SilverStone TD03-Slim Liquid CPU Cooler Review

Final Thoughts
While it might be easy to judge harshly the TD03-Slim, at this point I am going to have to take it’s side to a certain extent. Certainly yes it is the warmest cooler we’ve run on our 3770K to date. I have not yet had to abort a single run of IBT and I did with this Silverstone unit. However it has by far the smallest surface area on a radiator we’ve ever run as well. It’s one of those times when a certain perspective is required to really judge what you’re looking at. For starters you have a unit with a fantastic fit and finish. It runs right in stride with it’s siblings on the level of craftsmanship and quality of components selected. The installation process could not be easier and it looks great in your case as well. Additionally and for many most importantly, it takes up very little space. Indeed if you look at the side shot at the end of the installation section you can see for yourself that it barely protrudes into the case at all. As far as cost is concerned it falls right in line with other smaller AiOs at $64.99 so no complaints there.

We would of course be remiss if we were to end the review without at least touching on the limits of the cooler’s performance. No doubt this cooler is not one you should be looking at if you are trying to get the most performance out of your machine. It just isn’t physically capable. Nor would you look at any other smaller AiO. It is what it is, the TD03-Slim is meant for lower power CPU’s or small form factor cases that are going to sacrifice performance for size. The only other complaint we have for this cooler is the backlighting on the pump. It’s just so dim, exactly like we found with the TD02-Slim; it would almost be better to not even include it at all.

Overall ThinkComputers would like to award the TD03-Slim an 8 out of 10 score!

rating8 10 small

Pros:
– Fit and Finish
– Ease of installation
– Ultra small footprint
– Hardware is awesome

Cons:
– Not a real performer
– LED pump lighting is not very good