Criticool PowerPlant PCI Relay Card

	Reviewed by: Titch. Item Criticool PowerPlant PCI Relay Card Provided by: PCLincs Manufacturer: Criticool Price: £24.67 [€34.34], £28.99 [€40.35] Including VAT at 17.5%

Introduction.

Gradually, watercooling is coming out of the stone age with some nice accessories entering the market. When I started you had to feed your pump power cable through an empty slot and plug it in separately to your main system. The number of times I ran my system and wondered why it was not cooling so well, and then realized I had not plugged my pump in. Luckily the Swiftech is such a monster of a block, it coped well, even on convection cooling alone. This left you with only two options, cut into your PSU or make your own version. Both worked well, but were crude to say the least.

Then came the Swiftech Relay Kit that I not only reviewed, but modded into something that has run my pump and sounds ( great things are those split power cables ) ever since. When Karl at PCLincs told me about the Criticool PowerPlant PCI Relay Card I asked him to send one over.

Criticool themselves are a relatively new company to the extreme cooling community. They are based in Canada and specialize in the production and provision of high quality watercooled kit. If you look at their site, like PCLincs, they have an array of mouth watering products.

Well without delay, to the review:

Technical Spec.

Features :

• Toggle switch - bleed your system with the computer off.
• On board relay controlled by PCI Bus.
• External Molex 12VDC connection for external fan power.
• Inline fuse for overload protection.
• No case modifications for installation.
• Compact design.
• Easy operation, plug it in your PCI slot, plug in the AC cord through the power inlet on the PCI flange, and then hook up your pump wires to the pump terminal.
• Ships with Euro style cord.

Specs. :

• 12VDC external power (5 watts max).
• 2 amp fuse (200 watts maximum draw).
• 110VAC / 220VAC design for worldwide power compatibility.
• CE compliant, UL listed components and designed.

"Safety Note - Some of the 1st batch of PCI cards have exposed solder pads at 110v / 220V trace lines. Do not touch the card whilst energized. All subsequent batch cards are fully sealed" PCLincs site.

What you get.

Well, what can I say. Some companies plug their products with cool, bright and sparkly packaging. The PowerPlant comes in a box so none descript that only the size stops you mistaking it for one of your copies of Big & Bouncy as it drops through the door.

The card itself is wrapped in the big cell bubble wrap and has a Euro style plug attached. For those from countries that do not use the Euro plug have no fear as the socket is the same as that used in many radios so will be easy to get.

The card itself is the standard PCI one but is of a more tasteful blue than the normal tacky green

On the front mounting plate you have the power input socket and a toggle switch to allow you to turn the pump on or off independently of the PSU. This enables you to fire your pump up with the system turned off. Vital when it comes to bleeding your system and checking for leeks.

It also has a 12v molex outlet, though there are a couple of things to consider. Firstly if you exceed the 5amp, pop goes your PCI. Secondly, it is drawing power from your motherboard, if you have every fan in your system doing so as well, consider the effect that it could have on system stability. When you however consider that my 120mm x 120mm Panflo only draws 4.08amps then the use of this becomes apparent. Some people like myself believe that it is better to have the fan drawing the air through the rad and not pushing. This is due to turbulence etc. cased by the blades rotating. The problem with this is we end up with having the rad fan on the outside with no means of powering it. This does at least resolve this issue.

On the back you have a simple screw in connectors for your pumps powerleads.

So far simple, now for the problem on the one I received. Look at those soldier points and tracers. One touch and you have a new hair style. This I gather has been resolved with all of the new models.

For the one that I had I simply sprayed it with some conforming fluid to seal and then backed it with some Akusa Acoustic padding. Sorted.

In Operation.

Using the PowerPlant could not be simpler.

Stick into a PCI slot and plug all the wires in ( I plugged my top fan in purely as it is easier to take pictures of ).

With the pump wires, point 3 is for -ive/neutral, point 2 is for +ive/live and point 1 stays blank ( I put the earth there for tidyness ).

It is then with using the toggle switch to ensure everything is working.

Then turn the toggle off and fire it up.

I was immediately greeted with the hum from my fan...

And the swirl in my reservoir that tells me that the pump is working.

I turned it all off and was immediately greeted with silence. It works.

Conclusion.

Well with a product like this, it has got to either work faultlessly of be in the bin.

In the case of the PowerPlant, it is a true star. It is a very sweet idea that works without a single hiccup. I have got to say that having the toggle switch for bleeding and molex power on the back takes it way above its competitor.

My Swiftech is not dead, it now turns my monitors on and off allowing me to shut my whole system without touching a button. My pump and the radiator fan will continue to be controlled by the PowerPlant.

The Criticool PowerPlant PCI Relay Card is definitely a product that I would recommend to fellow watercoolers and without hesitation give it a GOLD AWARD.

Thanks Karl at PCLincs for providing this product.

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