Introduction
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ECS is very popular on the low-end segment, so we were really surprised to see this company launching a good high-end solution. The Hydra kit contains two GeForce 9800 GTX+ running at their default clock configuration and one Thermaltake BigWater 760is water cooler. The video cards come with the cold plates already assembled, so the only work you will have to do is to connect the hoses coming from BigWater to the video cards and fill the water tank with the coolant liquid that comes with the kit. We took an in-depth look at Hydra, check it out.
Figure 1: ECS Hydra package.
Figure 2: ECS Hydra components.
As we mentioned, the water cooler that comes with Hydra is a BigWater 760is, and we have already posted an article about this product. This water cooler uses two 5.25” bays and comes with everything pre-assembled: water tank, radiator, water pump, 120 mm fan and hoses. The only thing you will need to do is to install the hoses coming from the video cards and add liquid coolant, which comes with the kit. BigWater 760is has a potentiometer where you can control the fan speed – the fan glows blue when the system is turned on. On Thermaltake’s website you can find the complete specs for this water cooler.
Figure 3: BigWater 760is.
Each card comes with a copper coldplate already installed. This coldplate is also manufactured by Thermaltake, being called TMG ND 3 LCS (or CL-W0119). On top of the coldplate there is a transparent duct with a 60-mm fan, which glows blue when it is turned on. Full information about the coldplates can be found on Thermaltake’s website.
Figure 4: One of the video cards that come with Hydra.