Thermaltake Water 3.0 Ultimate AIO CPU Cooler Review

By

Thermaltake Water 3.0 Packaging

Thermaltake is a top tier company, they know how to make their packaging eye catching and what information should be provided..The Water 3.0 Ultimate is packaged in a retail oriented box that is much longer than it is tall, which will make it stand out a little more than most. The front of the box, there is a picture of the Water 3.0 and just a little information on the cooler itself such as it is a 360mm radiator, and universal socket compatibility. It is enough information for the perspective buyer to begin to know what Thermaltake is offering in the Water 3.0.

Thermaltake-Big-Water-3-Packaging-Front

If you need more information on the back of the box, you are provided with a list of the features, estimated cooling gains over the stock cooler, and a picturial of the various components.

Thermaltake-Big-Water-3-Packaging-Back

However, if you are looking for the technical specifications of the Water 3.0 Ultimate, those are listed on the bottom of the box.

Thermaltake-Big-Water-3-Packaging-Bottom

Opening the box, we find a fairly common egg carton insert with each of the components separated nicely. While it is not a large amount of protection, it is common because it works.

Thermaltake-Big-Water-3-Packaging-Internal

Removing the Water 3.0 Ultimate from the pack age, we find the baseplate has a plastic cover protecting the pre-applied thermal paste. With the plastic cover removed, we can see the copper baseplate. We can also see that the baseplate has a smooth and flawless finish.

Thermaltake-Water-3-Baseplate

Since this is a 360mm AIO cooler, Thermaltake has included three of their TT-1225 fans, which are rated for 99CFM at 20dBA.

Thermaltake-Big-Water-3-Packaging-Fans

Finally, we take a quick look at the installation accessories, there are plenty of brackets to install the Water 3.0 Ultimate on just about any modern AMD or Intel CPU. Being a 360mm radiator with 3 120mm fans, Thermaltake has included a nice 3-way fan adapter to connect the fans to a PWM header, it would be nice if there were two of these or a 6-way PWM connector for a push-pull configuration.

Thermaltake-Big-Water-3-Packaging-Accessories

That covers what comes with the Water 3.0 Ultimate, let’s move on and take a closer look at the cooler itself before begining the installation and testing.