while leaving the memory untouched at 6.00 GHz.

Koolance rolled out its full-coverage water block for NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan graphics card, the VID-NXTTN. Made of nickel-plated copper (main block), nickel-plated brass (ports), and POM-acetal (top), the block features a micro-fin lattice to dissipate heat from the GPU to the coolant. The main block covers hot components on the obverse side of the PCB, including the GPU, memory chips, and VRM; while a back-plate is included to cover memory chips on the reverse side. Standard G 1/4 BSPP threading is provided. Measuring 17.15 x 11.43 x 1.91 cm (WxDxH), the block weighs about 1.02 kg. Available on Koolance' online store, it is priced at $129.99 a piece.

The performance lead that MSI's Radeon HD 7970 Lightning maintained over reference HD 7970 was cut down, first by NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 680, and then by AMD's own Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition, leaving its engineers to go back to the drawing boards, and design an even faster graphics card. The result: a liquid-cooled HD 7970 GHz Edition Lightning graphics card, which could push clock-speeds up even further. The card ships with a pre-installed full-coverage water-block, made by EK WaterBlocks (EKWB). It comes ready for 6-display Eyefinity, with four mini-DisplayPort and two DVI. Here's hoping one of those is a dual-link DVI. More details are awaited.

Update: We've received word that it's not that MSI has a new product in the works, but that EKWB has a water-block tailored for MSI's existing R7970 Lightning.Source: Softpedia

Swiftech today announced the release of the Apogee Drive II, a CPU waterblock featuring an integrated pump. "Like a phoenix rising from its ashes, the Apogee Drive II returns to take its place at the helm of Swiftech's CPU waterblock product line and it includes all the latest and greatest technological advancements that we have to offer today" said Gabriel Rouchon Swiftech's Chairman and CTA.

Derived in general concept from the company's Apogee Drive initially released in 2007, the Apogee Drive II much differs from the original in terms of its execution. The original was conceived as a moderate cost unit, using plastic injection molding for its body, the entry-level MCP350 pump and it came with bare essentials. In contrast, the Apogee Drive II is conceived as a luxury vessel: its uses the PWM controlled MCP35X, Swiftech's most powerful pump to date, a precision CNC machined water-block body that lends itself to easy upgrades for future socket form factors, adjustable inlet and outlet ports, a heatsink to further cool the pump, LED illuminated logo in a choice of 3 colors, braided cables, and the company's now famous retention system. The only concession to cost and waste-cutting measure the company made was to not bundle all the retention systems into one SKU, and to make 3 separate product versions.

DangerDen recently announced the worldwide availability of DD-7970, its performance water-block for AMD Radeon HD 7970 (reference design PCBs). The DD-7970 is designed to provide coverage to all hot components on the obverse side of the PCB, including the 28 nm "Tahiti" GPU, 12 GDDR5 memory chips, and the VRM. Its coolant channel passes through the portion of the VRM, the portion over the GPU is ridged to increase surface area of dissipation. Options for the top include clear polycarbonate, and satin-finished copper. The polycarbonate top variant weighs 3 lbs, while the satin-finished copper variant weighs 4 lbs. Both are priced at US $114.95, available through DangerDen's online store.

Galaxy released a picture of a new GeForce GTX 680 graphics card it's working on, a liquid-cooled model that beats EVGA's GTX 680 HydroCopper at being truly single-slot capable. It does this by using the 6-pin and 8-pin PCIe power connectors in the same plane, instead of using an 8+6 pin piggy-backed connector that spans across two expansion slots. Also changed here is the stacked DVI connector cluster, it's replaced by two mini-DisplayPort connectors next to a full-size HDMI and a full-size DisplayPort. The card uses a full-coverage water-block, with its coolant ports protruding outwards on top, so enthusiasts will have plumb out tubing for each card in SLI setups, and can't use conventional multi-port fittings, unless of course, Galaxy has a solution for that. More details are awaited.Source: Expreview

