Conclusion
With the Tundra series, Silverstone may be onto something. By avoiding the Asetek and CoolIT OEM meme, they’ve designed two products which are both unique and capable of delivering exceedingly high performance results while deftly avoiding Asetek’s patent trolls. The 5 year warranty is also a great addition. While the TD02 and TD03 may be a cut above in many respects, they haven’t entirely escaped from this review unscathed.
Tundra TD02
By not limiting themselves to off the shelf designs Silverstone has been able to create an all in one cooler that is both impressive and rather unique. The thicker radiator with its well thought out fin design is more effective at transferring the heat to the air which allows the Tundra TD02 to outperform the best 120mm dual bay sealed AIO models Asetek and CoolIT have to offer. That’s particularly impressive since this is Silverstone’s first time at this particular dance.
It goes without saying that the TD02 is bested by dual 140mm coolers like Corsair’s H110 and NZXT’s X60, It does a good job of keeping pace but even with an extra thick radiator, it just can’t quite match the raw displacement of those larger units. The TD02 also costs about the same amount while outputting higher amounts of noise so if your case can accommodate the larger dual 140mm radiators, they are a fitting alternative.
While the TD02’s form factor ensures that it has broad compatibility, size also works against it in a number of different ways. Since Silverstone needed to up the radiator thickness to compete with the likes of Corsair’s H110, the Tundra’s fans needed to compensate so they’re anything but quiet. Using sleeve bearings isn’t an optimal choice either.
Great performance, easy installation and a great warranty combine to make the Silverstone TD02 a force to be reckoned with in the AIO market. It really is one of the best options around.
Tundra TD03
Using a thicker radiator design is not that uncommon among single bay units so, unlike its bigger brother, the TD03 doesn’t necessarily strike a unique pose in this respect. However, Silverstone did not simply opt for a thicker radiator and hope that it and its drop dead gorgeous appearance would be enough to convince consumers. Instead they also gave the radiator the same higher efficiency cooling fins as the bigger TD02. The end result is a well-executed 120mm single bay CPU cooling solution which can also match and even out-compete any single bay 120mm AIO unit from CoolIT or Asetek.
Unfortunately, while these enhancements in the radiator’s design do help the TD03 dominate the 120mm single bay radiator based AIO competition, it falls behind NZXT’s X40 once temperatures increase. It just doesn’t have the size necessary to compete but this does make Silverstone’s solution much more adaptable to various enclosures which may not necessarily support 140mm fans.
Just like the TD02, we didn’t appreciate Silverstone’s use of older, rigid FEP tubing which makes installation a bit of a hassle despite a straightforward installation process. We would have also appreciated the fan control abilities that come standard on several competing solutions.
Great looks, a unique design and solid performance make the TD03 an excellent choice for consumers. Even if it is not perfect, we can see the TD03 being used in a lot of custom builds in the near future.
Conclusion
With the Tundra series, Silverstone may be onto something. By avoiding the Asetek and CoolIT OEM meme, they’ve designed two products which are both unique and capable of delivering exceedingly high performance results while deftly avoiding Asetek’s patent trolls. The 5 year warranty is also a great addition. While the TD02 and TD03 may be a cut above in many respects, they haven’t entirely escaped from this review unscathed.
Tundra TD02
By not limiting themselves to off the shelf designs Silverstone has been able to create an all in one cooler that is both impressive and rather unique. The thicker radiator with its well thought out fin design is more effective at transferring the heat to the air which allows the Tundra TD02 to outperform the best 120mm dual bay sealed AIO models Asetek and CoolIT have to offer. That’s particularly impressive since this is Silverstone’s first time at this particular dance.
It goes without saying that the TD02 is bested by dual 140mm coolers like Corsair’s H110 and NZXT’s X60, It does a good job of keeping pace but even with an extra thick radiator, it just can’t quite match the raw displacement of those larger units. The TD02 also costs about the same amount while outputting higher amounts of noise so if your case can accommodate the larger dual 140mm radiators, they are a fitting alternative.
While the TD02’s form factor ensures that it has broad compatibility, size also works against it in a number of different ways. Since Silverstone needed to up the radiator thickness to compete with the likes of Corsair’s H110, the Tundra’s fans needed to compensate so they’re anything but quiet. Using sleeve bearings isn’t an optimal choice either.
Great performance, easy installation and a great warranty combine to make the Silverstone TD02 a force to be reckoned with in the AIO market. It really is one of the best options around.
Tundra TD03
Using a thicker radiator design is not that uncommon among single bay units so, unlike its bigger brother, the TD03 doesn’t necessarily strike a unique pose in this respect. However, Silverstone did not simply opt for a thicker radiator and hope that it and its drop dead gorgeous appearance would be enough to convince consumers. Instead they also gave the radiator the same higher efficiency cooling fins as the bigger TD02. The end result is a well-executed 120mm single bay CPU cooling solution which can also match and even out-compete any single bay 120mm AIO unit from CoolIT or Asetek.
Unfortunately, while these enhancements in the radiator’s design do help the TD03 dominate the 120mm single bay radiator based AIO competition, it falls behind NZXT’s X40 once temperatures increase. It just doesn’t have the size necessary to compete but this does make Silverstone’s solution much more adaptable to various enclosures which may not necessarily support 140mm fans.
Just like the TD02, we didn’t appreciate Silverstone’s use of older, rigid FEP tubing which makes installation a bit of a hassle despite a straightforward installation process. We would have also appreciated the fan control abilities that come standard on several competing solutions.
Great looks, a unique design and solid performance make the TD03 an excellent choice for consumers. Even if it is not perfect, we can see the TD03 being used in a lot of custom builds in the near future.
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