Cooler Master Hydra 8800 Hybrid GPU Cooler Review | ||
| by Misoprostol | December 5, 2007 | ||
| Packaging / What's Included Packaging While it's difficult to wax lyrical about a box when there are important things like the product itself to talk about, I have to comment on the package for the Hydra 8800 since it is quite unique.   The retail box is eye catching since it is quite shiny. It offers a clear view of the product and all the key information including specifications and key features of the Hydra. Personally this is all I ask for from a retail box because it makes shopping much easier when you can decide for yourself if you like the look of the product and if the specifications sound good before opening it While the box is obviously not a shipping box, the cooler itself and all accessories are well protected from light bumps by a plastic insert. I had no difficulty removing the cooler from the plastic package thanks to the lack of any sharp edges and complete absence of those annoying sealed clamshell packs. Kudos to Cooler Master for making their packaging idiot-proof. What's Included  Cooler Master includes everything you need to use your new Hydra 8800 straight out of the box. You can use it straight away with an air cooling setup, a 1/2" water cooling setup or a 3/8" water cooling setup. You also get some thermal pads, extra 1/2" fittings (the 3/8" fittings are attached to the Hydra 8800 already), mounting hardware and a 4-3 pin fan to molex adapter.  The mounting screws are mostly redundant because they are the same as the ones that are already attaching your stock cooler. Yet, it's really nice to see Cooler Master go the extra mile to include both 3/8" fittings (top) and 1/2" fittings (bottom).  That said, the included fittings are proprietary (I doubt they work on anything but this cooler) rather than being chrome plated g1/4 and are compatible with only 1/8" wall tubing. I am not a fan of these since they are extremely restrictive and are made of plastic. Ugh.   The last two items included in the package were the things I appreciated the most: Instructions, and silica gel. The instructions tasted great, and I was about to eat the silica gel when I noticed the huge warning on it. Cooler Master continues to protect our most special citizens so more kudos to them. On a more serious note, the instructions were clear, concise and in more languages than you can shake a stick at.         | ||
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