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CoolIT Systems certainly isn't afraid of innovation. That much is clear with their newest CPU cooler, the Domino ALC. Simply put, the Domino is an all in one liquid cooling solution, prefilled and ready to install as soon as it hits your doorstep.
On the Domino, CoolIT includes an LCD display designed to be viewed from the side window on your case. Information such as coolant temperature and operating mode is readily available with just a glance at your machine. In addition, a single button changes the operating mode instantly and allows the user to easily dictate their cooling performance without entering the BIOS or additional software. Let's take a closer look at the Domino.
| Model |
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| Compatibility |
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| Dimensions |
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| Weight |
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| Material |
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| Fan |
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| Radiator |
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| Pump |
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| Coolant |
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| Cooler | Weight |
| CoolIT Domino A.L.C. | 1030g |
| Cooler Master Gemini II | 847g |
| Thermaltake Big Typhoon | 813g |
| Thermalright True Black 120 | 790g |
| Zalman CNPS 9900 LED | 730g |
| Thermaltake MaxOrb | 465g |
| Stock Intel Cooler | 460g |
| GlacialTech Igloo 5610 Series | 373g |
As the weight chart shows, the Domino is quite a bit heavier than other coolers we've tested. However, that weight is not borne by your motherboard or CPU socket, it is concentrated in the radiator/fan/control assembly attached to the back of your case. The actual CPU socket cooler, which CoolIT calls the Fluid Heat Exchanger (FHE), is very light and won't put much stress on your motherboard.
Due to the design of the Domino, CoolIT had to come up with something other than traditional screws to mount the combined fan/pump/radiator assembly in your case. What they came up with is visible here, four small rubber pieces on the fan, with a groove in them to hold the whole assembly in place.
Also visible in this picture is the integrated pump and radiator assembly. The Domino really concentrates a lot in a small area, as nearly everything is attached to the back of your case. As mentioned above, this means less stress on your CPU and mobo, which we certainly count as a good thing, as long as the mounting solution holds up.
One interesting feature of the Domino is the onboard control box. This provides a lot of useful information about the Domino while it's running, such as the operating mode, coolant temperature, and fan and pump speeds. A single button is mounted on the side for "Push Button Mode Control", which is exactly what it sounds like. You can change the operation of the Domino on the fly, between Quiet, Performance and Full operating modes. As indicated in the manual, the Domino ships in Performance mode. 
As with all of our cooling reviews, we closely inspected the surface of the Domino's Fluid Heat Exchanger (FHE), the contact portion of the heatsink. We wanted to check for a smooth quality finish and flat surface that would provide for good heat transfer. Intrestingly, the Domino ships with a pre-applied thermal interface material already applied, and it was necessary for us to remove this. While we appreciate CoolIT providing thermal interface material for us, we really needed to check the heatsink surface of the FHE. We also needed to remove the provided TIM in order to apply Artic Silver 5 for our comparison testing.
As seen here, the base of the FHE looks good. Remember, it's not all about shiny smooth surfaces, we also have to look for curvature of the heatsink base. If there is any, there is less area contacting our CPU, which would drastically reduce cooling performance. Our look at the Domino revealed a nice flat base, which should work very well. Now it's time to install the Domino and put it to the test.
In order to install our Domino ALC, we had to first remove our motherboard and install the included Socket 775 backplate. This was easy to use, as the folks at CoolIT have a great backplate design. Both socket 775 and 1366 backplates have screw attachments in them that also serve to align them with your motherboard's mounting holes. They install quickly and easily and stay in place. They also include double sided tape in case you really want to hold them in place. We installed ours without using the tape as we want our mobo clean for further installs, and it went without a hitch.
On the left side in this picture is the AMD adapter - AMD folks get lucky, only having to swap the top plate on the FHE to install their cooler without motherboard removal. Folks running Intel 775 or 1366 will have to use the appropriate backplate - the 1366 one is the large silver one on the far right.
Installation was easy once we understood what we needed to do. The Domino comes set up for installation in a socket 1366 system, so if you're running 775 or an AMD proc you'll need to modify the FHE. This is fairly easy to do, once you get the hang of it. You'll need to move the screws on the FHE to a different slot, which is shown pretty well in the Domino's manual. What isn't shown really well is removing the "C clips" holding them in place. All you have to do is use a small flat head screwdriver to pop them off. We tried to reinstall them once we moved the screws to the correct mounting holes but had no luck - not a big deal as installation still went smoothly. Still, a slightly more efficient design here would have been appreciated.
