The quick connectors are very easy to use. After cutting the tubing, the nut is removed from the coupling and slipped over the tube. The tube is then pressed over the barb and the nut tightened down to seal and secure the tubing. Again, don't overdo it here, too tight can cause leaks. The nuts for the pump/reservoir are a different thread pitch than the others so don't get them mixed up!
Tubing runs should be as short as possible, yet long enough to prevent kinking the tube. Make sure that the pump is attached securely to the chassis. This pump vibrates a bit and merely resting it on the case floor will result in noticeable harmonic resonance noise. With the components installed, the coolant can be added to the reservoir. The fill port is pretty large, but a small funnel will make this job easier and neater. To start, fill the reservoir to just above the “high” mark. As the pump fills the system, we'll need to add more coolant and if the fluid level falls below the “low” mark, air will be pumped into the system.
Now, it's time to make a test run to check for leaks. I used my spare PSU and some adapters to power the pump and fan without powering up my motherboard. This is also why I didn't install the AGP/PCI cards. I could also take everything back out and test the system outside the case, but I'm too lazy for that! The pump should be run for an extended period (12 hours or more) and carefully monitored for leaks. This will also bleed the air from the system before it needs to cool a hot processor. If it leaks, fix it. If it doesn't leak, put it all back together and run it.
Since I had no leakage issues, I made up all connections and added some UV CCFLs. The tubing runs really shine! The reservoir glows with a more subdued green hue and the blue LEDs on the pump and block further light up the interior. As you can see, the system consumed the lion's share of the coolant and longer tubing runs will use even more.
Watercooling a computer can result in quieter operation, and the Bigwater 735 can be very quiet. With the pump fastened securely to the case and the fan set to the lowest speed, this system is all but inaudible. At maximum speed, the fan is definitely noticeable, but not what I'd call loud. The speed controller works pretty well, but I don't see many folks using it. The performance penalty for running the fan on low, as we'll see, is not high at all.
Speaking of performance, let's take a look at what the Bigwater 735 can do. We'll compare it to the Thermalright XP-90 (at maximum fan speed) that does most of my air-cooling duties in this machine as well as the original Thermaltake Bigwater liquid cooling system. Both Bigwater systems were tested at maximum and minimum fan speed. As I stated earlier, I'll be using my Abit IC7-G motherboard and an Intel P4 2.8C GHz processor in Thermaltake's Kandalf chassis. The coolers were tested at stock speed (2.8 GHz. 1.55 Vcore) and overclocked (3.4 GHz. 1.65 Vcore and 3.5 GHz. 1.7 Vcore). Ambient temperature was maintained at a constant 21C in my climate controlled test facility (AKA, my basement). Idle temperatures were recorded after a cold boot and one hour at desktop. Load temperatures were taken after two hours of Prime 95 Torture test.
Temperatures were monitored with SysTool and the results are as follows:
All in all, the new Thermaltake Bigwater 735 performed about the same as its older brother. The differences are so small, I'd have to call it a draw. It was as quiet as the original and the temperature penalty for silent running is about the same as well.
