This is the first time we have received a product from Asetek. The VapoChill Micro series is a well designed and lightweight cooling system. If you own a P4 S478, S775 or an AMD S754, S939 or S940, then this is for you. The retail package if full and you won't need anything else to get your VapoChill working, while in some versions there is also a regulator to adjust the fan's rotation speed.

The performance of the VapoChill Micro depends on which version you have chosen, the HI-END, EXTREME PERFORMANCE and ULTRA LOW NOISE. In all cases, the performance is good. However it still depends on the series and mostly the setting of the regulator. HI-END with minimum fan speed is not recommended since it performs lower than the stock cooler although with negligible noise levels. The EXTREME PERFORMANCE is better than the HI-END with minimum fan speed, but similar to the stock cooler and with much quieter operation.

Finally, the ULTRA LOW NOISE is the best performer in this review, with the regulator set to minimum. If the fan speed is set to maximum, then as far as temperature goes, all the VapoChill Micro coolers are excellent. In the case of the ULTRA LOW NOISE, we could say that it has an overall very good performance, since it is also very quiet, even with regulator set to maximum. The regulator will help you to find the best performance/noise combination for your circumstances.

Up and working...

The VapoChill Micro is quite easy to install, no matter which platform you own. There is no need to remove the board from the PC case in order to attach the cooler. In the case of the P4 S775 or even S478, installation is the easiest among the other sockets, without any screws, tools or thermal compound needed. In the case of the AMD platforms, you'll need a screw driver in order to install the cooler.

The installation of the regulator is also easy as long as you read the instructions in the manual first.

At the time of this review, the price for the VapoChill Micro was US$28 for the HI-END version, US$34 for the EXTREME PERFORMANCE and US$43 for the ULTRA LOW NOISE.