Overall, the HYTE THICC Q60 is undoubtedly an interesting all-in-one liquid cooler. The design utilizes larger tubing along with dual pumps for improved flow and pressure. Adding in a thicker radiator and fans enhances the potential for great performance, at least on Intel, where it performs nicely overall, whether at max RPM or at a noise-normalized 45 dBA at 15 cm. More importantly however, is its default setup out of the box, where it uses coolant temperature to control fan and pump speed. In most situations, this will be the best option compared to using spiking CPU temperatures, as it means the fans ramp up gradually, helping to keep the cooler very quiet. However, it does mean that under bursty workloads, you can potentially lose maximum boost clocks and peak performance in niche situations.

This is especially true for AMD users, where if paired with the Ryzen 7950X or 7950X3D, temperatures can spike quickly, and the fans and pumps won't ramp up quickly enough to avoid moments of thermal throttle. Typically, the cooler by default is actually quieter than the 45 dBA noise-normalized setting, but when our Ryzen 7900X was allowed to hit 225 watts, the cooler failed to keep up at times. Meaning in its default mode, it would also fail that test unless the fans ramp up rapidly. At max RPM, it handled the tests just fine, but the real issue here is the Arctic Freezer III 240, which can deliver similar high heat load performance on AMD but can do so at far lower noise levels. Arctic's AIO hits just 48 dBA, but the HYTE THICC Q60 hits 66 dBA to eke out similar performance. Taking into account the 45 dBA tests, the Arctic cooler dominates the THICC Q60 for a fraction of the cost if you're willing to overlook that cooler's various installation quirks. Still, while AMD performance may not be nearly as good as I was hoping, it was at least better than the majority of 240 mm AIO offerings, as it should be. Only the Liquid Freezer III proved to be a worthy competitor in terms of pure performance.

The unit's design and features can be placed in both a positive and a negative light. The IPS display is bright and crisp, and the ability to customize it with your own media, display temperatures, etc., is nice, but it's a feature that can get old quickly once the novelty wears off. Then, even with build quality being an overall high point, the unit's 84 mm thickness means it has limited case compatibility, for many cases, mounting the unit up top will be impossible. Furthermore, mounting on the side or front may cause potential issues with GPU clearance making the use of vertical mounts a necessity in many situations. Meanwhile, the non-standard wiring setup, while awesome from a design standpoint and keeping cable clutter to a minimum, means you won't likely be able to repurpose the fans later if you opt to go a different route. Then you have the fact that the tubing from the CPU block will likely rest on the GPU backplate and cause the graphics card to have some level of sag unless your using a vertical mount or have a brace of some sort to prevent it.

As for the Nexus software, it works great, but some of the UI/UX choices leave me scratching my head. When setting up custom profiles for the fans and pump, you're going to be working from right to left, and to do so requires dragging a little + icon to the profile you want. It just feels rather disjointed, it works, but isn't all that intuitive. Then there is the fact that the cooler, with its built-in processor to handle the functionality, has to communicate with the software, and without an internet connection, my review unit didn't like to play nice. No internet meant it would get stuck loading and if it did load it wouldn't normally find the Q60 cooler, but if I turned on Wi-Fi and restarted the app, it worked flawlessly. That said, during my time with the HYTE THICC Q60, the company has been responsive and actively improving the user experience and updating the software and cooler firmware, so over time the user experience should continue to get better as they build out their ecosystem for ARGB products. Still, the Nexus software, even with it needing a bit more polish, is a bit more user-friendly than some competing offerings like Corsair's iCUE LINK from a UI perspective.

Now, I will admit that while it seems I am being harsh here, the fact is this is a $300 liquid cooler before tax, and at that price, the product needs to be nearly flawless. Why, you ask? Because it's getting dangerously close to custom water loop territory. The performance potential is good, and it's one of the quietest coolers around when using its default software setup. However, fancy looks, a boatload of design upgrades, and a slick IPS display don't change the fact that the cooler gets absolutely rocked on AMD platforms by far more affordable options. Even on Intel, where performance is stellar, its high price makes it a hard cooler to recommend because of the potential for case compatibility issues. In general, I find there is a lot to like here, and I don't think the THICC Q60 is a bad cooler by any means. The larger tubing, greater coolant flow, plug-and-play wiring harness, and magnetic fan power connectors are all great features even if they result in some negative aspects. But at its current price, it's just extremely hard to justify.

In summation, it's a good cooler, and for most users, it will be an exceptionally quiet cooler that delivers solid performance, unique looks, and a great warranty, but the high price tag and limited case compatibility keep it from being an option I would recommend. Therefore, while I commend HYTE's innovation and forward-looking design acumen, the cooler falls into a very niche market. That said, if you are specifically in the market for a display-equipped AIO, and your case can fit it, then the HYTE THICC Q60 is the best of the available options by far.