Thermaltake LCS - why so bad?

[vibe]

Hi all,

Having seen a few online reveiws that looked of I have just got my self my 1st LCS and a few extra parts from thermaltake.

Bigwater 745 kit
Upgarded pump to 500 LPH
Upgraded CPU block (the one with the rad and fan on, volcano something I think)
NB block also.

Have fitted it to a Thermaltake Armor case with standard fans and 25cm side fan, CPU now running at 37C idel and 40-42C under load for some time. TBH I was impressed with the results.

That said I now see some bad feedback on the forums about thermaltake, whats so wrong with them?

My rig is not amazing, 4800+ AMD with twin 8600 not in SLI

 

[ouch1]

Well considering that Tt liquid cooling kits use aluminum radiators, and copper blocks that is the first against them. Also their pumps are nowhere near as powerful as one from Dd, Swiftech, or Petra's. And finally thier radiators are very flow restrictive. I would recommend either getting a kit or a diy rig from Dd, Petra's or Swiftech.

-ouch1

BTW I had a Tt Aquarius II and had to have the pump replaced 3 times due to the res cracking.

 

[nzxtlexa]

most of the bad feedback towards thermaltake is because of them using aluminium radiators, which can lead to corrosion or even sometimes algae growth.

 

[Houndsteeth]

Galvanic corrosion is caused when you have two different metals in the same cooling loop. What happens is that one metal has a higher electron affinity than the other, so it strips electrons from a readily available source (the water) and then the water oxidizes the other metal. This corrodes the metal that oxidizes and leaves the fluid in an ionic state (it is no longer dielectric).

Some fluids can reduce the amount of galvanic corrosion that happens in a cooling loop, but you are much better off not mixing metals in the first place. That Tt purposely decided to mix metals in their kits shows their inattentiveness to the science of this detail, especially considering the desire for dielectric fluids in these cooling loops.

Other than this, as others have shown, by restricting the flow in the radiator and several of their blocks down to 1/4" tubing and using an underpowered pump, the overall performance of the kit is considerably lower than what you would get from a custom DIY build, or even a moderately more expensive kit from a supplier who does pay attention to the details. In most situations, in fact, Tt kits barely perform above that of air cooled solutions, which typically cost a third of the price.

 

[Phunky]

DOes this hold true for the Kandalf LCS kit? the piping in the radiator certainly appeares to be copper fro what i can see of it, although the restriction in size is still there the pump appears to be quite powerful?
Have installed this kit and seen temperatures drop from 50c under load to around 24c, not a great deal higher than ambient to be honest.
Considering the cost of a decent case, which i needed anyway, and a watercolling kit i feel the Kandalf ahs so far been a worthwhile investment.
Am i wrong here and waiting for things to go sour?

 

[ouch1]

Phunky,

It applies to pretty much all Tt LCS kits. Try putting a decent OC on your CPU and you will see that the Tt kit cannot hold up under the pressure. If you want a good LCS kit that will last get it from one of the following 3 places:
DangerDen
Petra's Tech Shop
Swiftech

A liquid cooling kit from one of those places will treat you quite well.

-ouch1

 

[itotallybelieveyou]

KOOLANCE is another good option

 

[godman]

Thermochill rads are said to be the best in the world (Bad if you don't live in the UK )

Thermaltake in my opinion when I first started out were the savior - cheap product that sounds good and excellent bragging rights but ...

TT kits are often plagued by bad pumps, small size tubing and, as the others have said, bad radiators

Swiftech rads are very good (I don't have any personal experience though)

If you have the money always go for the expensive product (not always the case mind)

 

[questgraves]

I know the science is behind the argument and I do not disagree that any of the above can happen. I use TT custom products for a full custom loop (EK GPU blocks) and I change my fluid often, clean things up etc. and have never had issue. I use their top tier pump D5 Laing with the silent kit (PR-22). I cannot speak for the kits, but I spent close to $800 US on my loop including RING fans, hardline tubing and primochill revolver fittings. I think that if I were to start again I would have bought copper radiators however just to be safe, -peace of mind, but I have not seen any corrosion or damage to my blocks. Also, who knows if it gets bad I will replace the aluminum rads but at $90 each they are not cheap. Considering that Alphacool makes some all copper ones for about the same price...I have great thermals also with a 6700k OC to 4.6 and R9 290 OC temps are very cool, even with those intensely hot GPUs. If something changes I will report back, but if it's a kit you are looking for in my opinion go with the EK Predator as you have option to expand the loop. -Best wishes!