Thermaltake Water 2.0 Performer & Pro reviews

Performance Analysis

The Performer put in a decent showing in our LGA1155 system, matching the CPU delta T of the more expensive Corsair H80 with its fans on medium speed. However, that also means it was only able to beat the Arctic Freezer i30 air cooler by a single degree, making the result somewhat less impressive when you consider the i30 retails for nearly half the price of the Performer. The heat produced by our AMD or LGA2011 systems is far more intense, and in these systems the Performer was separated from its competition in all the wrong ways. In the LGA2011 test, the Performer's delta T of 61˚C was trumped by 2˚C by both the H80 on low speed and the i30, a pretty dismal result. Though it pulled ahead of the H80's low speed setting when cooling our AMD CPU, its delta T of 56˚C still puts it towards the bottom of our charts along with other cheaper air coolers.


The Pro's results were much more reassuring. In the LGA1155 test system, it topped our charts along with other similar all-in-one coolers like the Antec Kühler H2O 920, with a delta T of just 36˚C. Likewise, it shared the top spot in our LGA2011 build too, a far more difficult beast to tame, with a delta T of 46˚C, a result only previously matched by the larger H100 on full speed. Finally, its delta T of 43˚C lost out on pole position in our AMD test by a mere 1˚C to the H80 on full speed. Evidently the thicker radiator of the Pro lent the Performer a real edge over its smaller brother, which was crippled under the more demanding systems.

Although both fans in each kit are PWM-capable, we did not notice significant changes in their noise levels between load and idle states. In fact, the two fans span rather fast at all times, and consequently remained rather loud throughout our testing, although less so than other coolers like the Kühler H2O 920.

Conclusion

For an LGA1155 system, the Performer is a good and relatively cheap choice for those absolutely dead set on a water-cooling setup. It's small, easy to mount and offers some of the best cooling available. That said, though the Arctic Freezer i30 is far cheaper, it's slightly quieter and offers almost identical cooling abilities. We can't recommend the Performer for use in LGA2011 or AMD AM3+ systems however, as the dinky radiator is evidently unable to cope with these volcanic chips. Here an extra £15 or so would net you a Corsair H80, which outperforms the Performer by a healthy margin in both setups, even on its medium fan setting.


There's no denying that the Pro offers excellent cooling across all three sockets we test with. Like the Performer, it's easy to work with, but it's also expensive. The other top performers in our charts, the H80, the H100 and the Kühler H2O 920 all retail for less but have roughly the same cooling abilities, and thus the Pro is an example of diminishing returns. With a retail price of over £90, the lack of a manual fan controller is a big oversight on Thermaltake's part.

The Pro is actually identical in many ways to Antec's Kühler H2O 920 - both are manufactured by Asetek, and feature suspiciously similar pump blocks, radiators and mounting mechanisms (as well as cooling results). Antec's cooler is now compatible with LGA2011 systems, includes a fan controller with matching software and can now be found online for around £15 less than Thermaltake's version. It is also, however, noticeably louder than Thermaltake's Pro. It's worth noting that the Thermaltake cooler can actually be had for around $15 less (excluding taxes) than the Antec one the other side of the Atlantic, and therefore offers much better value for money for our US readers.