Thermaltake WATER 3.0 Dual Riing RGB High Static Pressure Fans 240 AIO Water Cooling System CPU Cooler CL-W107-PL12SW-A

This unit works perfectly, and it drops the temperature radically.

I installed the 360mm version in my media server this morning and then ran the Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool to see how it fared.

SERVER INFORMATION:

Intel i7 4790k processor
ASRock Z97 Extreme 6 board
16 GB Ripjaws PC3 12800 RAM
Corsair RM850X power supply
MSI GeForce GTX 1070 video card
10 hard drives (9 internal and 1 external)
Pioneer BDR-209DBK Blu-ray drive
Thermal take Water 3.0 Triple Riing RGB 360 water cooler

PERFORMANCE:

— IPDT64 – Temperature Monitor Results
— Temperature Test —
…
Version 1.0.12.64b.W
…
57 degrees C below maximum
Test Result – PASS
Expected Greater than 1 degrees below max
Received 57 degrees below max

This result is amazing, and I cannot say how happy I am with it. The cooler was purchased for my media server that is used for transcoding 1080p video. Before adding this cooler, I could get over 200F when transcoding multiple streams with the processor NOT overclocked. This was unacceptable, so I sought out a better solution. With this cooler, my maximum reading (on only one core) has been 170F when transcoding multiple streams AND overclocking the processor to 4.7ghz.

I have been stress testing the server this whole afternoon with the processor overclocked and the temperature has never gotten above 176F. This result was with all cores of the processor pegged to maximum.

INSTALLATION:

Installation is not terribly difficult, but it does take a bit of time. You will need to remove the fans from the top of your case, to prepare for the install. The radiator comes without the fans attached, so you can choose to push or pull air through it. You will need to attach the fans to the radiator, then I would recommend installing the radiator to the case before connecting the pump to your processor. Attaching the pump to the processor is simple, as the unit comes with clever brackets that can be configured for basically everything. You will attach a backplate on the back of your motherboard; it attaches with sticky tape. You will need to choose the proper ring for either Intel or AMD, then follow the directions for setting the width of the screw holes. Select the proper thumbscrews for your processor, and press them into the holes on your connector ring. Once you have the connector ring set up for your processor, remove the protective cover from the pump and carefully attach it to the connecting ring, then put the locking ring over it to secure it in place. The pump comes with thermal paste already properly applied to the face, so you can now put the pump up in place, locating the screws into the screw holes in the backplate and screw the pump down securely. Simply connect the pump to your CPU fan connector, connect the light/fan controller to another CPU fan connector on your board, then connect the fans to the controller.

This process took me about 20 – 30 minutes, as I was careful, and took my time. You should be able to do it in about the same time if you are careful… faster if you are in a hurry. 🙂

I cannot recommend this cooler highly enough.

FIVE STARS

I just got it yesterday, and have my computer running again today to test it out, but it is working well so far. I had the Corsair two fan AIO cooler originally but the pump quit working, so went to the stock fan that came with CPU but it was getting hot. Well it was ok before, when I was running a video card that pushes its hot air out the back, exiting the case. But I bought a GTX 1080 TI that just pushed the heat out the side of the card, inside the case, so that stock cooler was then all of a sudden very inadequate. So this cooler is the ticket to surviving my new video card, because it guarantees all that hot air gets blown out of the top of the case.

This might be the BEST bang for your buck. If you are into overclocking this is definitely a must buy product. I had the evo 212 and I would overclock my i7-4790k to 4.5mhz/ 1.23v and the temp would range between 68c to 80c. Now, my temperature don’t even get past 60c at full load when idle it hits as low as 27c. I didn’t go with the corsair for two reason, price and I’ve had a bad experience with their H100i. The installation is quite simple, it does come with a installation guide, which is very helpful even for beginners. The only bad thing I can say about this product is the logo on it, looks a bit unattractive.

Keeps my 6850K around 42C overclocked to 4.5GHz (silicon lottery) at idle and peaked at 86C during stress testing with 29C ambient temps. It’s alright. When it comes to looks, I swapped out the fans for the newer ring tt plus models. Not a fan of the tubing either. Had to tie it together with the CPU power cable up on the mobo just for a more pleasing look. Also, the water block is ugly AF. Oh, and also the price sucks.
The awesome thing about this is the radiator is thin enough to fit between the chassis and top enclosure of the be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 case, despite all the articles I’ve read on compatibility. I currently like to hide my radiators from view. An even more awesomER thing is because of that, I can still have my 5.25in drive bays, because for some reason, I still use those, even though I don’t have anything in them at the moment. However, one of the fans will not be in full view because about 1/5 of it is hiding in the drive cage. Doesn’t bother me. Also, mounting this on a 2011-v3 mobo is super easy. Don’t need to attach any bracket in the back. Well I suppose it’s probably like that for all 2011v3. IDK.
In the end, my only REAL complaint is, the water block is really really ugly AF.

The pump on the Water 3.0 seems to be weak. I was testing this on my CPU to see if it would be suitable for a Kraken G12 VGA mod on a Sapphire RX480 with bad fans. It cools my CPU but doesn’t provide any improvement over my H100i and marginally improved over the H80i. I also have a H150i Pro that is far more efficient than this AIO and it is a joke to compare the 360’s. The first unit I was sent came in with dust in the radiator and bent fins showing obvious signs of being used and not new. The replacement unit came in fine but does not cool as expected at all. The fans on this push plenty of air so the lack of cooling can only be explained by either a very low quality radiator, fluid or the pump is weak and I am leaning toward the pump. I think this will end with a NZXT Kraken X72 RL-KRX72-01 being used in the end. Real shame Corsair changed the mount for the H150i Pro or I would have gone with that for the Kraken mod.

AMD FX 9590 – Thermaltake v71 TG case
idle
H80i Extreme V2 – 19C
H100i – 11C
H150i Pro – 5C
Water – 12C

load
H80i Extreme V2 – 53C
H100i – 44C
H150i Pro – 41C
Water – 49C