EVGA kicked off its GeForce GTX 680 lineup with no less than five models. The Into, SC, FTW, Classified, and HydroCopper. Intro is the absolute base model, with fanatic adherence to NVIDIA reference clock speeds of 1006/1056/6000 MHz (core/boost/memory effective) and board design; SC (or SuperClocked) is a factory-overclocked model that has slightly higher clock speeds, and augments the NVIDIA reference design with an EVGA-exclusive backplate. Then there's FTW, which features a custom cooler design by EVGA, with even higher clock speeds than SC. The last air-cooled model is the Classified, which our sources tell us will have "astoundingly" high clock speeds. HydroCopper retains the clock profile of Classified, but replaces the cooling assembly with a Swiftech-built copper water-block. EVGA is yet to reveal the design of Classified, and the clock speeds of the factory-overclocked models. There are other variations, such as EVGA's "Signature" design with SuperClocked clock-profile, FTW with 4 GB memory, etc.

Zalman released ZM-OC2011, a retention kit upgrade for WB5 and WB5 Plus water-blocks to support Intel's latest LGA2011 socket, on which Intel's "Sandy Bridge-E" Core i7 and Core i7 Extreme Edition processors are based. The kit consists of brackets that let you use the mount-hole spacing of all previous Intel LGA sockets, including LGA775, LGA1366, LGA1155/1156; nuts and bolts. In Japan it is priced at around $19.

Danger Den announced the release for sale the new highest performing CPU waterblock, the DD-M6 CPU Block with shipments beginning January 2nd, 2012.

The DD-M6 CPU Block replaces the long running MC-TDX block improving upon the performance and reliability. Thermal performance is significantly improved while maintaining a low flow restriction design. Available in solid copper and brass parts that are non-plated or nickel plated. A new and improved mounting system is also part of the DD-M6 CPU block package allowing reliable mounting pressure in an attractive package.

Swiftech announced the release for retail sales of their new flagship CPU waterblock, the Apogee HD, concurrently with Revision 3 of the Patent Pending MCRx20 Drive series of PC radiators.

Close to 18 months in the making, the Apogee HD was designed to surpass its predecessor the Award Winning Apogee XT in all critical areas: improved thermal performance, reduced flow restriction, new choices of colors, classic black or fashionable white, fine-tuned mounting system, lower cost, and an exclusive innovative feature that works in conjunction with the new Revision of the MCRx20 Drive PC Radiators: the Multi-port connectivity.

Here is ASUS' top of the line LGA2011 motherboard targeting the gamer-overclocker market, the Republic of Gamers (ROG) Rampage IV Extreme. This board offers all the expansion room and connectivity you'll ever need, plus a wealth of nifty features that help overclockers and ease incremental upgrades. To begin with, the Rampage IV Extreme employs a strong digital PWM circuitry that supports heavy voltage-assisted overclocking with Vdroop control.

The LGA2011 socket is wired to eight DDR3 DIMM slots (two per channel). CPU and memory VRM areas are located along three sides of the socket, all cooled by heatsinks that are connected by heat pipes. These VRM heatsinks share heat with the one over the X79 PCH, which is actively cooled by a fan.

What happens when you mash up a CPU tower-type air-cooler with a water-block? You get PCCooler OC3 W120. This innovative cooler combines a tower-type air cooler design with a water block. First, there's a typical heatsink that has a polished copper base and heat pipes originating from the base, conveying heat to a aluminum fin stack; next, at the top of the stack are fittings that connect the cooler to a liquid-cooling loop. The water tubes pass through the aluminum fin stack just like heat pipes, before reaching the base of the heatsink. At the base, a micro-fin plate and block chamber makes direct contact with the heat pipes and the base below.

