Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
I ’ve never learn anything quite like Hyte ’s newNexus Link ecosystem . Corsair has its iCue Link scheme , and Lian Li has its magnetic Uni organisation , and all three companies are now pop the question ways to attach together your personal computer chilling and lighting devoid of outside cables . But Hyte ’s union of ironware , software package , and accessory is in a conference of its own — and it transform my PC build wholly .
I ’ve been using some of the foundational components of the ecosystem for about a week , retailoring a build inside ofHyte ’s own Y40 PC caseto see how the system works . It does n’t seem too exciting at first — Hyte secrete an all - in - one ( AIO ) liquid tank , some rooter , and a few RGB strips , who cares ? But as I engaged more with the Nexus Link ecosystem , I only became more impressed .
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
It all starts with the cooler
We need to embark on with the AIO , which Hyte calls the Thicc Q60 . Even before getting into the capabilities of this AIO , it had already leave behind a corking notion . Hyte has the lover preinstalled out of the box , and they ’re oriented to take in air into your PC . Lian Li also has its fans preinstalled on its AIOs , but it ’s the Hyte ’s orientation that stands out . It ’s already mark up to be side - mounted in a Hyte slip .
In addition , the hefty tubes come wrapped in a sturdy casing if you want to keep them clumped together , and there ’s a thick credit card covering for the cooling plate that comes with thermal paste already applied . I ca n’t tell you the issue of times I ’ve smeared thermal library paste all over my table from an AIO cover coming informal .
much talk , none of this makes the Q60 a betterCPU tank , but it address to the character and attention to detail you feel out of the box . Hyte even employ this spotted pattern for the thermic paste ( below ) . Everything feels premium .
It ’s not just the feel . dead on target to the name , the Thicc Q60 isthicc . The radiator itself is 52 millimetre wooden-headed — nigh to double over what you ’ll find withmost AIOs — and the fans are 32 millimetre loggerheaded . That specify the compatibility of this AIO with some cases , but Hyte says it should work in any grammatical case that unremarkably supports a pushing - pull configuration with a normal 240 mm AIO . If you may swing it , the extra heaviness does wonder for your CPU .
With theRyzen 7 7800X3D , my temperature would laze between 35 and 40 degrees Celsius , which is what you ’d expect with most 240 mm AIOs . Under a full Cinebench R24 load , temperature never run above 70 degrees , which again , is expected . What ’s astounding is no matter how much imperativeness I put the central processor under , I never heard the fan of the Thicc Q60 . Even now , as I ’m typing this , the hum of my icebox a elbow room forth is loud than my PC .
The fans can get very gimcrack — I ’ll cover the insane option available to you to customise the curve shortly — but they do n’t need to . This can keep a New , high - close central processor cool with a sensible temperature while scarce making a whisper .
That ’s about 400 words pass on an AIO , and we have n’t even talked about its display . If you were n’t able to tell by my photos , the Thicc Q60 come with a 5 - inch informatics display that cut across the mounting block . It floats above your motherboard , and you could display just about anything you want . I ’ll get into all of the choice subsequently , but if the grand cooling potential was n’t enough to lay the Thicc Q60 apart , the display sure is .
Hyte also blot out all the cables around the back , so there is n’t anything drop off the C.P.U. block , and it let in a six - class warrantee . This come at a goodly cost of $ 300 , but even that is n’t too far off base for what you ’re getting here . The NZXT Kraken Z73 and Corsair H100i , both with LCD exhibit , are $ 250 and $ 290 , respectively , and they do n’t have anywhere near the cool off potential of the Thicc Q60 .
More significantly , the Thicc Q60 is n’t just a central processing unit cooler . It ’s a hub for the rest of your ignition and cooling inside your personal computer .
Starting the ecosystem
There are two ports on the Thicc Q60 . One is a double USB - C embrasure that powers the cooler . This splits off into an inner USB connector , a 4 - pin fan connector , and a 6 - pin PCIe connexion to feed enough mogul to everything go on here . The 2nd port is a single USB - C port that starts a strand to feed the other fans and RGB strips inside your PC .
In Hyte ’s Nexus Link ecosystem , the Thicc Q60 is a “ Primary Node . ” It enable two - way communication between the Nexus Link app and your hardware . Off of this single cable , you could link up to 18 machine in a chain , none of which demand separate cables . Hyte ’s FP12 lover connect to each other magnetically , and its LS10 and LS30 RGB light cartoon strip have USB - C connections on both end , admit you to fertilize them off of or into the chain . Even the fan preinstalled on the Thicc Q60 are cable - free — they ’re connected magnetically to your strand through the cooler .
The tank itself is a hub , and that ’s a large deal . With Corsair iCue Link and Lian Li ’s Uni ecosystems , you need a separate hub to hook everything up . Both also back few devices . Withr Corsair , you’re able to only power seven devices on a exclusive communication channel , and that shrinks to four with Lian Li . Here , you have 18 devices on a single channel , and without necessitate to purchase anything spare . Hyte include all of the transmission line you need in the box , as well as connectors for a more traditional setup using a fan header .
