Thermaltake Pacific W7 Plus 16.8 Million RBG Color Software Enabled (TT RGB Plus/Alexa/Razer Chroma) AMD/Intel (LGA 1200) Built-in Temp Sensor CPU Water Block CL-W279-CU00SW-A

I loved the completeness of this package. Besides the clamps needed for both Intel and AMD CPUs, plus complete instructions, there was an interesting thermal transfer solution. It looked like a ball of mercury when applied to the CPU and I was concerned I'd be able to spread it evenly. I've installed coolers and water blocks many times, but never encountered this type of thermal compound. I found it was easy to spread out with a Q-tip, resulting in a super level bed for the water block. After completing the build and checking temps, I was pleased to see them almost 10 degrees cooler than with my 4 year old CPU and cooler.UPDATE: After 8-10 days, it developed a leak around the joint between the front plate and center section. Ordered a replacement and will return this one. Good think I checked for leaks when I did, as they weren't there after the first few days and I wouldn't normally look after the first few days of use. Glad I caught it before coolant leaked into the graphics card slot. And happy too there was a heat sink over the M2 card just below the CPU as it caught the dribble headed for the PCI slot.

My i5 12600k ran almost 10 degrees cooler with the AIO I had installed prior to going for the full liquid cool setup. Went from a 280 AIO to a 280 thin rad and a 360 thick-boi, 800L pump and I also added my RX 7900 XT to the loop. The liquid metal provided kept beading up and rolling off the sides. I managed to get enough on there to cover the CPU and temperatures were inconsistent at best. It would jump from 60 to 90, occasionally hitting throttle at 100. I changed to Arctic Silver paste and now the temps don't exceed 90, at least, and they don't vary so much, maybe going up and down 10 degrees during stress tests. I have an el-cheapo CPU block I bought for another project and I'm going to try that out. If I get the same results then I'll have to change my rating and run my lines differently.*edit* I ran the loop again so that it pumps to the top radiator then cascades down through each component and that made all the difference. It was behaving like there was an air pocket in the block. That's gone now! I ran Intel Extreme's stress test, which would almost always break 90 degrees when the AIO was installed. 64 now. I can't seem to do anything that will push it past 64. Sorry for doubting you Thermaltake...

I decided to upgrade my current waterblock because the cooling fins inside were pretty shallow, only maybe 1mm at most high. It did the job but just wanted better cooling, so when I found out the cooling fins on this were 1.5-2.5mm high, I decided to try I mean....more surface area ='s more heat dissipation, right? So I went to install this and found that I'd have to take everything out of my case...motherboard, GPU, etc just to replace the backplate. Sadly the kit isn't exactly compatible with others despite the threads were the same. The spring screws at max thread weren't really even pushing the waterblock onto the CPU, so I did a little engineering and ended up using the springs off the spring screws with the threaded standoffs and was able to secure it enough to apply a little pressure to get the waterblock to contact the CPU nicely.Then came the software. I don't really care for the fancy LED lights but figured when I saw the option for "temp" lights that I'd set the profile to that so I could see how hot the block was based on the color. Despite telling the software "show on windows startup" I have to manually launch it every single boot-up because it doesn't load with windows. The directions say you can program the profile to the controller....yeah how???? I followed the manual. Its also confusing because the software shows you several controllers which is pointless if you only have one hooked up. It should detect how many and load the appropriate numbers. I mean it plugs into USB. That leads me to my next topic. Make it compatible with more than USB.....like 1394 plugs or something. All my USB headers were taken so something had to get unplugged. A Sata or mini PCI-E or something would be better. I'd even take a COM port plug.I'm not as impressed as I thought I was going to be. I have the ability to make my own waterblocks just didn't feel like dedicating the time, but I guess if I get annoyed enough that's what's going to happen.