X-bit labs

Two Solutions from SilverStone: Tundra TD01 Liquid-Cooling System vs. Nitrogon NT06-Lite CPU Air-Cooler

Category: Coolers

by Sergey Lepilov

[ 03/05/2008 | 02:47 PM ]

We will talk about a mass liquid-cooling solution for processors and a CPU air-cooler from the same manufacturer. Will it be fair to compare such different cooling systems from the technological and pricing standpoint? Let’s give it a try!

Table of contents:

• SilverStone Tundra TD01
  
• Package and Accessories
  
• Design and Functionality: Main Unit
  
• Design and Functionality: CPU Block
  
• Assembly and Installation
  
• SilverStone Nitrogon NT06-Lite
  
• Package and Accessories
  
• Design and Functionality
  
• Installation Tips
  
• Testbed and Methods
  
• Cooling Efficiency and Acoustic Performance
  
• Cooling Efficiency Tests
  
• Acoustic Performance
  
• Conclusion
  

Even the leading brand names that appeared much earlier can envy extensive product range currently offered by the Taiwanese SilverStone Company founded in the not far away 2003. After a little less than 5 years, SilverStone is ready to offer end-users a wide choice of computer cases in different form-factors, the whole family of power supply units ranging from noiseless to very powerful, fans of different sizes and speeds, a variety of built-in panels and units, home theater systems, accessories and finally PC cooling solutions.

For our today’s article we picked two cooling solutions that strike us as the most interesting. They are Tundra TD01 liquid-cooling system, Nitrogon NT06-Lite air cooler and three pairs of 120mm fans that will participate in one of our next roundups. So, today we would like to compare the features and cooling efficiency of a liquid-cooling solution and an air cooler from SilverStone.

SilverStone Tundra TD01

Package and Accessories

SilverStone Tundra TD01 liquid-cooling system comes in a large carton box with SilverStone’s traditional black and silver color scheme. When you open the box, the main system unit sits in a protective foam shell together with a smaller box containing all parts and accessories.

The accessories bundle includes the following items:

The bundle includes everything you might need to successfully install the system onto any contemporary platform:

• Water unit retention bracket for LGA775 mainboards;
• Backplate for AMD K8 mainboards;
• Water unit retention bracket for AMD K8 mainboards;
• Spring screws;
• A small L-shaped hexagon-wrench;
• Thermal compound;
• The rear case bracket with connecting pipes and a power connector;
• Power cable.

Besides, the bundle also includes four pieces of sturdy transparent plastic tubing 2 x 700mm and 2 x 400mm with 8mm external and 6mm internal diameter:

The same box contains two bottles of coolant solution with anti-corrosion agent:

Each bottle holds 0.6l. The coolant inside is of vivid blue color and features very harsh unpleasant smell. Besides the above listed components, the system also comes with a CPU water block, which we are going to talk about later in our review.