You only need the cooler , but Hyte also sells a hub if you want to go bigger . you could pick up the Nexus Portal NP50 alongside either the fans or RGB strip , and that unlock three additional channels for up to 54 devices . If you have a the NP50 and the Thicc Q60 , you ’re looking at up to 72 total devices . These do n’t have to be in your PC , either . If you may sneak one of Hyte ’s USB - C cables outside your casing , you may run RGB light strips wherever you need .
mighty now , the fans , RGB strips , and cooler are all Hyte has , but I could see Nexus Link give out much further . A large part of that , and a key deviation between Hyte and its competition , is that everything here is free-base on established standards . Hyte alsomaintains a libraryof its wiring diagram and firmware documentation , provide developer to change or expand this ecosystem .
Linking Nexus
Bringing everything together is the Nexus Link app , which is much more in - profundity than it looks at first glance . I ’ve had a chance to try the app antecedently when I looked at theHyte Y70 Touch , and although it was impressive then , I did n’t get a luck to full research what it had to offer .
Let ’s start with the Thicc Q60 ’s IPS display . You have a fistful of utilities that are n’t dissimilar to what you ’ll find with the Y70 Touch . you’re able to exhibit performance metrics , the weather , a clock , or even a medium participant . That goes over the top of a background , which you may customise either with a fistful of videos built into Nexus Link or with your own video or photo . you could store up to five of these configuration , and Nexus Link can even switch between them automatically depending on the app you have run .
It work , but there are definitely some quirkiness at the mo . For instance , some performance metric function only display as a massive decimal fraction , sometimes range off the edges of the screen , while other metric display only in whole numbers . In improver , you ca n’t have multiple things on blind at once — for example , you ca n’t show your GPU utilization and processor temperature at the same time . You have to choose one or the other .
I also encountered some glitch with the Thicc Q60 . The covert would n’t close off with my personal computer , and I ’d have to reopen the Nexus Link app each metre I rebooted to get my background to show up again . These are both have sex issues , and Hyte say it ’s ferment on them . At the moment , at least , it ’s clear that software package support for the Thicc Q60 has n’t reached its final form .
Thankfully , that ’s not the fount elsewhere . Lighting customization has a ton of options , with multiple layers , preset vivification , audio visualization , and even screen matching . Hyte ’s approaching to kindling customization is very unparalleled , however . You ’ll see the effect as a rectangle on your covert , and within it , you have a resizable “ Universe ” window . This select the area that you require to move across your inflammation , create a cohesive tone . you’re able to also toggle to Planet way , allowing you to get behind each geographical zone to its own area .
This open up up a lot of possibilities . For case , you’re able to sum up your own medium single file and automatically apply a look to your lighting based off what ’s in the windowpane . On the other manus , there are some aspects that are limited here . You ca n’t severally see each lead strip , for example , which set a damper on setting up your entire conflict station with Hyte ’s RGB strip .
Where Nexus Link really shines is chill . As you might suspect , you may customize your fan curve within Nexus Link , but Hyte goes much deeper . For each curve , you could feed it a different input and place it on a different production . Hyte gives you access to virtually any sensor in your PC that you could need , and each of the fans come with their own build - in sensor , too .
With this frame-up , you’re able to base the pump speed off of the liquid temperature , the AIO fans off of CPU major power utilisation , and your type devotee off of a sensor of your motherboard . That ’s just one example . Each of these setups has its own curve , too , allowing you to dial in the balance of noise and cool down for each ingredient of your rigging .
you’re able to get much more granular , too . perchance you desire exhaust fan to have a more aggressive curve than your intakes , or maybe you want to pick off each groove of buff if you have them install in every turning point of your PC . The system here is not only supremely power ful , it ’s also utter bare to use .
A worthy addition
Hyte does n’t have a wad of product . Prior to Nexus Link , it had four face , a mousepad , anda keyboard . And from using the Nexus Link ecosystem , it ’s clear why Hyte does n’t blast the securities industry with every PC accessory conceivable . The quality here is nonpareil , raising the bar for the growing ecosystem of firing and cooling options we ’ve seen from a half - dozen brands .
The star of the show is in spades the Thicc Q60 . Its cooling art is one and only by other AIOs , and it manages to solve the pain points associated with an luxuriant cooling setup , such as impertinent cables . The display is surprisingly the least impressive part of the Thicc Q60 , and that ’s say something .
Investing in this ecosystem is expensive , but it ’s on equivalence with something like Corsair ’s iCue Link , and with some clear advantages as well . The Thicc Q60 , and the fans and RGB strip by extension , are n’t for every PC form . But for those looking to take their PC together with kindling and cooling , Hyte is firmly in the spark advance .
