X-bit labs

Four Liquid-Cooling Systems for the Masses (page 3)

Category: Coolers

by Vasily Melnik

[ 10/14/2005 | 03:30 PM ]

Thermaltake Rocket CL-W0011

Thermaltake’s Rocket flies down upon you in a big and colorful cardboard box:

Besides the picture of a massive, missile-like radiator, there’s a detailed description of the operational principles of the system on the box. Everything is quite comprehensive, so even completely inexperienced users shouldn’t have any questions left. Judging by the pictures, the Thermaltake engineers didn’t invent something completely new – the design of the system has a strong resemblance to Zalman’s Rezerator. Absolutely silent operation and high thermal inertia are the essential advantages of such cooling systems. Well, we’ll discuss the operational qualities below, but now let’s examine the contents of the box. First you take out a hank of pipe and an instruction. Then you extract a big “sandwich” which contains the system components proper:

It is securely wrapped around with scotch tape to prevent the components from falling on the floor and running away from you to somewhere under your bed. After you cut the tape and take off one part of the sandwich, you get a view of some very dangerously looking things:

A radiator that looks like a small missile and two capsules with a liquid of an acid lemon color – that’s enough for the security to get worried about you at the customs in an airport. As if to add more similarity to a portable missile, the radiator’s base splays out downwards so you can mistake it for the stabilizers of a missile’s tail. The decorative cap made of transparent Plexiglas also fits the overall “war missile” concept well: heat-aiming missiles from the Russian army “Strela” and “Igla” hand-portable antiaircraft missile kits are equipped with transparent cowls, too. :)

It’s all quite traditional otherwise: