SilverStone Hailstone 360 Industrial AIO Cooler Review

When I started building local AI machines I had difficulty finding a CPU cooling method that I liked.  While this might sound a little strange coming from a seasoned hardware enthusiast the struggle wasn’t so much about finding a cooler but rather finding one for my processor platform.  You see, AI workstations is about GPUs and to support fast GPU interaction you need a system with a LOT of PCI Express lanes and typical consumer processors simply do not have enough.  This is why settled on the Threadripper platform but the cooler selection is split between odd sized aircoolers and a DIY watercooling loop.

For aircooling it really depends on your chassis configuration and most industrial builds will limit you to low profile designs that don’t cool very well meaning there is lots of fan noise, when there shouldn’t be.  The alternative is DIY watercooling and while this is my preferred method from a performance standpoint the level of effort to build the loop and keep it maintained was outside the scope of my build.

The SilverStone Hailstone 360 bridges this gap by providing a quiet cooling solution for my Threadripper build that can deliver performance when I need it and remain relatively slient the rest of the time.  The slim (ish) 360mm radiator fits nicely in most workstation and 4U chassis configurations while the pump block and IMF70 cooling modules are very efficient with space.

I found the FHL120 industrial fans to be a missing link in the cooling world.  The current trend is to maximize performance between noise and airflow which has created a hodgepodge of fan designs offering thicker frames and revised blade designs that are not a concern in the prosumer space.  For these systems, performance is key and noise control typically means closing a door.

There is a growing land rush to support AI systems and make them more than a cloud service you subscribe to.  With the right hardware you can run AI locally but does require specialized components to make it useful.  The Hailstone 360 from SilverStone is an affordable solution for high performance builds when an industrial cooler simply will not do.

Excellent Performance
Large Braided Hoses
Powerful Industrial 120mm Fans Included
Support for Threadripper  
Awesome IMF70 Fan Module