Installation:

Since this is a Thermaltake liquid cooling system, it stands to reason that the 760i BigWater should work with Thermaltake's own cases. For this reason, the unit was installed in the SwordM case. Interestingly, the 760i fit perfectly within the top 5.25" bays as though it were purposely built for the case.

The real trick to filling the 760i is to leave the unit sticking out the front just enough to fill the unit, or you use the included squeeze bottle to fill it from the side, or even from the top since this particular case opens that way. Chances are the squeeze bottle will come in very handy no matter what you choose. Once the unit is filled, it simply needs matched up to the front bezel and the screws attached.

Another nice thing is that the tubing can be pre-attached to the water block and the two white quick coupler nozzles. These will simply snap in to the black couplers coming off the main unit and the water will flow when powered. If you disconnect these, only a couple drops may fall which shouldn't be a problem if you stick with 100% distilled water. That way, no components get shorted out.

*Note: I have put this to the test twice. In the first test, the 100% distilled water wet the USB and front panel connectors. In the second test, the water was placed on the back of a graphics card. In both tests, the system never rebooted, blue screened, erred, or powered down. Special coolants and additives will most likely cause damage unless they specify otherwise, which is why I choose to use 100% distilled water only.*

Couplers Attached To Tubing

Block Mounted & Connected

The CPU water block is a snap to install once the motherboard is removed and you attach the padded back plate. The included screws help mount the CPU block via its chrome bracket which simply slides down on to the screws. When you're sure the block is making a decent, balanced connection to the CPU, the washers and bolts are used to hold the block firmly in place. Don't forget the AC5.

Here's where I ran in to a glitch. After filling the reservoir, the unit had a very hard time priming the system. When filling the reservoir, some water does start to fill the tubing due to gravity. But, there was still a decent amount of air in the tubing. It just couldn't remove the air properly and required some unorthodox maintenance to correct the issue. Turning the unit on its pump side while powering the unit on and off was the only way to get the system to prime. (Thank goodness I made sure there was just enough tubing length to pull the main unit out of the front bezel.)

Let's check the temps and see just how well the block cools.

Testing
 

Test System

The 760i BigWater was tested on an E6750 (2.66GHz) Core 2 Duo processor and ASUS Blitz Formula (P35) motherboard. Before testing, the system needed at least a good 24 hours of regular use to allow the thermal paste to settle. Temperatures can be incorrect without at least a good day or two of load testing. This has been the practice with every water cooling block and system. And it's proven to be much more reliable, even in this case. Preliminary temps were actually higher for the first 12 hours and actually dropped a little.

UV Green Reactive Tubing

Orthos was used to 'cook' the block for 2 hours to see how high the temps would reach. After which, the system sat idle for 2 hours to see how cool the system would recover and maintain cooling the processor. After both these tests were completed, the E6750 Core 2 Duo was overclocked a good 1000MHz to allow for more thorough comparison of the system's overall cooling capacity.

I'm surprised that such a low flow CPU cooling block and system performed as well as it did. My first concern was in regards to the really thin copper base and whether or not the liquid could be cooled quick enough once it flowed through the radiator. Also, the fact that it mounts inside the computer case which can get very warm depending on air flow. The SwordM is a spacious and well cooled chassis given its good number of fans.

Also, aiming a front chassis fan directly at the bottom of the main cooling unit actually helped drop temperatures with about a 2 degree average at load and overclocked. The above graph reflects stock performance out of the box without any clever modifications. This doesn't mean that it can't be done.

There are a couple things that may or may not be an issue for you. The 760i pump is a little on the slow side when priming. I suspect that the quick couplers that connect the UV and black tubing hamper the priming process as well as slows the dissipation of air in the lines. Eventually, the air does leave. But, most users aren't going to realize that turning the unit on its pump side actually sped up the process.

A Good Compact Alternative

Great Potential

Also, the pump does vibrate a little. You can't hear it when its in your hand near as much as when it's installed in the case. The vibration caused a bit of a whiny sound mostly due to the case itself. I'm sure it won't sound the same in all cases. To help quiet down the case, I used a couple small silicone bumpers used to silence cabinet doors to keep them from slamming. You can pick those up at any Lowes, Home Depot, or hardware store.

Conclusion:

Overall, the Thermaltake 760i BigWater Liquid Cooling System is one efficient compact liquid cooling system. Not only does it integrate nicely in to your chassis, it'll also compliment most any system you want to assemble. Thermaltake took the time to preassemble some things and make the installation process much simpler. All these factors have made it a very easy system to use and should be simple enough for any and every user wanting to make a change in the way the CPU is cooled.

Cooling performance can match the best and loudest CPU air coolers around. The benefit is the near silent operation aside from the pump's low hum which can be hushed even more with a little padding. Extra air flow directly aimed at the unit would actually help depending on your specific case and chassis design, but not necessary if you want to guarantee cooler temps during those hot months. And at about $150.00, the 760i BigWater appears to be decently priced. If quieter operations with better than average cooling is your goal, the 760i BigWater is an easy choice.

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