Thermaltake BigWater 760is – Liquid Cooling Kit Review

Since the invention of electronics and the birth of the integrated circuit, a lot of people have the notion that water (or any liquid for that matter) and electronics just do not go together. They are quite right; however, the cooling properties of water are unquestionable. Just think of a hot Summer day and how good you would feel diving into a nice, cool pool. Why not do the same for your CPU?

Although liquid cooling for computers has come a long way within the last decade or so, for users that are used to air cooling their CPUs, attempting a water/liquid cooling setup can be a daunting task. I have always wanted to try it; based on the efficiency with which it can cool a CPU and also potentially increase my overclocking headroom due to lower temperatures.

If you are new to liquid cooling, then instead of building a loop from scratch, getting yourself a decent water cooling kit is probably the best way to go and the Thermaltake BigWater 760is is one of the best units for the job.

Features & Specifications

The main features to be noted about the Thermaltake BigWater 760is are as follows:

• Dual 5.25” Drive Bay design: liquid cooling system in-a-box to save the space in the chassis and simplifying installation.
• Mesh design front bezel enhances ventilation.
• Easy to install and refill.
• 12cm Motorsports Radiator:
  • DTT – Dimple Tube Technology swirls the coolant within the radiator to increase thermal transfer.
  • An all-aluminum radiator featuring expanded outer fins and tube style for maximum performance.
• Slim Pure Copper Waterblock:
  • Micro-Channel Design within the waterblock maximize the thermal efficiency.
  • Advanced Brazing technology improves reliability and is leakage free.
  • All-in-one mounting design supports all latest CPU from Intel & AMD (Includes: Intel Socket LGA775 and AMD K8/AM2).
• Ultra-low noise fan: silent variable fan with blue LED (1600 ~ 2400rpm).
• High-performance Liquid Pump:
  • Silent and powerful P500 (500L/hr) pump provide superb reliability.
  • The ceramic bearings significantly extend the life-expectancy of the pump.
• Quick connector:
  • Quick Disconnect Coupling: Valves shuts off water flow immediately when dismantling to prevents water leakage
  • User friendly Quick Install Connector saves you time and energy.
• Durable 3/8” Tube: Special material to prevent wear & tear from being clogged up or over bending.

The specifications are also quite straightforward.

Now that you know what we’re working with, let us have a look at it all and then get to the installation.

Gallery

Here is a nice little gallery for you to feast your eyes upon.

Now to install this beauty!

Installation

Probably the most apprehensive part of moving from air to liquid cooling is the thought of a bad installation. Am I going to mess this up and kill all of my hardware? This is the question that has gone through many persons’ minds, including mine. Thermaltake was also aware of this mindset and so they made it simple and worry free.

Just like other all-in-one, self-contained units, you will still have to do a proper installation, but they have taken the guesswork out of it. The installation process is very straightforward and not at all as hard as I thought it would be. All you have to do is to follow the included manual carefully.

I have simplified it a bit further and here is how its done:

Step 1

Cut the tubing to your desired length and secure it to the waterblock assembly. At the other end, install the provided quick-release connectors.

Step 2

Attach the connectors to fully close the loop and then fill the reservoir to the high mark.

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.

Methodology, Test System & Limitations

Methodology

For the duration of the testing, the system was running in an air-conditioned room regulated to maintain a steady 22 degrees Celsius ambient temperature. This was important because this would be the constant, while I test the variables (the coolers).

This temperature was verified using a temperature probe connected to a digital multimeter. The probe was placed adjacent to the 200mm intake fan at the front of the case.

To measure actual CPU temperature, Real Temp 3.00 was used because over time it has been proven to give accurate readings for Intel Core based CPUs. It was also easy to record the minimum temperature at idle and also the peak temperature during load.

Idle temperatures were recorded at the desktop with minimal system activity, resulting in the CPU being at less than 2% load across all four cores.

For loading the CPU, OCCT 3.1.0 was used. Two separate tests were used to load the cores of the CPU to 100% for a sustained period of time. These are as follows and are described as stated by the program’s help section.

• CPU: OCCT – OCCT CPU test, where you’ll find the famous OCCT test that has been around for years now.
• CPU: LINPACK – Linpack CPU Test, based on a library provided by Intel. Similar to IntelBurnTest. CAUTION, it is VERY extreme and will make your CPU real hot.

Default settings were used for all tests.

