Cartago´s Quad-Radiator Roundup Hello and welcome to all of you to my new Quad-Raditator-Review. After my small Radiator-Guide I would like to introduce you a new Roundup of Quad-Radiators, which includes eight Radiators. You can mount up to four 120mm Fans on this Radiators, but they do not fit in many PC-Cases. The available Roundup includes Models from the most famous producers and ranges from the beginner model to the high-end-Models. We have the extreme slim Koolance Vertikal with 30mm up to the 60mm thick Monster-Models from Phobya, XSPC, Thermochill and Coolgate. I focused in this test three of the most popular fan speeds, which were realized by 600u/min, 900u/min and 1200u/min. In my opinion a test with more than 1200u/min does not make any logical sense, because a watercooling-solution should cool the components at low noise-level. I introduce as well a new style of rating-system with this review and divide the the final conclusion in two categories. These two categories consist of [1] the pure cooling capacity and [2] the processing quality and the ratio of price and performance. For example it does not make any sense for me, if the Radiator has a superb processing quality but a low cooling capacity. The same applies the other way, the performance is above everything? Let us take a closer look at the candidates: Here are the Test candidates in alphabetical order: Coolgate Copper Radiator 480mm. Technical Information: Material: Copper fins, brass chambers, Tubes with extremely high copper content. 3 Water boxes 13 x 2mm Color: Black Size (L xB x H): 533,6 x 124 x 60mm Fittings: G1/4 Zoll Thread Size oft he Screws: 6-32 UNC Weight: 1780g Fluid Volume: 500ml Tested pressure load: 1.5bar Fan Size: 120mm Further Specials: Fill the connecting thread at the bottom for light / vent. Delivery Content: 1x Coolgate Copper Radiator 480mm 16x UNC 6-32 x30mm Schrauben 4x Mounting Screws 4x Entkopplung The Radidators, which are built by the company Coolgate, are quite new to the market. Coolgate tries to appeal to high-end-customers. As the addition of "Copper" in the name suggests, is to bring the high copper content above average performance. Whether it's true, the tests will have to prove. The Radiator comes in a very noble and comprehensive packaging. The packaging includes short and long screws and additional anti-vibration-frames for the fans, which would make any slient-freak happy. In terms of looks and build quality Coolgate sets a very high bar. That should not surprise, if you take a look at the price. The painting is executed well and the plates are smooth and error free. Four G ¼ allow virtually any installation option, both horizontally and vertically. At the back of the radiator you can find another G ¼ Port, which you can use for fill and bleed. Unfortunately, the manufacturer has decided to use UNC screws. Although they are included here, depending on the installation position they can be too short or too long. The user should therefore be aware of the mounting position and should buy before screws with appropriate lengths. EK-CoolStream RAD XT 480: Technical Information: Material: Copper, Brass. Color: Black Size: 520 x 123 x 47mm Fittings: 1/4Zoll Fan Thread Size: M3 Weight: 1.595g Delivery Content: 1x EK Water Blocks EK-CoolStream RAD XT 480 16x M3 x 30mm Screws 16x M3 x 35mm Screws The company EK-Waterblocks, which is known for their CPU and GPU-Watercooling-Solutions, is producing since a short period as well Radiators. The Radiator from EK comes in a two-piece package. The outer part shows the well-known EK pattern. The Radiator comes with screws with two different lengths and is located in the inner white box. The processing is fairly decent but not up to the gate of the Coolgate Radiators. On the side you can find the embossed EK-Logo. The paint is free from errors. Koolance Radiator 4x120mm Vertikal: Technical Information: Material: Copper, Brass Fittings: 1/4" Size: (B x H x L): 12,6cm x 3cm x 51,5cm Fan Thread Size: M4 Weight: 1000g Lieferumfang: 1x Radiator 12x M4x32mm Screws 1x pair 6mm-Connection-Extensions, inward and outward thread Koolance, which is formally better known for their high-end Mainboard-Watercooling-Solutions, comes in this test