This strange liquid cooler somehow cools both the CPU and RAM.

Sports
This strange liquid cooler somehow cools both the CPU and RAM.

At CES earlier this year, Thermaltake showed a prototype of an all-in-one liquid cooler that cools the CPU and RAM simultaneously. However, not all prototypes evolve into finished products, and we thought this prototype would be scrapped since there was little need to liquid cool the RAM. We were wrong.

Five months later, Thermaltake officially announced the world's first CPU and memory AIO coolers. Actually there are two: the Floe RC360 and the Floe RC240.

As you might have guessed, the RC360 has a 360mm radiator with three 120mm cooling fans, while the RC240 has a 240mm radiator with two 120mm fans.

In a typical AIO liquid cooler, cooling water travels down one tube connected to the water block and back to the radiator through a second tube to book a return ticket to the CPU. In this case, however, only one tube connects the radiator to the CPU water block.

The second tube in the CPU water block runs in a straight line to the RAM water block, where the coolant returns to the radiator. Think of this like traveling from New York to Los Angeles and stopping in Dallas.

This is a bit of an unusual design, which is probably why no other company has ever made anything like it (as far as we know.) Thermaltake was so preoccupied with whether they could make an AIO liquid cooler that would work for both CPU and RAM that they should They didn't seem to stop to think about it. At least for mainstream use.

Memory modules are not suitable for liquid cooling, but if you really want some peace of mind, this new Floe cooler will provide it.

Thermaltake states that these coolers are compatible with Toughram RC memory modules. It is not known if they will work with other memory modules if the heatsink is removed and fitted into the RAM water block. However, with Thermaltake's Toughram RC kits, it seems to be fairly easy to do (just remove a few screws).

These coolers are expected to be available in the third quarter of this year. We have contacted Thermaltake about pricing and compatibility and will update this article when we hear back.

Update: According to Thermaltake, the Floe RC series will only work with their Toughram RC memory and will not require disassembling the heatspreader. Prices in the UK are £169.99 for the RC360 and £139.99 for the RC240. In addition, eBuyer will "soon" sell a 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4-3200 Toughram RC kit for £94.99. Pricing in the U.S. and other regions is not yet known.

Categories