The rubber replacements for mounting screws worked surprisingly well. Of course, there's a caveat in the manual stating they are only for stationary mounting and if you are moving your PC regular screws should be used instead. We don't consider that much of a problem, because for moving we always prepare our PC's anyway. But it is a consideration to note if you were thinking of attending LAN parties with your rig.
CoolIT's innovative design also means there's about zero chance of clearance issues on any motherboard, and we certainly had no problem on our test system's ASUS mobo. We simply installed the FHE, pulled the rubber fan mounts through the appropriate mounting holes, plugged it in to the CPU fan header and we were on our way.
TESTING
Today's HardwareLogic Test System consists of the following components.
- Processor: Intel Q6600 @ 3.15 GHz/1.4v
- Motherboard: ASUS P5K-E/Wifi-AP
- RAM: 2GB (2 x 1GB) OCZ Reaper DDR2-1066
- Video Card: Visiontek ATI HD3870
- PSU: PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610W
- HDD: Western Digital WD740GD Raptor
- Operating System: Windows XP Pro SP3
Our Thermal Interface Material for these tests was Artic Silver 5. For testing, we used Prime 95's In-Place FFT test for maximum heat generation. Idle temps were taken 30 minutes after startup and load temps after 30 minutes of run time and measured using Everest Ultimate. Fan speed was left at maximum and the motherboard's fan controls were turned off. Each testing cycle was repeated three times.
| Cooler | Idle | Load |
| Zalman Resorator 1 Plus w/ fan | 29C | 56C |
| Zalman CNPS9900 LED | 21C | 43C |
| CoolIT Domino A. L. C. | 23C | 49C |
| Intel Stock Cooler | 28C | 73C |
Our testing shows the Domino is a huge improvement over the stock intel cooler, running 5C cooler in idle and a fantastic 24C cooler under load. Even more exciting was the Domino's performance over our Zalman Resorator 1 Plus - even with the optional fan kit installed on the Resorator the Domino recorded idle and load temperatures that were 6C and 7C cooler, respectively. Why is that so exciting? Considering the Resorator sold for around $200 when brand new and the Domino is on Newegg for $79 - the value for money factor is huge here.
We also compared the Domino to our recently reviewed Zalman CNPS9900LED, currently the top dog in air cooling. Unfortunately, the Zalman unit bested the Domino by 2C in idle and 6C under load. However, the Domino was able to match the Zalman's 3.19 GHz top overclock in an informal test, showing it too has excellent performance.
| Category | Score | Comments |
| Thermal Performance | 16/20 |
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| Installation | 18/20 |
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| Acoustics | 15/20 |
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| Overclocking | 19/20 |
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| Warranty & Support | 8/10 |
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| Price/Value | 10/10 |
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Our Recommendation
Been thinking about water cooling? The CoolIT Domino ALC is an inexpensive way to get some of the benefits of water cooling in a small, well designed package. We found the Domino a joy to work with, easy to install and easier to use. We loved the on the fly adjustment of its operating mode at the push of a button, and we also loved it's performance compared to a very expensive Zalman Resorator water cooler and the Intel stock cooler. It's certainly a great value. It's also maintenance free, arriving preloaded with coolant, so no messy top off or water storage needed in your rig. We've left the Domino running 24/7 and it's handled the cooling chores with no problems.
All is not roses, however, because the Domino can't quite reach the top tier of cooling performance. It's not a bad cooler at all, and for the price, it's actually a very good one. But we'd be remiss if we didn't point out the Zalman CNPS9900LED outperformed the Domino in our test rig. Where the Zalman and the Domino are equal is in the noise department - at full bore you'll be well aware both of them are operating. Another problem is the inability to install our side panel on our test rig - definitely not a big deal since we're always changing things out anyway, but still a concern.
Should you buy one? If you want an easy to install water cooler and especially if you're running a stock Intel HSF unit, the Domino is a great buy. It's well worth $79 and performs well. However, if you're really looking to push the envelope and desire maximum cooling power, you may want to look elsewhere.
Other Reviews of Note
It's always nice to have more than one opinion on a component before you spend your hard earned money. For one, we may see something others missed, or vice versa. As with all reviews published at HardwareLogic, we'll not only give you our recommendation, but also point out reviews from some other great sites around the web.