SilverStone Tundra TD02 All-in-one (AiO) CPU Cooling System Review

All-in-one (AiO) CPU cooling systems are all the rage these days. They offer the performance of a custom liquid loop with the ease of installation and low maintenance of a standard air cooler. All of the big manufacturers have gotten in on the AiO craze and most use similar-looking units with different logos but SilverStone decided to go a different route with their Tundra series of AiO coolers. SilverStone’s TD02 and TD03 coolers are a wholly new design with fresh thinking for the AiO market. SilverStone was kind enough to send us a TD02 240mm AiO unit to check out so let’s get to it!

Introduction

All-in-one (AiO) CPU cooling systems are all the rage these days. They offer the performance of a custom liquid loop with the ease of installation and low maintenance of a standard air cooler. All of the big manufacturers have gotten in on the AiO craze and most use similar-looking units with different logos but SilverStone decided to go a different route with their Tundra series of AiO coolers. SilverStone’s TD02 and TD03 coolers are a wholly new design with fresh thinking for the AiO market. SilverStone was kind enough to send us a TD02 240mm AiO unit to check out so let’s get to it!

About the SilverStone Tundra TD02:
 

“The Tundra TD02 is SilverStone’s first all-in-one liquid cooler and is a breakthrough in a market segment filled with similar-looking products. Its unique full alloy water-block is constructed with copper base and aluminum body for better durability compared to plastic-built competitions. The block also has a patented design that eliminates screws in its construction to provide excellent cooling performance and integration of mounting bracket for easy installation. The radiator has another patented design that utilizes brazing fins similar to those used in top air coolers for increased heat transfer efficiency by up to 40% over traditional radiators. With it fully assembled, factory filled and sealed, the TD02 can be used immediately with no need to refill. For those looking to finally have a unique all-in-one liquid cooler that is durable and well constructed, the TD02 is definitely it.” – SilverStone

Let’s move along and check out the features and specifications for the TD02 now.

Features and Specifications

·        Easy installation with aluminum clips and steel back-plate

·        Maintenance free, no refill required

·        Dual auto adjustable 120mm PWM fans included

·        Durable full alloy water-block for improved reliability

·        Patented brazing fins radiator increase cooling efficiency by 40%

·        Socket LGA775/115X/1366/2011/AM2/AM3/FM1/FM2

With that taken care of let’s take a look at the TD02’s packaging and unbox it!

Packaging and Unboxing

The SilverStone TD02 comes packaged in a large full-color cardboard box. The front of the box shows an image of the cooler along with the model and a detail shot of the pump/block unit. The box carries the same blue theme we’ve come to expect from SilverStone’s CPU coolers.

Both ends of the box both show the cooler with the model name and SilverStone’s logo.

The back of the box lists all of the features of the TD02 in nine different languages.

The top of the box shows the cooler’s dimensions as well as the specifications table.

The bottom of the box shows three detail shots of the TD02.

The box opens much like all of the rest of the SilverStone CPU cooler boxes we’ve seen. Under the lid lies the instruction manual resting atop a foam insulator pad.

Once the foam pad is removed we see all of the components neatly tucked into their nesting spots.

Here we have all of the components of the Tundra TD02 system laid out.

Let’s move on and take a closer look at the TD02.

A Closer Look

The pump/block assembly for the TD02 is unlike anything on the AiO market. It’s made from solid aluminum rather than the typical plastic and steel units we’re used to seeing. Even the mounting legs are solid aluminum rather than cheap thin stamped steel brackets. Nice going SilverStone. Also unique is the white tubing rather than the typical black we see with AiO units. This nicely compliments the natural brushed aluminum of the block/pump assembly.

The radiator on the TD02 is totally unique as well. It’s a specially-designed radiator with dense fin spacing wrapped in an aluminum shell. The fins of the TD02’s radiator also extend fully from one side of the unit to the other (as shown in the lower picture) – there’s no gaps between your fan and the fins with this unit. SilverStone also carried the white accents onto the radiator.

