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Date: October 5th, 2008
Article by: Jackie Mueller (Hardware Reviewer)
Edited by: Nathan Glentworth (Owner / Head Editor)
Product was submitted by: Thermaltake USA
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CONCLUSIONS AND AFTERTHOUGHTS

The ProWater 850i has a lot going for it. Performance is good, setup is easy, and all required parts are included along with a generous helping of accessories. The kit succeeded in keeping an AMD 5000+ Black Edition CPU cool during stress testing without all the noise associated with air cooling. As an added bonus, the tubing is UV reactive so it will look cool in a windowed case with UV lighting.

The manual documents the install process very well with diagrams and step by step instructions. Installing the radiator is as easy as installing a case fan, and getting the waterblock mounted to the CPU wasn't the least bit tricky. When all was said and done though, there was a pump and reservoir sitting on the bottom of the case that was constantly in the way. For someone who doesn't work inside a computer very often this isn't really an issue, but I'm the type who works inside a case all the time and it caused some annoyance.

Perhaps I'm spoiled by Thermaltake's other liquid cooling systems such as the 760i which uses two 5 ¼ drive bays to house the pump and reservoir. That design keeps those parts away from the danger of being disturbed from working inside the case.

All in all, the ProWater 850i is still a fine choice for an easy to set up, expandable, high performance liquid cooling setup and is well worth the price for an all-in-one solution.

Pros:

- Good performance
- Easy to install and maintain
- All necessary parts and accessories included
- Expandable

 
Cons:

- Pump and reservoir take up space at the bottom of the case
- Fan is very loud at high speeds

 

 

If you have any further questions, please feel free to post them in our forums HERE.