If you’ve been following the CPU world’s climb over the 4 GHz mountain, then you’re probably well aware of the challenges of cooling off that achievement. Thermaltake heard the screams of those cooling fans and has risen to the challenge, unveiling several new products at COMPUTEX 2014, to take on that challenge. Today, we get a chance to test their latest all in one solution called the Water 3.0 Ultimate, which is based on a 360mm radiator design, with triple 120mm fans. It promises to “exceed user expectations…with superior CPU protection.” But does it have the ability to cool without raising a raucous, or is it all just wind? Let’s find out!
Features and Specifications
The Water 3.0 Ultimate is an LCS, or liquid cooling system meaning it is a fully closed and integrated loop. Users have to make sure they have a computer case that supports a triple 120mm radiator. Medium or full towers with a space up top for the 360mm radiator (such as the NZXT H440, and of course Thermaltake’s own Urban T81) are our recommended choices.
Here are the rest of the details you will need to make a proper fit:
- Full sized 3 x 120mm (360mm) radiator
- Includes 3 x 120mm Triple Curve Thermaltake fans
- Copper base plate and water block
- Prefilled and low maintence
- Radiator supports up to six 120mm fans
- Easy to install LCS
- Compatible with Intel: LGA 2011, LGA 1366, LGA 1150, LGA 1155, and LGA 1156
- Compatible with AMD: FM2, FM1, AM3, AM3+, AM2, and AM2+
The fan specs are important in case you want to use them, or want to use higher performance fans. However, if you do want to replace them, you should match up the specs of the stock fans or exceed them. The included Thermaltake Triple Curve fans are rated 1000 to 2000 RPM, move a max 99 cubic feet of air per minute, create up to 20 dBA noise, and get power via a 4pin connector. This means the fans are PWM capable running automatically controlled by the motherboard BIOS, or motherboard software.
The last specification is the price. At an astonishing $139.99 US, the Water 3.0 Ultimate is one of the most competitively priced All-In-One liquid cooling systems on the market. Even when compared to higher end 240mm/280mm systems on the market. Thermaltake definitely came in at at “fighting price” with the Water 3.0 Ultimate.
What’s in the Box?
The contents are essential for proper installation. The bundle includes a very helpful detailed manual, three 120mm Triple Curve fans, 360mm compatible radiator, and nuts and bolts to secure the preattached CPU block.
All of the bagged accessories are black which blends well with most motherboards. One item missing from our package is a newly included 3-to-1 fan Y-splitter. Most every motherboard has more than enough mV power through a single fan header so this is a really good wire managing feature.
Let’s continue on with the closer look at the hardware!
A Closer Look at the Thermaltake Water 3.0 Ultimate
The construction is fairly standard, with a black painted 360mm aluminum radiator to start. There’s no need to worry about any chemical reactions in the liquid as Thermaltake takes care of that for you with the all-in-one sealed build. Holes line up with 120mm fans which should line up on all enthusiast level enclosures. Plus, the radiator assembly is surprisingly light weight. Custom systems are easily more than twice that in weight.
Up close, it appears the radiator is a dual pass. What that means is that the warmer liquid passes through more of the fins twice which cools the liquid better. While a triple pass radiator would cool better, it creates more resistance and cost. The reason for the higher cost is due to that construction and the need for a stronger internal pump to push the liquid through. The improvement would most likely be about 2-3 degrees at the cost of $30-40 which honestly isn’t worth it at this price point.
Up close, you can see the Water 3.0 Ultimate’s copper cooling plate covering the base unit. The base already comes with some thermal paste strategically centered. No clue on the paste’s origin or any special properties. The base plate seems smoother than previous units.
Finally, a 3pin wire powers the pump. It’s sure nice to have such a lower power pump easily connectable to the motherboard’s fan headers.
Test System Setup
If you’ve installed any all in one liquid cooling systems the last three years, the Water 3.0 Ultimate doesn’t reinvent the wheel here. The enclosure we used is the newly released Thermaltake Urban T81 full tower enclosure. It supports both front and top mounted radiators. The rest of the system setups is as follows.
Haswell-R “Devil’s Canyon”
- Intel Core i7-4790K
- GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-UD5H Motherboard
- Patriot Memory Viper 3 16GB 2133MHz DDR3 Memory
Ivy Bridge-E System
- Intel Core i7-4960X
- ASUS X79 Sabertooth Motherboard
- Kingston HyperX Beast 16GB 2133MHz DDR3 Memory
Haswell-E System
- Intel Core i7-5960X
- ASUS X99 Deluxe
- Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB 2133MHz DDR4 Memory
Our operating system of choices is Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit. But before we get to the benchmarks, let’s quickly cover the installation experience.
