SilverStone Tundra TD02 240mm AIO Review

Edit – see updated pricing options at the bottom! (the price is lower than previously written)

The SilverStone TD02 has a recommended retail price of $130.95 USD excluding VAT and European pricing of €109 excluding VAT, so that’s about £95 in UK pricing. If we add VAT to all of those we are talking $157/€130/£115 final prices, though in the USA many states lack sales taxes so $130.95 may be the final end user price. Now as a UK citizen working with a UK site we will be judging this from the EU/UK pricing perspective of €130/£115. The first thing that strikes me is that “corr blimey” this isn’t cheap! However, I am not really “put off” by this price at all and I’ll go on to explain why that is the case.

Firstly, the Tundra TD02 delivers an exceptional amount of performance. It easily matches the Swiftech H220 and probably has more potential given the quality of the radiator (though it doesn’t have the same expandability). If you push-pulled the Tundra TD02 it would easily be the best performing AIO money could buy. That said I don’t think our results even do it justice, LGA 2011 would of shown us a different story and I am sure this would have opened up an even bigger lead over competitors with more heat to play around with. That said it delivered all this performance with the quietest pump I have ever tested and the fans weren’t particularly loud either. My second reason for thinking the price is justified comes down to the build quality. The radiator is just fantastic and SilverStone’s patented radiator design not only looks great and oozes quality but also offers you the ability to eek out tonnes more performance with all that surface area for heat dissipation. The entire unit also uses aluminium and a rather striking white/grey/black colour scheme which is a refreshing change from the usual black we see. Furthermore those aluminium touches just give the Tundra TD02 some finesse that other AIOs do not have. The mounting mechanism SilverStone opt for is also one of the easiest I’ve ever used with an AIO closed loop liquid cooler and it was one of the quickest installations I’ve ever done. And finally, if all that wasn’t good enough SilverStone are offering a massive 5 year warranty on these beauties.

Pros

• Excellent thermal performance
• Astonishing acoustic performance – totally silent pump
• Premium build quality
• Unique and effective radiator design
• Easy and effective mounting procedure
• 5 year warranty

Cons

• Expensive
• Cables not black/sleeved from edge of frame to the motor
• No extra long fan screws for push-pull
• Thickness is substantial, may not fit many cases at 75mm thick with one set of fans
• FEP tubing not to everyone’s taste

eTeknix says: With the SilverStone Tundra TD02 we have a new 240mm AIO king – the Tundra TD02 reigns supreme. For those who want a premium quality, near-silent and extreme performance closed loop cooler but do not need the expendability of competing solutions – the Tundra TD02 ticks all the right boxes. Sure you’re going to need to open your wallet a fair bit and have a very spacious case but you will not be disappointed and you’ll feel like every penny of your money was well spent. A huge congratulations to SilverStone for giving the closed-loop AIO market that huge kick up its backside that it has needed for years now.

SilverStone Tundra TD02 Liquid CPU Cooler

Thank you to SilverStone for providing this review sample.

Early Pricing and Retail Availability – Accurate As Of June 29th 2013 at 17:00 GMT

• Scan Computers International – £99.56 –  United Kingdom – Pre-Order – Buy Here.
• AusPCMarket – $172.70 – Australia – Pre-Order – Buy Here.
• CPLOnline – $152 – Australia – In Stock – Buy Here.
• PC Case Gear – $152 – Australia – In Stock – Buy Here.
• Newegg – $119.99 – USA – In Stock – Buy Here.