Nventiv fights Mach II overchill claims

Asetek, producer of the VapoChill line of cooling gear, claimed Nventiv's Mach II reported processor temperatures up to 20 degrees lower than other equipment showed.

The company showed the INQUIRER a Mach II unit reporting temperatures apparently from the evaporator block, that in some cases were up to 20 degrees out.

And we heard from two customers who claimed their Mach II units also reported strange temperatures. They sent countless mails to Nventiv which fell on deaf ears.

Asetek CEO André Sloth Eriksen also said he'd also complained to his opposite number at Nventiv, claiming the anomaly was designed to make the Mach II look like a more efficient cooler than it actually is.

Nventiv told the INQUIRER that their CPU probe is a "rough" measuring instrument, but claimed that any temperature recorded would only be subject to a much smaller margin of error.

Nventiv said that since "there are no defined standards for measuring temperatures in phase change cooling systems for cooling CPUs, it is not possible to define what is right and what is wrong."

A statement on its web site continues: "The sensor used in the Mach II cooling system is a NTC sensor (sensor with a negative characteristic) which is a rough measuring. We see no reason to do this otherwise as it is the CPU temperature, which is the key factor. Even if the sensor measured 100% accurate at the place where it is attached, there is still the impact from the surroundings (radiation), heating elements and heat from the CPU (conduction), also the refrigerant might be superheated, so basically it will only give you an accurate reading at that particular spot where it is attached."

Nventiv said it is continually researching ways of improving its products and takes customer complaints seriously. It claimed, however, that the bigger Asetech was always bullying it in the press, but that it would go on making cool coolers. µ

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