X-bit labs

Big Water vs. Big Typhoon: Thermaltake Big Water 760i Liquid-Cooling System Review

Category: Coolers

by Sergey Lepilov

[ 12/31/2007 | 09:57 AM ]

Today we are going to talk about a compact liquid-cooling system from Thermaltake and its duel against a popular and highly efficient air-cooler. Read the detailed system review and performance results in our new article.

Table of contents:

• Package and Accessories
  
• Main Block and Radiator Design and Functionality
  
• Installation Tips
  
• Technical Specifications
  
• Testbed and Methods
  
• Thermal and Acoustic Performance
  
• Conclusion
  

I believe that these days it is impossible to set up an efficient PC liquid-cooling system that would fit inside a standard ATX system case. Remember, how many internal liquid-cooling systems we tested so far and what results we obtained in our tests and you will get the point. And it is not only the inefficient water blocks or weak pumps that determine the efficiency of these solutions. There seems to be a different reason for that.

The actual operational principle of the liquid-cooling systems is based on transferring the heat away from its source and its rapid dissipation. And if the first one can be achieved with an efficient water block and a powerful pump, then the second one is hardly possible to fulfill inside a standard ATX system case, even a very roomy one. There is simply not enough room in there for a heatsink topped with two 120x120x25mm fans, and even if you manage to squeeze it in, the hot air will not go anywhere and will stay inside. Of course, there are some systems that allow installing heatsinks on the case rear or side panel. However, these liquid-cooling systems use either a single 120mm fan (such as Cooler Master Aquagate Mini R120) or two 70x15mm fans (Cooler Master Aquagate Viva). And our tests showed, that this is obviously not enough.

Nevertheless, convenience of use, exterior looks and universal design seem to dominate over efficiency and noise in mass liquid-cooling systems these days. Looks like the marketing departments of these companies turn out more powerful than their engineering teams. So, today we are going to talk about a new liquid-cooling system from Thermaltake that… But let’s not jump ahead of time and start from the very beginning :)

Package and Accessories

The new liquid-cooling system comes in a large colorful box with a plastic carry handle:

There is a photograph of the system built into the PC case on the front of the box together with a brief list of its advantages. The reverse side contains its detailed specifications, features description and other less important stuff.

Inside the box all the system components are separated into individual plastic foam sections: