Thermaltake launched its first copper radiators, the Pacific CL series. These are beefy radiators, measuring 64mm in thickness, and they come in 360mm, 420mm, and 480mm sizes.
The traditional approach to custom watercooling dictates that copper and aluminum parts should never be mixed in a water loop. If this is done carelessly, it can result in corrosion of parts over time. Copper has the advantage of conducting heat better than aluminum, but it’s expensive to use copper for big parts such as radiators. For example, when EKWB wanted to produce a cheaper line of watercooling parts based on aluminum radiators, it followed the traditional advice precisely and released an entire new line of all-aluminum parts called Fluid Gaming. The parts and pieces of the Fluid Gaming line can be used only with each other.
Thermaltake’s approach to custom watercooling has been a bit different from the industry stalwarts. Up until this point, Thermaltake has produced only aluminum radiators, whereas all of its other watercooling parts, such as its water blocks, are made from copper. To get around the issue of corrosion, the company said that its aluminum radiators have a zinc coating, so they can be safely mixed with copper parts, providing that the correct coolant is used.
However, in case you’d rather stick with the guarantee of traditional thinking, Thermaltake now offers a line of copper-based radiators. The Pacific CL series wasn’t just built for those who don’t want to mix metals in their water loop, though; it was made to be a serious step up in cooling potential compared to the thinner RL-series radiators.
The new Pacific CL radiators are 64mm thick, which is enough to fit three rows of water tubes. Connecting them are copper fins spaced to a density of 14fpi (fins per inch) and soldered by a process called reflow soldering, which Thermaltake said improves conductivity. The CL series use brass end tanks and feature a convenient fill port on the bottom.
The 360mm, 420mm, and 480mm Thermaltake Pacific CL series are available now at Thermaltake’s website for $100, $114, and $125, respectively.
