at a glance
(+) Commodore 64
Solid cooling and acoustics; improved dimensions on original TD02.
(-) Atari Jaguar
Could perform better for the money.
This article was published in the July 2015 issue of Maximum PC. For more trusted reviews and feature stories, subscribe here.
This cooling ain’t fooling around
Last year, we reviewed Silverstone’s original TD02 closed-loop CPU cooler (CLC). It used a 240mm radiator, which had integrated tubing that fed heat coming from a pump and heatsink combo that sits on top of the CPU. Enthusiasts like CLCs because they can allow higher CPU overclocking than a conventional air cooler. They also take some weight off the mobo, though modern backplate designs tend to make that a non-issue. But the TD02 wasn’t perfect. Its radiator was thick, so it couldn’t fit in some cases. The tubes were also a bit undersized, so it could have trouble getting heat to the rad.
We liked the aluminum pump housing of the original, and the white tubing and fan blades. But we were apparently in the minority. When you unbox the TD02-E, you’ll see black rubber tubing and fan blades, and no white accents on the rad. Silverstone’s literally gone to the dark side, though there’s a shell with a carbon fiber-style pattern on it. Plus the firm’s snowflake logo is still present, glowing blue on top of the pump.
The radiator is 27mm thick instead of the usual 25mm, but that’s unlikely to be a problem. It still uses a dense soldered fin array, which creates better contact than non-soldered fins, and the higher density increases the cooler’s effective surface area. You need proportionally stronger fans to compensate for the thicker array, but that’s definitely not a problem for Silverstone, a company known for designing its own fans for a variety of roles. The TD02-E fans’ blades are highly angled for better penetration, whereas regular case fans will have flatter blades, because they don’t need to focus their airflow.
Feeling the Heat
Anyone who’s installed a CLC before will find no surprises. Silverstone uses a metal backplate, which is a nice touch and adds to the cooler’s durability. Users of LGA 2011 mobos have a set of mounting screws, and the cooler drops right in and is secured by four metal fasteners. You can get it all in with a Phillips screwdriver. Silverstone also includes an adapter to connect both fans to one fan header, which seems a nobrainer but sometimes isn’t provided.
The TD02-E operates quietly, yet it idles this hex-core Intel Core i7-3960X just 10 C above room temperature. When we put the nightmare-level load on this chip, the heat rises up to 71.6 C, which is higher than we’d like. But the cooler stays nice and quiet despite the CPU being overclocked to about 4.2GHz at this point. Once that test was done, we instructed the “AI Suite” software of our Asus Rampage IV Extreme motherboard to set the fans to “Turbo” mode. Temps dipped to 70 C. Still a few degrees higher than we’d like, but respectable when you consider how much heat the CPU is generating.
Unfortunately, the CLC market is packed with some competitive entries from the likes of Cooler Master and Corsair, who will get your chip cooler for about the same price and with the same noise level. And of course, if your case can fit a 280mm radiator instead, this Silverstone unit pales in comparison. So we can’t crown the TD02-E as the new king. In fact, our tests indicated the original performed a bit better, probably thanks to its thicker rad. But if the TD02-E can keep a hex-core CPU at 72 C when clocked to 4.2GHz, it should be more than enough for a chip that uses the smaller LGA 1150/1155 socket.
$100, http://ift.tt/1P1btHI
| Benchmarks | ||||
| Tundra TD02-E | Cooler Master Nepton 280L | Tundra TD02 | Corsair H100i | |
| Ambient Air |
23.4/23.4 |
22.1/22.4 |
19.8/19.8 |
20.3/20.5 |
| Idle Temperature |
33.1/33 |
33.2/30 |
29.8/29.5 |
30.7/29.3 |
| Load Temperature |
71.6/70 |
64.5/63.3 |
65.8/63.0 |
67.1/61 |
| Load: Ambient |
48.2/46.6 |
42.4/40.9 |
46.0/43.2 |
46.8/40.5 |
| Street Price |
$100 |
$120 |
Discontinued |
$100 |
Best scores are bolded. First number is Quiet mode, second is Performance. All temperatures in degrees Celsius. All tests performed with an Intel Core i7-3960X at 4.2GHz, on an Asus Rampage IV Extreme motherboard in a Corsair 900D with stock fans set to Standard.
| Specifications | |
| Radiator Dimensions (H x D x W) |
11 x 2.1 x 4.9 inches |
| Stock Fans |
2x 12cm PWM |
| Socket Support |
LGA775/1150/1155/1156/1366/2011/2011-3 AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+ FM1/FM2 |
| Additional Fan Support | 2x 12cm |
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