Thermaltake Water2.0 Pro & Performer CPU Coolers – Water vs. Air
Conclusion
When it comes to cooling your overclocked hot Intel or AMD CPU efficiently and quietly, Thermaltake is the company to turn to. Just as we previously saw aftermarket aircoolers quietly eclipse the stock cooler and the Noctua NH-DH14 silently pass the budget coolers, we see the Water2.0 Pro surpass our Noctua’s maximum cooling ability.
If you have a Core i7 or FX CPU that you really want to push to its maximum overclock, the Thermaltake Water2.0 Pro may be for you. If you want to save money and have less demands on your cooler, the Water2.0 Performer is an excellent cooler and it is more efficient at cooling than even the more expensive Noctua cooler until about 4.5GHz. Thermaltake’s Water2.0 Performer and Pro come highly recommended by this reviewer!
Thermaltake Water2.0 Pro
Pros:
- The Pro is a great watercooling solution for overclocking almost any modern Intel or AMD CPU near its limits and it beats our best air cooler, the flagship Noctua NH-DH14 in cooling performance.
- The Pro is a complete self-contained compact liquid system that never needs refilling
- Everything is included for installation including thermal compound.
- It is relatively easy to install into a full tower and it takes up much less space than a bulky air cooler
- Parts are well marked and the instructions are clear and well written although a DVD would be a good idea for watercooling novice builders.
Cons:
- The fan noise is noticeable under load.
- The backplate is soft plastic and easily deformed
- Warranty is one year
Thermaltake Water2.0 Performer
Pros:
- The Performer is a great watercooling solution for overclocking almost any modern Intel or AMD CPU at a budget price and it does not compromise quality. The only difference between the Pro and the Performer is their radiator’s thickness. It was able to keep our CPU running stable at 4.8GHz.
- It is priced at only $48 (at Newegg) after a $15 mail-in rebate!
- The Performer is a complete self-contained compact liquid system that never needs refilling
- Everything is included for installation including thermal compound.
- It is relatively easy to install into a full tower and it takes up much less space than a bulky air cooler
- Parts are well marked and the instructions are clear and well written although a DVD would be a good idea for watercooling novice builders.
Cons:
- The fan noise is noticeable under load.
- The backplate is soft plastic and easily deformed
- Warranty is one year
The Verdict
There you have it. Thermaltake’s Water2.0 Pro is an excellent no-compromise all-in-one quiet cooler for a reasonable price considering its build, ease of installation, and all-inclusive package. It is well-deserving of our “Editor’s Choice” award and it cools our own overclocked hot-running Ivy Bridge i7-3770K. Highly recommended!
Thermaltake’s Water2.0 Performer is different from the Pro by virture of a thinner and thus less expensive radiator. For it’s budget price, it is an excellent value watercooler that will allow you to get a high overclock – in our case, effectively the same 4.8GHz that our much more expensive Noctua NH-DH14 achieved. The Performer also comes highly recommended for its superb bang-for-buck cooling and it deserves our Great Value award.
Our next article will be published this week and it will be a “mystery card” mega review. After that, you can expect a Kingston SSD evaluation comparing two enthusiast-level HyperX SSDs to their consumer-oriented Vnow 200 series versus hard disk drive on our Ivy Bridge platform. There is a lot coming from us at ABT! Make sure to join us on our forum for great discussions and you can even help us direct future evaluations.
Happy Gaming!
Mark Poppin
ABT Senior Editor
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