# Thermaltake Tide Water



## W1zzard (Oct 7, 2005)

Thermaltake has engineered a completely new video card cooling concept. A self-contained water cooling unit which is mounted into two PCI slots keeps the GPU cool. People who think watercooling requires a lot of maintenance or leaks easily will be proven wrong. The installation is also remarkably easy. What makes this unit even more attractive is its competitive price. Powercolor liked it so much, that they use it on their X800 GT EVO series.

*Show full review*


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## MadMigMR2 (Jan 24, 2006)

Hi!

I have an Asus x800 Pro AGP with the BIOS of x800 XT PE
It is running ok, but the temperatures are a bit high (i think)
48º idle (working on windows) and above 70º when playing games ( most of the time above 75º)

Could this mod be a good solution?


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## spectre440 (Jan 24, 2006)

it could definantly lower your temps and give you loads of overclocking headroom without worrying about temps.

but those temps are perfectly normal for a stock cooling solution on a card running at stock speeds, nothing to worry about.

this is definantly a good cooling solution to consider if you're looking into overclocking the card. or just getting it to run cooler and quieter.


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## Nixit (Feb 1, 2006)

*What if I (or can I ) did both?*

What if I bought an Arctic Cooling ATI VGA Silencer 5 for the X850 series Card and then bought the Tide Water?
Would that make the performance even greater?

NEVERMIND: I realized that you can't do both!
I was thinking that either the WaterBlock and the Fan were on opposite sides of the card allowing you to do both, but that is not the case.

Thanks.


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## Nixit (Feb 22, 2006)

After installation, and for the very first time that I ran the Overclocking Benchmark on my Sapphire X850XT PCIE using the ATI Tool, the Core Clock actually reached upwards of 650-680!!
But, this was only the first time!!
I have not been able to clock it that high again, It's almost as if something said "hey, you are not supposed to be getting these high speeds w/this card, you need to buy an x1800 or x1900", lol  

I am able to clock the Core / Mem around 600 / 585 which is still pretty good I guess but it just seems like it should be able to run higher.


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## gamer7911 (Mar 18, 2006)

quick question. does this thing need thermal paste.
i ask because i am planning on getting the 500/1500 clocked 7900 GT from newegg and needed to know what i need for installation before i order everything.


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## SHSU_RANGER (Mar 22, 2006)

*Yup!*

gamer7911 wrote the following:

*****
quick question. does this thing need thermal paste.
i ask because i am planning on getting the 500/1500 clocked 7900 GT from newegg and needed to know what i need for installation before i order everything.
*****

Here is what I have to say:

Yes you do, buddy!

The unit comes with silicone paste, but I recommend using GC Electronics heat sink paste, part no. 10-8118.  It is way cheaper than those "silver" compounds and is used for far more advanced applications--like military grade components and high-temp apps like high current power IC units in audio amplifiers.  I am pleased with the way this entire unit works and is set up.  The video card I am running it on is a Leadtek A400 GT TDH Geforce 6800 GT 256 MB DDR3 AGP 8X.

The stock specs for this card (from the manufacturer) are:
core clock speed: 350 MHz
Mem clock speed: 1000 MHz
Idle temp: 55 deg C
Load temp(after 40 minutes in BF2 all settings high with 4xAA 1024x768): 65 deg C

Overclocked specs are:
+0.1V AGP voltage in BIOS for mainboard
core clock speed: 425 MHz
mem clock speed: 1150MHz
idle temp: 48 deg C
load temp(after 40 minutes in BF2 all settings high with 4xAA 1024x768): 52 deg C

I am sure that these numbers are not what everyone would get, but they speak for themselves.  After dogging the crap out of the card this unit has proven to be exactly what the doctor ordered: good product that requires no mods, out of the box readiness-no need to fill reservoirs-pre loaded with anti freeze-anti rust, good tubing that I need not worry about leaks, AND PERFORMANCE WAY BEYOND WHAT AN AIR COOLING SYSTEM IS CAPABLE OF!!!!!!!!


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## gamer7911 (Mar 22, 2006)

alright thanks. just wasnt sure if i should've got some arctic silver 5 that almost everyone else suggested for this thing or if it even needd paste at all for application.


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## SHSU_RANGER (Mar 22, 2006)

*No prob bub.*



			
				gamer7911 said:
			
		

> alright thanks. just wasnt sure if i should've got some arctic silver 5 that almost everyone else suggested for this thing or if it even needd paste at all for application.



Just put a light coat directly on the CLEAN CORE of your card.  Make sure you get the core clean first before putting any more compound on.  Happy modding!!!!!


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## SHSU_RANGER (Mar 24, 2006)

*Further news.....*

HOLY CRAP THIS IS CRAZY O/C W/ NOT A SINGLE RIP IN VIDEO QUALITY!!!!!!!