Test System

The test system consisted of the following:

• Case: CM Storm Sniper – Black Edition
• PSU: Cooler Master UCP 1100w
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550S
• MB: ASUS P5E Deluxe X48
• RAM: G.SKILL 4GB DDR2-1000 PQ
• GPU: AMD Radeon HD 5830
• 3 Hard Disk Drives
• 1 Optical Drive

The purpose of keeping all three hard drives in the test system is to further simulate a real life scenario, instead of using only one so as to cut down on internal system heat.

Limitations

The stock settings for the CPU are 2.83GHz with its VID of 1.175V and this was used throughout the testing period.

The overclocked and overvolted settings were chosen based on a limitation. The CPU itself can attain a maximum stable clock speed of 3.85GHz on air with 1.400V and as such became the common ground in testing both cooling solutions.

Results – Stock

The results at stock speed and voltage are pretty straightforward and are shown in the chart below.

At idle, the difference in cooling performance is visible though marginal and would seem to suggest a trend to follow.

The first load test, CPU: OCCT, maintains the trend that was indicated at idle with maximum temperatures reaching 39C on the V10 air cooler and 38C and 37C on the BigWater with low and high fan respectively.

The second load test, CPU: Linpack, kept more or less the same trend, each just two degrees warmer than the other. The V10 was yet again the warmest at 44C. The liquid cooling solution easily shows what it is made of.

These temperatures are still acceptable for regular use though, keeping in mind that the strain that Linpack puts on the system most likely will never be replicated in real life daily use.

Results – Overclocked

The overclocked results depict a similar image and the results are shown in the chart below.

Again at idle, despite the additional voltage, both coolers were able to keep the CPU at very respectable temperatures.

The first load test, CPU: OCCT, shows the V10 managing to break even with the BigWater 760is on low, with a reading of 53C. On high, the registered maximum temperature was 52C.

The second load test, CPU: Linpack, poses an interesting scenario. The interesting part is that here we finally see the BigWater break away from its rival. It now comes out on top registering only 62C with high fan and 64C on low, while the V10 was only able to manage 67C.

As mentioned before, the Linpack test puts much more pressure on your system than regular daily use (including gaming) and serves to show how these coolers would perform under maximum strain.

Further Overclocking

The lower load temperatures now being experienced are due to the quick heat dissipation and the efficient cooling design. With this in mind I decided to try for an even higher overclock than previously achievable.

Bittersweet success was the order of the day as I was able to take this Q9550S to a clock speed of 4.1GHz. However, it took a bit too much voltage for my liking and as such, even though impressive, I am not comfortable enough to leave it there for 24/7 operation.

Noise

Many persons have bad things to say about liquid cooling setups and some of the more popular statements are, “It is loud”, or “The pump makes too much noise”, or “I can’t sleep at night”. Well, I’m going to dispel that myth right now (at least for this unit anyway).

When I first did the installation, the pump noise was somewhere between the low and high fan of my previous air cooler (V10). After having the BigWater running inside my system for a while, true to form, the pump got quieter and quieter. Now it only gives a low hum from 6 inches away, very faint sound at 1 foot away and it is inaudible at a distance of 2 feet. The fan is loud at full speed but it is also inaudible at 2 feet when set to low.

Keep in mind that for this test, I clearly did not use any fancy-schmancy equipment but instead, I used what just about everyone else will use, their ears. Also of note is that the radiator fan was left on its lowest setting.

Conclusion

Liquid cooling your PC components will seem like an extremely challenging task at first, but the ThermalTake BigWater 760is makes it easy. With a simplified installation and a very efficient design, this product is all a first-timer could ever ask for.

While costing around US $150, which is quite a bit more than most high-end air coolers, the BigWater 760is is equal to the challenge of justifying why you should spend that extra to get this kit. Outperforming high-end air coolers is just part of the fun, the other things like improved overclocking headroom and of course bragging rights (“I just liquid cooled my CPU!”), are simply priceless.

Pros:

• Easy installation
• Decent price/performance ratio
• Compact (takes up only 2 drive bays)
• Expandable (other blocks can be added)
• Blue LEDs (may be a con for some persons)
• Changeable 120mm fan (may fix blue LED issue)
• NO LEAKS!! (your mileage may vary)

Cons:

• Front bezel may not line up well (mounting cut-out not long enough)
• Fan is loud at maximum
• Fan speed rheostat (controller) is located inside
• No on/off switch for the blue LEDs

The ThermalTake BigWater 760is gets my full recommendation and is this Editor’s Choice for cooling my CPU.

Leon Hyman
Senior Editor

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«1. Introduction2. Features & Specifications3. Photo Gallery4. Installation5. Installation (continued)6. Methodology, Test System & Limitations7. Results: Stock8. Results: Overclocked9. Further Overclocking & Noise10. Conclusion11. View All»