Page 4 - Conclusion
Fortunately, not all products with the word "lite" in its name will fail like the Nike Bauer XXX Lite hockey stick. There are many good products in the market with the word "lite" in their name, and the SilverStone Tundra TD03-LITE is a decent entry into this category. SilverStone used what they had in the TD03-E, and slimmed it down for users who need a low-profile solution for tighter cases. The test results we got from the TD03-LITE were as expected, which was a little lower than the TD03-E due to a reduction in radiator size. It still outperformed the Intel stock cooler by a mile and a bit, and held its own against the big boys of the industry the rest of the time. As far as the appearance of the TD03-LITE is concerned, it is sleek black all around, which I personally found just as attractive as the carbon fiber touch. The change to the LED for the SilverStone logo was a welcomed one, as it was not as distracting with only the edges lighting up. The bright blue LED light still cannot be turned off like it was with previous models, which can be distracting for some people. One welcomed improvement that stood out to me was the improved ease of installation for the TD03-LITE. In terms of the build quality, SilverStone has been consistent throughout the TD03-LITE, as everything felt solid. A change that has been made to save cost on the LITE models was the screwed together water block instead of the solid one piece assembly with a nickel plated base, as previously featured on the TD02-E and TD03-E. A minor complaint I have to make about the TD03-LITE is the sound that the pump makes compared to the E-suffix models; it was a bit louder from my subjective listening tests. With a price tag of $60 USD at press time, SilverStone reduced the price by the about $20 compared to the TD03-E. The reduction in price makes the lower profile Tundra cooler quite competitive, but if you have the space and the cash for it, I would still go with the TD03-E. Otherwise, the TD03-LITE is definitely a solid economical choice.
SilverStone provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH Review Focus Summary:
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks; but should be considered before purchasing.
-- Final APH Numeric Rating is 7.0/10
Please note that the APH Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other sites.
Low-profile, but not low quality. The SilverStone Tundra TD03-LITE will light up your system and cool it at the same time with no problems.
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Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware; Installation
3. Test Results
4. Conclusion