The aluminum fin stack holds one 120 mm fan to ventilate it. The fins are of irregular shape and are dimpled to increase surface area and turbulence. With its unique hybrid design, the PCCooler OC3 W120 can handle thermal loads of up to 500W. PCCooler OC3 W120 is made by Chinese company Shenzhen Fluence Technology, its products are exclusively sold in the Asian markets.Source: Expreview

No doubt the GeForce GTX 590 is a cracker of a graphics card (no pun intended). It shares a disputed lead with the AMD Radeon HD 6990, where the latter has the reputation of being the more electrically stable of the two. Voltage-assisted overclocking of the GTX 590 has proven to be many an overclocker's $700 misadventure, with the weak VRM circuitry burning up with even the slightest bump in voltages. NVIDIA plans to fix this once and for all with a hardware update of the GTX 590.

In June, NVIDIA plans to release a new revision of the GeForce GTX 590 with a stronger VRM circuitry, stronger inductors, FETs, capacitors, etc. The revision could possibly alter the reference PCB design, at least with the VRM areas, and that could mean water-block manufacturers could have to go back to the drawing boards. Who knows, the new revision of GTX 590 with heightened electrical stability could also create some room for new models from AICs with better overclocked speeds out of the box, to step up competitiveness against the HD 6990.

Source: VR-Zone

Water cooling expert Koolance is ready with its full-coverage water-block for the dual-GPU AMD Radeon HD 6990 graphics card, which was launched a little earlier this month. The VID-AR699 from Koolance covers the obverse side of the PCB, cooling critical components there, including the two AMD Cayman GPUs, memory chips, the 450W-capable VRM, and the PEG bridge chip. Internally, the block is partitioned into three distinct bases, one over each GPU, and one over the VRM. The portions over the GPUs feature ribbed micro-fin structures to improve heat dissipation. The three bases are conjoined by a middle-plate that channels coolant through the three bases. The block is then topped off with acetal.

The VID-AR699 measures 10.1" x 4.8 " x 0.8" (25.7cm x 12.2cm x 2cm), and weighs 2.25 pounds (1kg). Its primary material is copper with nickel-plating that minimizes corrosion over time. Its nozzle threading is standard G 1/4 BSP, though the package doesn't include nozzles. Koolance is pricing it at US $159.99 on its online store, it will be taking orders and shipping only after the 28th of this month. In related news, Koolance also announced that it's working on a full-coverage water block for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590, the VID-NX590, though there are no specifications or photos out, yet.

One of NVIDIA's principal partners, EVGA, released no less than four special edition SKUs for the GeForce GTX 590 graphics card. The SKUs bear EVGA's coveted "Classified" brand extender, which is used on only the most high-end products by the company. First, there's the EVGA GTX 590 Classified Hydro Copper Quad SLI (03G-P3-1599-A2), which is two GeForce GTX 590 graphics cards prepped for water-cooling with HydroCopper water-blocks, packed into one box; next there's the EVGA GeForce GTX 590 Classified Quad SLI (03G-P3-1598-A2), that's two reference design cards in one box; then there are single-card water-cooled (03G-P3-1599-AR) and single-card reference design (03G-P3-1598-AR) packages.

The dual-card (QuadSLI) packages include some EVGA memorabilia, a black t-shirt and a large mousepad. All four SKUs pack cards with the same clock speed profile: 630 MHz core, 1260 MHz CUDA cores, and 864 MHz (3456 MHz effective) memory. The HydroCopper cards feature full-coverage water-blocks. As for pricing, the water-cooled QuadSLI pack is priced at $1,729.99; reference-design QuadSLI pack at $1,429.99; water-cooled single-card at $879.99; and reference-design single-card at $729.99.