Installation Notes
Installation in the Thermaltake Urban T81 because of the preset holes and slots so you can use to position any 120mm or 140mm radiator including fans. Four screws feed through the fans and case frame in to the radiator which was mounted on top. Mounting the radiator took a mere 15 minutes. Not all cases are this well equipped, so double check your case.
The CPU block was easy to install because of the accurate, detailed directions and depictions. The two Haswells took only 20 minutes each and the LGA 2011 IVB-E and HW-E both took 10 minutes because it only needs the mounting ring and four bolts. The tricky part is making sure you hold the ring and block in place while starting the four corner bolts during installation.
Now let’s get on with the testing!
Desktop and Gaming Temperatures
Idle temperatures aren’t a problem for any CPU cooler unless it’s incorrectly installed. However, gaming and certain rendering projects can heat up a processor. That said, we ran CineBench R15 and Unigine Heaven Demo about a dozen times with nearly identical results shown below.
The minimum average temp for the Core i7-5960X was about 24C from just the cores, which is almost identical to the Core i7-4970K Devil’s Canyon processor. In comparison, the Core i7-4960X idled at 32 C at desktop. The Water 3.0 Ultimate keeps the Core i7 5960X at an average temperature of about 43C during CineBench and Unigine. And, the cooler was inaudible compared to the 20 dB (A) noise in the room.
Full Load Temperatures
At some point, the Water 3.0 Ultimate will have to cool a fully loaded multicore processor. After letting the Core i7-5960X ASUS X99 Deluxe system idle for two hours, the Core i7 5960X was loaded down with Prime95 so it got nice and hot.
After an hour, the Core i7 5960X was kept to an average of 57 C which is especially impressive given that this is an 8 core processor. In comparison, the Core i7-4960X in previous tests was just a couple degrees cooler. At stock frequencies, the Water 3.0 Ultimate’s fans were never audible. When overclocked to 4.6 GHz @ 1.32 volts, the fans weren’t audible at idle or mucking around the desktop. However, the fans did crank up dynamically to about 25-29 dB at full load. Temps topped out at 67.5C which is still quite impressive. Keep in mind, we couldn’t really hear the Water 3.0 Ultimate inside the computer case itself.
For a little extra comparative analysis and summary, we can see that the other coolers look comparable in performance, but that comes at the cost of much higher noise, with the exception of the Noctua NH-D14 cooler. The Water 3.0 Ultimate just does an exceptional job of handling the CPU temps while remaining so much quieter.
Final Thoughts
So the question is, after all this testing is, is the Thermaltake Water 3.0 Ultimate really “ultimate”?
During any desktop project, the Thermaltake Water 3.0 Ultimate was pleasantly quiet and kept the hottest Intel Core i7-5960X 8-core processor surprisingly cool. The only time it was detectable was at first boot or when dealing with an overclocked processor. However, as is the case with any overclocked processor, fan noise is par for the course. The noise was unoffensive within the Thermaltake T81 Urban with doors open, and nearly inaudible when they were closed at all times. The bottom line here is that the Water 3.0 Ultimate will do an excellent job keeping today’s hottest multicore processors cool and quiet.
One observation noted during installation is that the tubing isn’t quite long enough to allow the radiator to be mounted in the front of a case. Only few shorter mid-towers will allow front installation so users will need to make sure the enclosure they choose supports a triple 120 (360mm) radiator.
As of this article, the Thermaltake Water 3.0 Ultimate will cost you only $139 US, and currently has no rival. Considering that the Water 3.0 Extreme 240mm system costs $100 US/CA, the extra cost is well worth it to keep your processor cool and extremely quiet. Assuming that you have a case that will accommodate it.
In the end, the Thermaltake Water 3.0 Ultimate earns its name through its performance, its price, and easy installation in most cases that support a 360mm radiator. And it might very well be the last all in one liquid cooling system you will ever buy, with a 3-year warranty on top. With that combination of pluses, it certainly earns a very rare Editors’ Choice from Futurelooks!
Pros
- Very affordable for an enthusiast level liquid cooler
- Very good liquid cooling performance
- Very quiet at stock PWM operation
- Easy to set up
- PWM fans perfect for full control
- 3 Year Warranty
Cons
- Not compatible with all cases
- Short tubing might not allow front mount in some cases
Overall Rating: 9.0 / 10.0
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