Date: October 4th, 2006
Article by: Joe Anderson (Hardware Reviewer)
Edited by: Nathan Glentworth (Owner / Head Editor)
Product was submitted by: Thermaltake
<--SHOP FOR WATER COOLING SYSTEMS HERE
PRODUCT INSTALLATION AND TESTING
In most cases, the user will have to take the motherboard out of the case to install the waterblock. To preserve consistency in this review, I've chosen the same configuration that I used to evaluate the original Bigwater. I'll be using an Abit IC7-G motherboard and an Intel P4 2.8C GHz processor in Thermaltake's Kandalf chassis. Keep in mind that the Bigwater 735 kit can be installed in most any case that has a 120mm fan opening. The radiator/fan can be installed inside or outside the case, depending on the application. This is covered in the manual. I'll be installing all the components internally, as the Kandalf has plenty of room. Let's get started.
With the motherboard out of the case, the socket 478 retention bracket can be removed.
Four long screws and the H-bracket pack can be inserted through the board from the back. From the board out, there should be a) the thick foam insulator, b) the thin Mylar insulator, and c) the metal H-bracket.
After flipping the board over, the red insulating washers can be added and the brass standoff nuts can be tightened down to secure the mounting screws. A thin layer of thermal paste (Arctic Silver 5, in this case) is then applied to the CPU.
The waterblock and H-bracket can now be installed and the knurled nuts can be tightened down in a cross pattern to secure the block. Some judgment is needed here. If the block is installed without sufficient down force, cooling will suffer. Too tight, and one can deform the mobo and possibly crack the acrylic top. I generally tighten the nuts just until the block can't be “wiggled”. The LED lead can now be attached to an appropriate header. The motherboard can then be installed back into the case and the various connections made. I'd advise leaving out the graphics and other PCI cards for now. We need to do some leak testing before we're ready to start the computer. With the board in the chassis, it's time to find a place for all this stuff to live. There's plenty of room in the Kandalf case, but using a smaller chassis of different design will require some thought.
Thermaltake suggests this flow scenario, and I see no reason to depart from it. Once you've mounted your components, tubing runs will have to be planned, the tubing cut, and the connections made up.