MSI's high-end GeForce GTX 580 graphics card that's ready for water-cooling out of the box, the MSI N580GTX HydroGen OC, released in the European retail market, priced at €563. The N580GTX HydroGen uses the same full-coverage water-block as the N480GTX HydroGen, probably sourced from Heatkiller. The block uses a full copper base and composite metal top. It is ready for G 1/4" threads. The card comes slightly overclocked out of the box, but with the kind of cooling at its disposal, it leaves the fun part to you. The GPU is clocked at 823 MHz, CUDA cores at 1645 MHz, and memory at 4276 MHz, against reference speeds of 772/1544/4008 MHz.Source: TechConnect Magazine

EVGA announced a full-fledged lineup of GeForce GTX 580 graphics cards today, consisting of an NVIDIA reference clock speed version (part number: 015-P3-1580-AR), which also serves as the base model, priced at US $499.99. This is followed by a factory-overclocked version that bears the "SuperClocked" marker (part number: 015-P3-1582-AR), carrying slightly higher clock speeds, but sticking to NVIDIA reference board and cooler design. This one is priced at $519.99. The king of the hill is the FTW Hydro Copper 2 variant, which sports top clock speeds, supported by EVGA's iconic Hydro Copper water-block (part number: 015-P3-1589-AR).

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 is based on a new 40 nm GF110 core, it packs 512 CUDA cores, and 1536 MB of GDDR5 memory over a 384-bit memory interface. Its reference clock speeds are 772/1544/4008 MHz (core/CUDA core/memory, GDDR5 effective). For EVGA's SuperClocked variant it's upped to 797/1594/4050 MHz, and for the FTW Hydro Copper 2 Edition it's all the way up at 850/1700/4196 MHz.

Point of View seems to have struck gold with its association with the TGT overclocking team, with the introduction of what they claim to be the "fastest Fermi around". The Point of View TGT GeForce GTX 480 Beast is essentially a top-tier, hand-tested NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 graphics card with a custom-designed full-coverage water block, and a bleeding-edge profile packed into its BIOS. The card is clocked at 810 MHz (core), 1620 MHz (CUDA cores), and 950 MHz (3800 MHz GDDR5 effective) memory. The water-block is carved out of a single piece of nickel-plated copper, with acetal top, and is originally manufactured by Innovatek. As with every other GeForce GTX 480 card, this one is DirectX 11 compliant, and packs 480 CUDA cores, and 1536 MB of GDDR5 memory over a 384-bit wide memory interface. The TGT GTX 480 Beast is priced at €671. A review can be found at the source.Source: Fudzilla

Rouchon Industries, Inc. dba Swiftech today announced the release of the H20-X20 EDGE series of "all-in-one" liquid cooling kits. The kits are composed of a patent pending heat exchanger combining pump and reservoir, and a CPU waterblock, which considerably simplifies the task of installation for the users. The patent pending heat exchangers called MCR Drive (Rev2) come in two sizes: for dual 120mm fans and for triple 120mm fans; they incorporate a new high power pump with variable speed control managed by the motherboard. The Apogee XTL CPU water-block included in the kits is derived from Swiftech's award winning Apogee XT.

Swiftech is counting on the versatility and performance superiority of their kits 'design to attract an expanded range of users. A key factor with respect to versatility is the kit's ability to easily support additional devices such as liquid cooled graphics coolers or extra radiators which is a must-have among power users; the extremely broad performance range of the H20-X20 kits is of equal importance in terms of competitive advantage, as the kits can be tuned to satisfy both ends of the users 'spectrum: from silent operations to extreme cooling; and finally the ease of installation is expected to appeal to quality oriented first-time users.

Swiftech released a pair of hybrid cooling solutions for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480, GTX 470 and GTX 465 graphics cards, that are aimed to provide better cooling compared to full-coverage water blocks. The principle revolves around treating the GPU as a separate thermal zone from the rest of the card, so that water-cooling can focus on cooling the GPU, while heat from the GPU isn't transferred to the rest of the relatively cooler heat producing parts (such as memory chips, VRM FETs, etc.). Swiftech's offer includes MCW-GTX480 and MCW-GTX470 (which should be compatible with GTX 465 reference design, too). These consist of the MCW80 GPU water block that's designed to handle the thermal loads of GF100, and a full-coverage aluminum heatsink that covers all critical heat-producing areas on the PCB, including the memory chips and the VRM. The heatsink is further designed such that the user can mount an 80 mm fan onto it, for even higher cooling performance. The sets are priced lower than most full-coverage water-blocks, the MCW80-GTX480 is priced at $99.95, while the MCW80-GTX470 goes for $98.95.

