Introduction

We recently covered Bitspower's new Premium line of products debuting with the Premium Summit M CPU block, and then went back to their bread-and-butter mainstream lineup with the Summit M, albeit in the special OLED version. The company also sent along some other versions of the Summit M, including a full copper version and another with an acrylic top, which I may test separately depending on reader interest, but I wanted to cover their own trilogy, if you will, with the value-oriented Touchaqua brand. This review has been in the works ever since the announcement last year, wherein I was curious how an OLED display with an integrated temperature sensor would fit into the Touchaqua theme. So here we are, and thanks again to Bitspower for sending along this sample.


Somehow, Bitspower has managed to eek out three different designs for the three recent CPU blocks we checked out, and this Touchaqua Summit MS is significantly different looking too, with a large form factor that appears to have an integrated mounting bracket within the confines of that massive top. There is of course the OLED display seen here, as well as the integrated RGB lighting that is compatible with all major motherboard LED control solutions. These are all features that intrigue me, more so because I already know the price point of the block, but we will get to that in due time in this review which begins with a look at the specifications in the table below.

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

If the Premium Summit M had a premium unboxing experience to match, and the mainstream Summit M had fancy packaging as well, the same can not be said for the Bitspower Touchaqua Summit MS. It is definitely adequate, however, with a cardboard box that has a black wrap and a mostly clean aesthetic. On the front is the Bitspower logo, and we have packaging labels on the back along with a QR code that takes you to the installation manual (online copy here). That's right, as with their other recent products, Bitspower is shying away from printed manuals across the board, and I still maintain that this is one of the few times where I would rather see a printed manual included in the box. There are more logos on the sides, and even on the seal that helps keep the contents inside in place during transit.


Opening the box, we see the block right away, placed inside a plastic zip lock pouch and on top of a piece of thick foam for further protection, as well as isolation from the other items inside the box, which also come separately packed in plastic pouches or vacuum sealed as with the mounting backplate for the various Intel sockets that need it. We also see the rest of the installation hardware, including plastic washers, metal nuts, metal screws, metal springs, standoffs, and a hex wrench. The Intel socket backplate, which no doubt will see more use than any other, comes in three pieces, including a rubber back pad, a metal back plane, and a 3M-branded sticky pad. One of the ways Bitspower is keeping costs low here is by having separate Intel and AMD versions of the block, so there is no AMD-specific gear included in this Intel version.