SilverStone’s new TD02-Slim sports a similar waterblock and design to the company’s other all-in-one (AIO) liquid coolers but, as its name suggests, its fans are halfheight 120mm models that are just 15mm thick, instead of the usual 25mm. The radiator is only 22mm thick too – a good 8mm thinner than many other half-height radiators. The total thickness of just 37mm is around 20mm slimmer than most double 120mm AIO liquid coolers.
Not many cases that need such a slim cooler, but some motherboard and case combinations might benefit due to large heatsinks restricting clearance, plus it may be possible to mount the radiator or fans between the case and a plastic shroud. There’s obviously less cooling power, though, as the radiator has a reduced capacity, plus the fans won’t be able to shift as much air, even at their rated 2,200rpm speed. Thankfully, they’re both equipped with 4-pin PWM cables, so while the cooler lacks software control, most motherboards can tune them down.
The pump section mounts in a fairly simple way on LGA2011 motherboards, using four CPU socket pins plus sprung thumbscrews to secure its mounting plate. Fitting it to other systems is a little trickier, though, as you need to pass pins through a backplate before attaching a second set of pins the other side. You then secure the cooler using the same sprung screws. Plenty of thermal paste is included, so you’ll be able to mount it three or four times before running out. However, the radiator is very easy to install, thanks to its light weight and small size. It has the usual 15mm fan spacing and screws are included for a multitude of installation scenarios too.
Performance-wise, the SST-TD02-Slim struggled to keep up with the other AIO liquid coolers on test, with even the single 120mm-fan Corsair H75 managing similar results in our LGA2011 test system. It struggled most in our LGA1150 system, where it was 6°C warmer than the H75, and a significant 13°C adrift of the Corsair H105. At full speed, the fans made quite a racket too. Tuning them down in the motherboard’s EFI to a quiet profile made the noise less intrusive under low loads, but they were still audible.
The SilverStone SST-TD02-Slim doesn’t offer chart-topping cooling or low noise. In fact, it isn’t much better than many good air coolers, with smaller AIO liquid coolers performing similarly. Thankfully, at less than £70, it’s much cheaper than most other double 120mm-fan radiator coolers – Corsair’s H105, for example, costs nearly £100. However, unless you specifically need a super-slim cooler, many air coolers offer lower noise and similar cooling abilities, while Corsair’s H75 is only slightly thicker and performs better on LGA115x systems. ANTONY LEATHER
VERDICT
A very slim liquid cooling setup for a good price, but its cooling ability isn’t great.
SPECIFICATIONS
Compatibility Intel: LGA2011, LGA2011-v3, LGA115x, LGA1366, LGA775; AMD: Socket AM3/3+, AM2/2+ FM2/2+, FM1
Radiator size with fans (mm) 273 x 120 x 37 (W x D x H)
Fans 2 x 120mm
Stated noise Up to 27dB(A)