Tests of the new CBO Thermaltake Big Water 760i

In my opinion, at present it is impossible to organize highly efficient liquid cooling of PC components entirely inside a standard ATX case of a system unit. It is enough to recall how many serial SVOs of the internal arrangement were tested by us, and what results were shown by them, in order to come to this conclusion. And the point here is not even the low efficiency of the water blocks, or the weakness of the pumps in such cooling systems. The reason, most likely, lies elsewhere.

The very principle of constructing liquid cooling systems is based on the rapid removal of heat from its sources and its no less rapid dissipation. And if the first condition can be met with an effective water block coupled with a high-quality and powerful pump, then the second one inside, even in a spacious ATX case, is practically impossible. There is simply nowhere to install a radiator under at least two 120 x 120 x 25 mm fans, and if there is a place, the air heated by the radiator will remain inside the case of the system unit. Of course, there are systems that provide for the possibility of installing radiators on the rear wall of the case, or on its side wall. But in such CBOs, either radiators for the standard size of one 120-mm fan are used (remember at least
Cooler Master Aquagate Mini R120
), or for two fans, but with a standard size of 70 x 15 mm (
Cooler Master AQUAGATE VIVA
). And this, as tests have shown, is clearly not enough.

Nevertheless, convenience, appearance and versatility, among the manufacturers of serial CBOs, still prevail over such concepts as efficiency and noise level. The marketing departments of such companies are likely to be stronger than their engineering departments. So today we are going to study and test a new liquid cooling system from Thermaltake, which … However, let’s talk about everything in order.

• packaging and equipment

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

On the front side of the box there is a photo of the CBO built into the case of the system unit, as well as brief postulates of its steepness. On the reverse side there are detailed technical characteristics of the new item, a description of its capabilities and other less useful information.

Inside the package, all components of the cooling system are laid out in the compartments of the polyurethane foam corset:

On top of it is a poisonous green tube with an inner diameter of 9.5 mm:

The length of the tube is a little less than four meters, and this is more than enough to organize cooling not only of the central processor, but also of other system components, including mice and USB flash drives 😉… In addition, the hose glows in ultraviolet light.

In a separate compartment and a plastic bag, there is a set of fasteners similar in design to those of the Thermaltake Big Typhoon air cooler, clamps and thermal paste:

In addition, the kit includes two thick instruction books:

Moreover, both have sections in Russian. One book is a guide for assembling and connecting the system, and the second is a manual for the operation of the SVO.

Additionally, the scope of delivery includes a 0.5 liter refrigerant bottle:

The main filler of the coolant is propylene glycol with anti-corrosion additives. The presence of a separate packaging for the cartridge means that this liquid can be purchased separately.

The overview of the scope of delivery is completed with a small can for filling the system with coolant:

The can has a special tube designed to facilitate the process of refueling the system.

• features of the main unit and heat sink

The main unit of the cooling system is a box with a lattice window on the front side, built into two five-inch compartments of the system unit case:

Through this window, as conceived by the developers, the air flow enters the 120-mm fan. The dimensions of the main unit are 232 x 148.6 x 85 mm.

Let’s look at the main block from above:

It includes an aluminum radiator with a 120 mm fan mounted on it, an expansion tank and a pump. All components are interconnected by rigid plastic pipes:

The dimensions of the aluminum radiator are 153 x 120 x 28 mm. Thermaltake engineers used a technology called “Dimple Tube” in the design of the radiator, which consists in equipping the internal channels of the radiator with small dimples. This is how it looks according to the manufacturer’s version:

These round grooves are designed to create additional turbulence in the flow, which we have already seen in the radiator of an air cooler from OCZ. Whether the heat transfer increases in this way is almost impossible to check, so it remains to take the manufacturer’s word for it. I will add that the radiator is cooled by a 120 x 120 x 25 mm fan with a variable speed and blue backlighting. The impeller speed can be changed in the range from 1600 to 2400 rpm, with the declared noise level from 16 to 20 dBA.

The expansion tank dimensions are 72.4 x 70.5 x 69.4 mm and a volume of 130 ml:

On top of it you can find a plastic plug for adding coolant, and on the side – two marks with the minimum and maximum permissible fluid level.

Thermaltake Big Water 760i is equipped with a P500 pump with a declared maximum capacity of 500 liters per hour (tolerance ± 50 liters / hour). On the inside of the pump, it was possible to see some of its other technical characteristics:

One of the most interesting is the height of the water rise, equal to 1.8 m, which is not so bad by the standards of serial NWOs. The use of a ceramic bearing in the design of the pump rotor allowed the manufacturer to declare its service life of 80,000 hours, or more than 9 years. The pump noise level according to its technical characteristics is 16 dBA, but it is this characteristic that Thermaltake products are traditionally underestimated, so you should not immediately believe such a low noise level.