Inno3D is excited to launch the i-ChiLL GeForce GTX 470 Black Series equipped with liquid cooling technology. The "full cover" water-block cools the GPU, Voltage Regulators, I/O chip, memory modules, and other critical components allowing for longer care-free gaming knowing your GPU is well looked after. This is definitely the ultimate cooling solution for enthusiast gamers.

In the i-ChiLL Black Series system, the water block first takes up the heat and passes it to the water flowing into it. Through the hose system, the water carries the heat to the radiator. Once it arrives in the radiator, the water passes the heat to the air via the ribs. The thinner the ribs and the larger the radiator's surface is as a result, the more powerful the cooling system. The "cooled" water flows from the outlet side of the radiator back into the CPU water block. The air flow within the water block is also important in ensuring adequate cooling. That is because the more thermal discharge the water can absorb from the surrounding material in the block, the better the cooling performance.

EVGA started offering the Hydro Copper water-block for GeForce GTX 470 as an accessory. Until now the block was available only as part of the EVGA GTX 470 Hydro Copper FTW graphics card, which is priced at $499.99. With the block being sold loose, users with the air-cooled variants of GTX 470 have the option of upgrading to water-cooling. The Hydro Cooper block costs $139.99.

Manufactured by Swiftech, the EVGA Hydro Copper water-block consists of a central portion from which the coolant flows, this part is directly over the GPU and memory, and makes use of 0.6 x 0.6 mm thin copper pin matrix for heat dissipation. The base consists of chrome electro-plated copper. The other two segments are heatsinks which convey heat to the central portion, cooling the VRM areas. Both both 1/2” and 3/8” high-flow fittings are supported.

Without making much noise, Swiftech introduced its latest creation, a successor to the MCW60, the MCW80 universal GPU water-block. This water block has a wide-range of compatibility with this generation of GPUs. It uses a copper block with a high-density pin matrix to increase surface area of heat dissipation. The housing is made of black Delrin. It measures 49.6 x 49.6 x 32.2 mm, and weighs 141 g. The block is compatible with eurostyle fittings with built-in o-ring, and sticks to G 1/4 thread specification for the ports. With the appropriate hold-down, the MCW80 supports the latest GPUs, including ATI Radeon HD 5800/5900 series, and NVIDIA GeForce 400 series. It is priced at US $56.95. The GeForce 400 series kit is coming soon, at a price of $11.99.

Germany-based Aqua Computer is ready with its water-block for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 graphics accelerator, the AquagraFX GTX480. The block is full-coverage and monolithic in design, and cools all vital heat-producing parts of the card. Its main unit is cut from a block of copper. The block weighs 850 g (1.87 lbs). It has a stainless steel top with laser-etched lettering on it. Aqua Computer used distance pieces for all threads. They are pre-assembled so users won't have to fumble around with them. All surfaces which have contact to the GPU/RAM/VRM are high gloss polished (mirror-finish). The block also comes with a small backplate that cools voltage regulators on the reverse-side of the PCB. The company will start shipping these from next week, at a price of 89.90 EUR or around US $101 excl. VAT.

Specialists with water-cooling, Danger Den is ready with its first offering for NVIDIA's GeForce 400 series. The block provides full-coverage to the obverse side of the PCB, cooling all critical areas such as the GPU, the memory chips, and the VRM area. Designed for the GeForce GTX 480, it is expected to come in three variants based on materials: 1. all-copper (pictured below), 2. nickel top and copper base, and 3. nickel-top and nickel-plated copper base. The top of the block will have mirror-finish. There is no word on an acrylic-top variant. The three are expected to be priced in the US $140-$150 range. Danger Den will release these by the end of the week, so users could have one ready by the time their GeForce GTX 480 arrives.Source: Legit Reviews