Nautilus500 installation
Corsair claims the Nautilus500 can be installed in just over eight minutes, and while matching that time might take a little practice, installing the unit on our open test bench took just over 10 minutes. I tend to be pretty methodical, and I stopped a couple of times to double-check the instructions to ensure that this was really all I had to do to get everything up and running.
The installation process is surprisingly straightforward, and it all starts at the socket. There's no need to remove the motherboard, as the Socket 939 bracket hooks right into a standard retention mechanism. Slap some paste on the processor, position the block in place, add a foam bumper, tighten one screw, and the CPU block is installed. It doesn't get much easier than that, although if Corsair really wants to go all out in the ease of installation department, it might want to use a thumbscrew instead.
While Socket 939 is a snap, LGA775 installation is a little more involved. That's not really Corsair's fault, as the Intel socket's four contact points require extra attention. Installing the Nautilus' retention bracket is still relatively painless, and it can be done without removing the motherboard from a case. However, you will need to remove the motherboard if you want to replace the Nautilus500 CPU block with a different cooler, because the plastic clips that serve as mounting posts for the retention bracket can only be removed from the underside of the mobo.
Once the CPU block is installed, you'll want to route the attached hosing through the case and into the outside world via the provided PCI slot cover. Tubing can be cut to size for a cleaner look or left at full length to allow for future expansion. Next, we cap the tubes with the included end plugs and plastic binders, both of which install within seconds.
With the CPU block installed and our tubing capped, we can connect everything and pop open the Nautilus' reservoir. Corsair recommends that you first fill the reservoir with its COOL additive, and then top the system off with distilled water.
Since the Nautilus runs off a PC's power supply, the system needs to be turned on for the pump to work. Unfortunately, you won't actually have liquid running through the entire system, especially to the CPU block, until the pump starts running for the first time. That presents a potential predicament, since cooling performance will be significantly hampered until the pump has time to circulate liquid throughout. Fortunately, the circulation process doesn't take long, and our Opteron 180 processor had no problem booting into Windows while liquid made its way to the water block. Just be sure to top off the reservoir with distilled water before closing everything up.
Once the system is running, it's easy to tell whether the Nautilus500 is on. First, there's the green light, which is pretty much impossible to miss. The external unit's fan isn't all that quiet, either, so you'll hear it running, even with the low fan speed setting. Unfortunately, there's no way to check whether liquid is flowing properly through the system. A motherboard fan header can be used to measure the pump speed, but it would be nice to have some confirmation of coolant levels and proper flow without having to fire up a hardware monitoring program.
