SilverStone Tundra Series TD03 All-in-One Liquid Cooler Review

Included Accessories

Included Accessories

SilverStone includes all necessary mounting hardware and accessories to get the cooler installed and functioning in your system, including fans, mounting hardware, and thermal compound.

The manual included with the TD03 is generic across all members of the Tundra series all-in-one coolers. SilverStone's use of standardized mounting hardware across all product lines eases some concerns concerning packaging of generic manual. The manual is very detailed with installation across all socket types, including detailed illustrations and step-wise instructions for the cooler setup.

SilverStone includes standoffs, plastic lock nuts, aluminum mount clips, and spring screws for all socket types. The unit comes with the Intel clips pre-installed on the water block. The straight clips shown are for use with AMD processor mounting. The dual ended screw-in standoffs are used for mounting the block to an Intel LGA2011-type socket, where the short end of the standoff is screwed directly into the LGA2011 back plate. Other than that difference, you use the Intel mount clips and spring screws provided for block hold down. The provided universal backplate is used for mounting with all socket types with the exception of the LGA2011 socket (as mentioned above). With AMD sockets, you must also use the provided plastic cap, placed over the center of the bottom of the back plate. Also included are eight short radiator screws for attaching directly to a case panel, eight fan screws for attaching the two included fans to the radiator, and thermal paste.

The universal back plate is double-sided for Intel and AMD mounting. The Intel side is the one with the plastic tabs in each of the four corners, while the AMD side in the side without the plastic tabs. For Intel board mounting, you face the side with the plastic tabs towards the board bottom. For AMD mounting, the side with the plastic tabs faces away from the board. The plastic tabs contain guide holes for the three Intel socket types used in conjunction with the mount. The outside hole is for LGA1366 mounting, the middle hole is for lGA 115X mounting, and the inner hole is for LGA775 mounting. The markings on the back plate as well as the plastic tab make installation using this universal bracket child's play.

The mounting mechanism included with the TD03 remains one of the best designs I have encountered to this point. You simply push the metal standoff through the correct hole in the base plate, hold the mounting plate to the board back so that the standoffs go though the board mount holes, and place the plastic nuts over the standoffs. The plastic nuts are a tight fits on the standoffs to securely hold the standoffs in place. Further, the standoffs have a flat section just under the head to lock the standoff in-place once it is secured via the top mounted nut. This ensures that the standoff does not spin while attempting to fix the spring screw in place. The plastic tabs and plastic nuts also act to electrically isolate the metal parts of the mounting cage from the board. The constructed mount shown is for an Intel LGA115X socket, but looks the same for all other socket types with the exception of the LGA2011 socket.

Mounting the base plate and stand offs to the board is a straight forward affair and allows you to mount the water block in any orientation barring board component-related contention issues.

On an Intel board, the base plate bottom rests on the socket bottom plate with the arms being the only direct contact point. This design minimizes the potential for contact or crushing of under board components in close proximity to the socket base plate. The plastic tabs offer added support to keep the metal arms on the base plate from direct contact with any under board components in close proximity to the socket.

SilverStone includes a 4-pin fan power splitter enabling you to run both of the included fans from a single fan header or power connector. The splitter cable is sleeved with dense black plastic sleeving to protect the individual wires from snagging, giving the cable a sleek appearance.

To disperse the heat from cooler's radiator, SilverStone includes two of their 120mm fans, rated for a maximum speed of 2500RRM and capable of generating airflow up to 92.5CFM. Each fan sits in a black plastic housing with a total of 9 white fan blades, ensuring generation of adequate air flow and pressure. The fan blades have feathered notches in their upper leading edge to help direct airflow into the radiator, minimizing the airflow dead spot in its center caused by the fan motor. The fan cables are sleeved in a dense, black colored plastic sleeving, ending in a 4-pin PWM-style power connector. The fans is rated to run at 12V, drawing up to 0.30 amps of power when running at full speed.