Tech Link (Cooler): Thermaltake Bigwater 745 Liquid Cooling System Review

I am still a fan of Thermaltake* so I can't resist to read up on this review for their watercooling system. I hated the first ever Thermaltake* water cooler (Aquarius* series) since it's not good enough even back in the days of socket478. But Thermaltake* has improved thru the years and well, they are making more and more of these watercooling systems and components so I guess they are succesful here. In any case, checkout i4u's review. They used a pretty nice set up there. Expand for more...

Thermaltake Bigwater 745 Performance
If you are a hardcore overclocker, liquid cooling systems from the likes of Danger Den and other manufacturers will likely offer higher performance for your needs. However, for casual overlclockers and those looking to make their systems quieter the Thermaltake Bigwater 745 is an excellent option. The heat/sink fan combo I was using prior to the Bigwater was a high performance unit from Zalman called the Fatal1ty for the LGA775 Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 CPU I use in my system.

At idle with default CPU settings on the Zalman fan my system ran 35C degrees with ambient room temps at about 80F(a bit under 27C). With the same ambient temps in the room the Thermaltake Bigwater 745 kept the Core 2 Extreme at 28C idle temp. That is a bit over one degree higher than room temp. Under full load with looping 3DMark06 runs going the Zalman fan kept the CPU at 48C. Bigwater kept the CPU at 41C under full load with the same 3DMark06 loop running. Note: All temps were taken with the Abit uGuru panel via the built in temp probes on the board.

Verdict
Good performing liquid cooling system with no glaring issued during install other than not having enough coolant included. The components are of good quality and the system will work with most current CPUs. The system components are large, be prepared for creative installation and possibly having to mod your chassis to fit the system inside the case. Hardcore overclockers may want to shop elsewhere, but the majority of liquid cooling users will find the system to be great for typical needs and much better than high performance air cooling. Great performance for cost sets the Bigwater 745 apart from its peers.

Source:Thermaltake Bigwater 745 Liquid Cooling System Review