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Four New Closed-Loop Liquid Coolers Versus Noctua's NH-D14

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Four new closed-loop liquid coolers seek to improve thermal performance in a number of ways. We certainly understand the benefits of these configurations, but can they out-do the reigning air-cooling champion, Noctua's NH-D14? Check out our benchmarks.

Installing The Tundra TD02

Though most sockets require SilverStone’s universal support plate and long studs, the TD02 also includes standoffs for use with LGA 2011’s integrated cooler mount.

SilverStone recommends its TD02 be installed under the fans, with air blowing down. This method assures that the radiator gets cool outside air rather than warm case air, but is also likely to raise the internal temperature affecting other components as it fights convective exhaust.

Close proximity of the fan blades to our case’s integrated fan grill also makes this a noisier option, as the blades make a slight buzz as they pass each hole. This phenomenon is far less audible with the enclosure's stock exhaust fan because its frame acts as a spacer. And the stock exhaust fan still fits with the TD02 installed.

This is how the installation looks if you follow SilverStone’s recommendations. Offset radiator mounting on the Nanoxia Deep Silence 1 allows the Tundra TD02 radiator to overlap the motherboard by more than an inch. Due to the above-mentioned noise issue when using the case’s top vents as intakes, we also retested the TD02 with its fans under the radiator facing upward.

54 Comments Comment from the forums
  • squirrelboy 07 October 2013 04:34
    length, width and thickness in inches, fan size in mm, weight in ounces. can we just have mm everywhere, and preferably kg as well?
    Reply
  • razor512 07 October 2013 04:38
    Seems they reduced their old BS claim of handling 400 watts of heat on the Reserator 3 MAX, it is now 350 watts, but even that seems unrealistic.

    Tomshardware should place some of these coolers on a resistive load of 300-400 watts and see if these coolers can actually handle the heat, or will the fluid boil and build up enough pressure to pop.
    Reply
  • xiinc37 07 October 2013 04:40
    Isn't the whole point of watercooling to move the cooler far away from the cpu, so that there is more room to utilize a significantly larger radiator? The thermalright and zalman options look smaller than the noctua...
    Reply
  • rmpumper 07 October 2013 05:07
    Grabbed a Dark Rock Pro 2 for my new setup. No regrets - looks a billion times better than D14, is less noisy, performs +-1C the same.
    Reply
  • ingtar33 07 October 2013 05:27
    got an old corsair h100 for $50, which was less then the old heatsink i had on my phII x4 965 used to go for (thermalright ultra 120), Gained a solid 8C improvement in temps, lost some of the noise advantages (the ultra had two noctua's on it)... setting it to medium gave me a 5C improvement in temps, and about the same noise levels. overall i'm pretty happy with it. it looks cleaner, that's for sure.
    Reply
  • bigcyco1 07 October 2013 05:30
    Thanks for the review.I always have said if someone is going to watercool they should go custom.IMO those all in one water cooling kits just are not worth it. They are no better than high-end air cooling like a Noctua D14, Thermalright Silver Arrow,Phanteks PH-TC14PE elect.If you want to go water cooling do a custom loop if not just go with top of the line air cooling.Better bang per buck!
    Reply
  • itzsnypah 07 October 2013 05:47
    I wish there was some way to measure the DeltaT of the Ethylene Glycol used in these CLC's because truthfully I wouldn't be surprised to see >25c when using a overclocked 3960X.
    Reply
  • ChromeTusk 07 October 2013 06:23
    I wonder how much the rear exhaust fan would have affected the Reserstor3’s results.
    In any case, I will wait for price drops or rebates.
    Reply
  • djorgji 07 October 2013 07:24
    Is it so difficult to sort the results from best to worst? Lowest to highest etc?

    Like this it is impossible to read.
    Reply
  • nilfisktun 07 October 2013 07:45
    Well, those stock fans all blows, in my optic. You might call it cheating, but try slamming in two noctua pwm fans in a H100i for instance. I run this at home, and those fans typically runs at 600-800 rpm, therefore being totally silent. My stock temps rest around 38C, with 22C ambient, and hit around 60C at full prime load. i7 2600K @ 4.2 ghz. 1.28v
    Reply