2019-09-01_Computer_Shopper

24 SEPTEMBER 2019 |COMPUTERSHOPPER|ISSUE 379

WHILEIT’SGENERALLYbetter to fit your

PC with a240mm or 280mmwatercooler

than a120mm cooler –radiators with a

greater surface area allow formore effective

cooling–there are plenty of cases where a

smallerall-in-one(AIO) will suit. Whether

you’ve got asmall, Mini-ITXchassisthat

won’t fit alarger radiator or you just want to

save money, asingle-fan unit can still prove

superiorto basic air cooling.

The ThermaltakeWater3.0 120 ARGB Sync

Editionis, no question,one of the more

expensive120mmAIOs to choosefrom –at

£74,it’snearlytwiceasmuchasaCoolermaster

MasterLiquidLite120, and afew poundsmore

than the high-endNZXT KrakenM22. What

those coolersdon’t have,however,isfully

addressableRGB lightingon both the fanand

the pump,includingaphysical controllerfor

cycling throughcoloursand effects.

SIMPLERTIMES

Typically,with RGB watercoolers,the caveat is

that theyrequire farmore cables dangling

aroundyour PC’s interior,and to get them lit

up at all demandsacertain RGB header on the

motherboard–somethingthat older boards,

and many cheapermodernmodels,will lack.

The Water3.0 120 ARGB Sync Editionisn’t

entirelyexempt;you’ll still need a5V

motherboardheader to get the full,

addressableRGB functionality,including

syncingwith other illuminated components

via Asus Aura Sync, MSI Mystic Light,

GigabyteRGB Fusion and ASRock Polychrome.

However,this cooler also diverts from

annoying RGB norms in two ways. One,its

cable configurationis relativelysimple: besides

an arguablyover-long fancable,it’s alot easier

to managethan the last ThermaltakeAIO

cooler we tested, the Floe Riing RGB 240 TT

VERDICT

Aquietcoolerthat’seasyto setup,butcoolingperformancecouldbemorevigorous

ALL-IN-ONELIQUIDCPU COOLER

PremiumEdition(Shopper372). Youalso don’t

need adedicated motherboardheader to get

it glowing.As long as you’ve got aspare SATA

power connector,you can simply use the

includedcontrollerto choosefrom aset of

coloursand effects, as well as adjust the

intensity of those effects.

Besidesfurtherreducingthe amountof

cabling–amodular system means if you don’t

want to use the 5V cable,you can leave it in

the box –this makes the Water3.0 120 ARGB

Sync Editionideal forthose who want aflashy

cooler withoutthe usual complexity.

That extends to the buildingprocess,

too, which has no particularlyfiddly steps.

There’s pre-appliedthermalpasteonthe

contactplate, and the use of screw-in

standoffs made setting it up forour Intel

Core i7-4770Kprocessoracinch. ForAMD

sockets,it adopts the usually horrid latch

system of the stock motherboardmounts,

but improves this immenselyby allowing

you to loosen the lever before hookingit on,

then tighten it with athumbscrew.

HEATED EXCHANGE

It’s all very user-friendly,but we wish cooling

performancewas better,especiallyconsidering

the price.It’s not bad, just not significantly

better than Intel’s stock air cooler.For

example,when the Core i7-4770Kwas idling,

core temperatureswere between30°C and

36°C –just slightlylower than with the stock

cooler,which kept between33°C and 37°C.

Under sustainedload, the cores jumpedup

to 60-65°C,which again is abit better than a

stock cooler but nowherenear the best

watercooledperformance.The SilverStone

Tundra TD02-RGB(Shopper377)managed

45-51°Cin the same conditions,and while that

has twice the radiator size and double the

fans, it’s also cheaperat £60. With the Water

3.0 120 ARGB Sync Edition,the Core i7-4770K

also saw arelativelyhigh peak of 68°C.

The good news is that overclocking

remainsviable.With our Intel chip boosted

from 3.5GHzto 3.9GHz,idle temperatures

rose only mildly to around33-40°C,while

load temperaturesrose to 66-70°C.These

aren’t terribly impressiveresults,but they’re

not worryinglyhigh, either.The absolute

highestcore temperaturewe recordedwith

the overclockedCPU was 74°C, beatingthe

stock cooler,which let it reach 79°C.

SAYAGAIN

It’s stillbetter value to pick the Tundra

TD02-RGB,but then Thermaltake’s cooler

does have one more advantage:it’s incredibly,

beautifullyquiet. We never even noticedit

over our test PC’s 120mmexhaustfan,

graphicscard or PSU fan, even during the

most intensive part of our 4K benchmarks,

which we used forload testing.

The Water3.0 120 ARGB Sync Editionis

therefore aluxury.For coolingperformance,

there are much better alternatives,but few

have the same combinationof show-off

design and whisper-quiet operation.Even if

that’s not enoughforafull recommendation,

it’s enoughthat it could be good for

compactPC builderswho’d favour silent

runningover extremeoverclocking.

JamesArcher

THERMALTAKEWater3.0

120ARGBSyncEdition

★★★★★

£74•From http://www.cclonline.com

SPECIFICATIONS

TECHNOLOGYClosedloop•FANS1x120mm•

SOCKETIntelLGA2066/2011-3/2011/1151/1150/1155/1156/

1366,AMDAM4/AM3+/AM3/AM2+/AM2/FM2/FM1•

RADIATORDIMENSIONS(NOFAN)120x151x27mm•

WARRANTYThreeyearsRTB•DETAILSwww.thermaltake.

com•PARTCODECL-W232-PL12SW-A