Thermaltake Rocket Fanless Water Cooling Kit

Manufacturer: Thermaltake Technology
Supplied by: Thermaltake Technology
Estimated Street Price: $225

by Dean Barker (4/19/2005)

 

Introduction

Water cooling systems are a fantastic cooling solution but all too often H2O kits get lumped into one big category.  Liquid cooling kits actually break up into two categories rather than one: super cooling and super quiet cooling.  Super cooling speaks for itself, water pumps capable of servicing a small pond, large radiators and fans that move serious air with minimal thought or allowance for sound levels or sound suppression.  Super quiet cooling is an often bragged about but the not so often achieved goal of many cooling manufacturers.  These systems don't provide the brute force cooling power of the first category we described but rest their laurels on the efficiency of water coupled with low speed fans at low decibel levels to produce a near silent cooling option.

Thermaltake has decided to try their hand at 'super quiet cooling' with the Rocket H2O Kit.  Or rather I should say 'absolute quiet cooling.'  When I say absolute quiet cooling, I mean that quiet literally.  They do this by a simple thought; eliminate the source of the noise.  The source of the noise is of course, the fan. 

Today we are fortunate enough to have a go with the Thermaltake Rocket Fanless Water Cooling Kit.  The Rocket is a fanless system much like the Zalman Water Reserator.  Meaning it is a passive external radiator that is obscenely large to provide more convection area which offsets not having a cooling fan.  The only sound producing part of the entire Tt Rocket kit is the 12v Tt pump which when in operation, I personally cannot detect any sound from.  Let's begin with the basic white paper specs and then move on with a closer look at this behemoth.

Specifications

Water Block

• Application: Intel LGA775, Intel P4 478 pin, AMD K7, AMD K8

• Water block dimensions: 60 x 78 x 23.5mm

• Construction: Copper / Acrylic

• Weight: 453 gm

• Single three pin connector for blue LED in block lid

Water Pump

• Water pump dimensions: 100 x 50 x 86mm

• Rated voltage: 12v

• Pump rate: 31.7 gph (120 lph)

• Sound level: 20 dBA

• Weight: 230 gm

• Single three pin power connector

• Internal blue LED in pump housing

Radiator

• Dimensions Radiator: 635 x 75mm

• Dimensions Base: 147 x 147mm

• Construction: Aluminum

• Weight: 4 kg

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