Thermaltake BigWater 760is – Liquid Cooling Kit Review

Installation (continued)

Step 3

This is where it gets interesting. Now you will have to test the loop to make sure you have no leaks and this has to be done outside of the computer system. To do this, you can use a paper clip to jumper a power supply unit, so that you can supply power to the pump.

NOTE: In doing this, you do so on the main power connector and you must bridge the GREEN wire with any BLACK wire. Do NOT attempt any other method.

Step 4

You will now use the power supply’s on/off switch to power up the loop. Now keep in mind that you can damage your (submersible) pump if it runs for too long without liquid flowing through it. So the strategy here is to flick the switch on and off intermittently as the liquid slowly fills the interior of the pump and the rest of the loop.

You might have to add more coolant during this process. Once the entire loop is filled, top up the reservoir to the high mark. You may gently tap your tubing to remove some of the air bubbles in the line. You won’t be able to remove all of them but they will go away naturally after a while.

You will now aim to leave this setup running non-stop for about 24 hours. This serves two purposes which are to make sure that your entire setup works as it should and also gives you the opportunity to check for leaks outside of your system. If there are any issues, address them immediately.

Step 5

Provided that all goes well in Step 4, all that is left now is to mount the unit inside your case. Making use of the quick disconnect couplings is easy. Just release the clips and mount the waterblock section onto your CPU after applying your thermal paste. Then mount the rest of the unit in your chassis and reconnect the tubes.

Now to my only real grouse with this unit. The design of the front bezel may provide a challenge to some persons depending on the style of your chassis. However, my issue was that the cut-outs in the side of the dual drive bay mounting setup was not quite cut deep enough and the unit refused to slide past one of the drive bay supports. Making this cut-out just half an inch longer would have prevented this.

It took a long while to actually figure out why it wouldn’t slide neatly into the drive bay. However, after figuring it out, the only solution was to bend the support out of the way using a pair of pliers. A simple modification solved the problem, although this may be undesirable for some persons.

The end result is aesthetically pleasing, especially if your case already has a mesh design like mine.

I do apologize for the quality of this picture. It was taken in a very low light condition with no flash so as to show off the blue LEDs.