Got my card even further overclocked and 0 probs so far 

factory settings for 6800 GT AGP 8X
core clock: 350 MHz
Mem Clock: 1000 MHZ

New overclocked settings:
Core Clock: 444 MHz
Mem Clock: 1190 MHZ

Factory temps that I monitored:
Idle: avg. around 57 Deg C
Under Load(after 40 minutes of BF2 1280x1024 all settings high 4x AA): 68 Deg C

New Temps I am monitoring:
Idle: avg. around 48-49 Deg C
Under Load(after 40 minutes of BF2 1280x1024 all settings high 4x AA): 53 Deg C


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## Willspcs (Apr 1, 2006)

*ATI X1800XL All In Wonder Quiestion*

I have the ATI X1800XL PCI Express  All in Wonder. Nice card but runs to hot for my tastes. 

I saw this Thermaltake CL-W0052 VGA Water block....I have seen it mounted to several units viewed via the web but have not been able to find any thing related to my card specifically...

Can anyone tell me if this card will have problems matching up to the water block? Please note that my card is a full 10 inches in length. 

Thanks to all...

I'm waiting on a response from some one that is "in the know" before I make my purchase.

"Where there is a "Will" there is a way!

Will


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## SHSU_RANGER (Apr 3, 2006)

*About that ATI card....*

The length of that card alone is really not the primary factor in determining the usage of the TIDE WATER cooling system.  The reason I say this because all you really need to know is if there are any holes next to the chipset on the PCB because that is where the mount securing studs go.  There are two different holes, one on each opposing corner diagonally, that you will place a mounting stud.  These studs are almost like brass riser screws you would use to mount a new mobo into a case, the only dif is that they are silver.  You would then use the screws that go into those studs to secure the bracket that is attached to the water block.  When I looked at the directions, the pix in the book were pretty self explanatory.  There were both ATI instructions as well as NVIDIA instructions with rather detailed pix.  I dont think that you will have any probs with this card, AS LONG AS you have enough room at the bottom two PCI slot to put this monster cooling setup in your case.

ONE POINTER TO YOU HOWEVER WILL----THE ALL IN WONDER HAS A TV TUNER, right?  look at the tuner pack, and determine if there is at least 1/2 inch of space between it and the holes on the card,  you will need that space  for the water block.  I read somewhere that a user had  the all in wonder and coudlnt use this unit, but did not say if spacing was the issue.  GET THIS THING FROM A RETAILER, maybe Frys or Good Guys, since they have a return policy--you may pay more up front, but will at least get  your money back.


***ONE MORE POINTER TO ADD TO THE WHOLE POST ABOUT THE TIDE WATER SYSTEM***
The main unit will not exactly match up to every case out there as far as how it exhausts out the rear of the case.  In defense of Thermaltake, I am sure that they built this in a uniform configuration so that it would fit but not conform to every case out there. The top mounting hole will most typically work to hold, but the bottom didnt match up to the last hole in my case.  I DO HAVE A NORMAL CASE--- ANTEC SX 1040 Black 10-bay server tower, not some no-name heap of flea market junk.  The back plate on the main unit is pre drilled, so if you want-or can- you can take a file or a drill and make the hole just big enough to secure the last screw hole on the case. If you are gonna haul this around in your LANBOY then you will definitely want both screws mounted firmly. I didnt do this since the one top screw was secure enough(kinda hard to lug a 60 pound case around to the local LAN parties   ).  So dont get upset that the bottom mount hole doesnt match up with your case, or the exhaust doesnt match completely up to the last two expansion portholes on your case.


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## Willspcs (Apr 3, 2006)

*ATI X1800XL All In Wonder Quiestion*

To SHSU_RANGER:

First, thank you so kindly for your help. That was a pretty good "look out" and hintful information. However, I've already bought the device...

While most of the information you shared I had already taken into consideration the ONE thing I had not was the TV Tuner and space needed for the water block in that area...I'm going to have to break the case down and see about that... I just KNEW when I clicked "submit order" that there was SOMETHING I was forgetting or not doing   ...now I know thanks to you. As soon as I get the card out I'll take a look. I would be curioius though about needing a full half inch aroud the GPU area---is this an exact measurement or a rough guess? As soon as I get the card out and look at it I will reply with specifics in inches NOT meters.

I'll be back with a reply before the day is out. What ever my findings they should be of use to others with the same type setup.

Again...Thanks
Will

"Where there is a "WILL" there is a way!"


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## WhiteWolf (Jul 24, 2007)

*TideWater as a CPU Cooler?*

I've heard people talking about turning the TideWater into a cpu cooler. It got me thinking, and after awhile of debating it with myself, I decided, worth a shot. Bought the tidewater, a Swiftech CPU water block, and a Swiftech Northbridge water block. Cut the video card water block off the thing, added 1/4 hose connectors, (The tide waters tubing fits very very snuggly with 1/4 fittings, had to take it back off once, took me 20 minutes to get the tube to let go) Added 1/4 tubing to extend the reach, daisy chained from the TideWater, to the northbridge, to the cpu. Keeps my cpu (2.8 ghz) running at about 40-44 C under full load and overclocked to 3.6 ghz. (Ran the cooling system outside the case using a power adapter to check for leaking for 30 hours, I would probably suggest longer, but I have that kid in me saying now now now.) As I said, this thing cools my cpu above and beyond what I thought it would. Figured I would have had to put an extra radiator in the loop, but so far it's not needed. Cheers, it worked!!


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