The base of the block assembly is solid copper and comes with the standard “remove before flight” decal.

The base is machined smooth but not polished in any way.

The fans included with the SilverStone TD02 are 9-bladed 120mm 4-pin PWM units with black frames and white blades. The fan cables are sleeved with black sleeving and terminated in white 4-pin connectors.

SilverStone includes eight thin rubber vibration dampers that you adhere to the fans as shown. These help to reduce noise between the fans and the radiator.

SilverStone includes all necessary hardware to install the TD02 onto just about every popular CPU socket all the way back to Intel’s 775 socket for you guys still rocking the Core 2 Quads.

Let’s move along and install the tD02 to our test system

Installation – Intel 1155

The first step in the installation process is to mount the four threaded studs to the back plate as shown.

The studs are held into the back plate with the four plastic clips as shown above. These clips serve to hold the stud into the back plate and hold the stud in the proper location for the hole spacing on your particular socket.

Once you slide the completed assembly through the back of the motherboard you slide on these four black spacers. The spacers are a slight press-fit onto the studs and help hold the back plate to the motherboard for the remainder of the installation process.

After applying your favorite TIM you set the pump/block assembly onto the studs.

Then secure the assembly with the four included screws. Once that is done all that’s left is to plug the pump’s 3-pin header to a spare fan header on your motherboard, mount the fans with the provided screws and use the provided “Y” cable to connect the fans to your motherboard’s CPU fan header.

Let’s test out the Tundra TD02 and see how it performs!

Testing

Our test setup is as follows:

·       Biostar TZ77XE4 Motherboard

·       Intel i7-3770k

·       8GB Mushkin Blackline DDR-3

·       Thermaltake TR2-RX 1000W PSU

·       Kingston 90GB SSD (OS)

·       WD Blue 160GB HDD (storage)

·       ASUS 24X DVD Burner

·       Primochill Wet Bench

·       Windows 7 64-bit fully updated

Testing methodology:
 

All tests are run using Arctic Silver Alumina thermal compound for comparison purposes. The CPU and heatsink is cleaned with Arctic Clean and Arctic Silver Alumina is reapplied. Tests are run at stock (3.5GHz [with 3.7GHz Turbo Boost]) and a moderate OC at 4.5GHz (no Turbo Boost). The system is left to idle for 30 minutes and a baseline temperature is recorded using CoreTemp. A Prime 95 blend test is then run for 30 minutes and the temps are recorded again. The recorded temperature is the average of the 4 cores. Since ambient temperatures can affect CPU temperature readings ambient temps are recorded during idle and full load testing. The ambient temperature is then subtracted from the recorded CPU temperatures resulting in a Delta T measurement, (or how many degrees above ambient the CPU cooler keeps the CPU). This levels the field for different ambient temperature tests.

Under stock clocks the SilverStone Tundra TD02 performed quite well, keeping up with the best coolers I’ve tested thus far. The sound from the TD02’s fans was noticeable but anything but annoying even under load – something I wish I could say about the Seidon 240M that performed the same. The TD02’s pump assembly was whisper quiet as well. Let’s crank up the heat and see how it handles it.

With the clocks turned up the SilverStone Tundra TD02 once again performed very well, coming in just 1.25ºC behind our current leader. Once again the fans were noticeable but not over bearing under load.

Conclusion

SilverStone has an excellent cooler with the TD02. It combines sleek looks, unique construction, low noise levels and great performance. Installation was very easy thanks to the press-fit spacers to hold the back plate to the motherboard. Add to that not having to mount different brackets to the base unit (for Intel sockets) helps to simplify the process even further. The Tundra TD02’s performance was on par with that of our leading coolers but reached that performance level with less fan noise than its competitors. The SilverStone Tundra TD02 can be found at NewEgg for $118.99 putting it just a tad higher than its competitors in the price department. But when you consider the unique construction and looks of the TD02 then add in an unheard of 5-year warranty it’s hard to pass it up.