As we have already seen, the SilverStone is able to deliver us decent product quality as well as decent product portfolio. They are not behind with today’s trend of liquid coolers as well. The SilverStone Tundra Series TD02-LITE is a newer version of its predecessor TD02-E and about 500 gram lighter, due to use of traditional radiator structure. All other specs are pretty similar to TD02-E. So main difference is the water block and radiator structure. In order to keep the final price as low as possible, SilverStone is using plastic material instead of aluminium unibody for waterblock as we could see by TD02-E version. So let’s have a look at the product itself.
Packaging is very simple, nothing special. The front side does show the product with its main features and back side the dimensions, which are important to check before you buy it, to be sure your new AIO fits in.
The cooler is protected in formed carton inlay but radiator itself with the extra hard foam as well, which gives it extra protection during transport.
The base plate is made of copper with copper micro-channels structure on the inner side. Thus, the coolant will be pushed through fine fins with higher pressure which in fact achieves the better cooling performance. Mounting of the block was as easy as possible even without using a manual. So for those first time builders, this should be no problem at all. The mounting brackets for AMD processor is also included. You just turn the back-plate the other side and have to use included brackets for AMD.
The rotational connections allow the tubing to be pointing the direction you wish to install your cooler. Preferred position would be on top of case. Thus, the heat can naturally be pushed upward out of the case. Rubber tubing is thick-walled to prevent against any kinks.
The radiator is made of aluminium which is not the best combination with the copper base plate. So using any kind of anticorrosion fluid would be good idea here. The radiator has traditional folded fin structure with FPI( fins per inch) around 20 which we can see by many other Brands as well.
The fans have special propeller with nine blade design, which offers high static pressure as well as high air flow. At its 2500RPM they will let the you know about their presence inside the case.
The pump itself is compact and pretty silent. It has the SilverStone logo on top. This is back-lighted with blue LED just softly, without any strong disturbing effect. There are eight longer screw for mounting the fans on radiator. Although, we have found eight shorter screws inside the package as well, that have no use in combination with these fans. But, should you wish use slim fans because of your space restrictions, well there’s your answer.
Tundra Series TD02-LITE Specifications:
| Model No. | SST-TD02-LITE | |
| Water block | Dimension | 65mm (L) x 65mm (W) x 38mm (H) |
| Material | Copper base with plastic body | |
| Pump | Motor speed | 2500±200RPM |
| Rated Voltage | 12V | |
| Rated Current | 280mA | |
| Fan | Dimension | 120mm (L) x 120mm (W) x 25mm (D) |
| Speed | 1500~2500RPM | |
| Noise level | 18~35 dBA | |
| Rated Voltage | 12V | |
| Rated Current | 0.3A | |
| Max airflow | 92.5CFM | |
| Pressure | 3.5mm/H2O | |
| Connector | 4 Pin PWM | |
| Radiator | Dimension | 273mm (L) x 120mm (W) x 27mm (H) |
| Material | Aluminum | |
| Tube | Length | 310mm |
| Material | Rubber | |
| Application | Intel Socket LGA775/115X/1366/2011/2011-v3 AMD Socket AM2/AM3/FM1/FM2 |
|
| Net Weight | 990g | |
Test methodology:
To ensure that the results from one review to another are comparable, the Testing Methodology will be the same throughout all reviews, otherwise we will make a note if somethings changed and keep it separately from other results.
All testing was done on test Bench-table with a room ambient temperature of 22- 23°C and if temperature changes we will add delta T °C to the results.
Warm Up:
Before testing we run 10 minutes of Prime95 followed by 30 minutes of idling. This warm up period was done at stock CPU core frequency. For noise testing we are using fanless PSU. We mostly do fan noise test over night so we have our room as silent as possible.
We take noise values from distance of 30cm.
Testing System :
For this test we use it’s own thermal paste provided by manufacturer.
Test results:
Noise Results:
| Fan max. RPM | noise dB(A) | |
|---|---|---|
| 7V | 1500 | 44dB(A) |
| 12V | 2550 | 54.8dB(A) |
| IDLE PWM mode | 1600 | 45dB(A) |
| @4.4GHz PWM mode | 1800 | 47dB(A) |
| @4.7GHz PWM mode | 2100 | 50dB(A) |
Conclusion:
Silverstone Tundra TD02-LITE is made for users without very high demands when it comes to noise. With other words it is quite loud. In fact we have been expecting little bit better performance as well. The build quality is still at decent level, we have nothing to complain here so far. Keep in mind that we are testing this cooler with overclocked CPU which pushes the fans to spin at highest RPM to keep the cooling at proper level. With that said, during average gaming sessions with headset on, as most users do anyway, you should not be very annoyed by fan noise. When it comes to price ca. €80, we can see the reason why has SilverStone decided to do some cost cutting measures here. It looks like the main goal was to enter the budget area to keep with the competition on the market. If we focus purely at the test results and price then LEPA Aquacharger 240 or Raijintek Triton 240 would be better choice in this price segment. But it’s also matter of personal taste as well as regional availability of the product.
Special Thanks to Intel and Jeni Kommunikation for supporting us with Intel products for testing.
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