with the HX-CU1320V Radiator. The Radiator comes in a simple box, which does not guarantee enough protection for a Radiator. Therefore the test sample shows a small bump . The processing quality is not the very good. You can find small painting errors and a few bent fins. The Radiator shows on the side the Logo of the producer. The delivery content consists of the few screws and the connection-extensions. With the 30mm the radiator is the thinnest candidate in this review. The manufacturer has chosen a very narrow fin spacing in order to increase the radiator surface. In the further review we will see, if this decision can increase the performance of the Radiator. MagiCool XTREME QUAD 480 Long: Technial Information: Material: Copper fins, Brass Size: (L x B x H): 520 x 120 x 47mm Fittings: G1/4" Weight: ca. 1560g Mounting-Options: 16 x M3-Threads at the top (for 8x 120mm-Fans),16 x M3 Threads at the bottom (for 8x120mm-Lüfter) Pressure tested: 8 Bar, Ports: 2x Gewinde G 1/4 Zoll A seasoned size in the watercooling sector is certainly MagiCool Xtreme. The Radiator comes in simple box and is well wrapped with foil. The delivery content consists of the most necessary items. The fan cover of the Radiator is colored in silver and has as well bar-fans on the sides. The bar-fans are covered with foam rubber, which should prevent turbulence of the airflow. The processing quality is good. The sharp edges of the aperture disturb the good overall impression. The protective film on the end pages cannot be removed without trace. Phobya Xtreme QUAD 480: Technical Information: Material: Copper fins, Brass Size: (L x B x H): 264x242x46mm Fittings: G1/4" Weight: ca. 1567g Mouting-Options: 16x M3-Threads at the top (for 4x 120mm-Fans) Pressure tested: 2 Bar, Ports: 2x Gewinde G 1/4 Zoll Delivery Content: 1x Radiator 16x M3x30mm Screws The next test candidate is the Phobya Xtreme QUAD 480 Radiator. This differs fundamentally from conventional radiators in its design. It's not like the candidates remaining longitudinally mounted but has a square shape. The Radidator comes in a well-protected colorful painted box, which is typical for Phobya. The processing can be described as good to very good, all fins are straight and the ports are clean set. Only the fan screen itself bears traces of processing. Fans are attached to this Radiator with an aperture, which you can buy now completely in black. You can as well moun the Radiator in the Phobya Radiator-Rack, which is a great option in my opinion. Phobya G-Changer 480 ver. 1.2 Black: Technical Information: Material: Copper fins, Brass Color: matte black Size: (L x B x H): 532x125x60mm Fittings: G1/4" Weight: ca. 2100g Mounting-Options: from both sides Thread Size: M3 Fan-Size: 4x 120mm Pressure Tested: 2 Bar Additionals: Bleed Screw Delivery Content: 1x Radiator 16x M3x30mm Screw 4x Anti-Vibration 2x black screw plugs The G-Changer 480 Ver. 1.2 Black comes in a well-protected colorful painted box, which is typical for Phobya. The Radiator is well protected by foil. The delivery content is extensive and consists of Screws in the lengths 30mm, 35mm and 10mm, four anti-vibration-frames, and two screw plugs. The quality of the painting and the processing quality is very good. The paint wears in some places clearly traces of bubble wrap. This radiator has the same gate as the Coolgate radiator, four G 1 / 4 connectors, two horizontally and vertically. At the other end of the radiator has an additional vent screw. On the side you can see the embossed Phobya Logo. Swiftech MCR420 QP: Technical Details: Fittings: G1/4" Size: 521 x 128 x 34mm Weight: 1100g Thread-Size: UNC 6-32 Delivery Content: 1x 480mm Radiator Mounting screws Different than the name would have suggested, this Model is a 480mm radiator. The American manufacturer Swiftech is one of the so-called "big players" on the water cooling market. Unfortunately, he's here with us not as common, because of the exchange rate from Dollar to Euro. The Radiator comes in a brown box. The radiator itself is also in a kind of two-piece bag, which is to protect it from damage. The processing quality is very good and the painting shows no errors as well. The delivery content consist just of the necessary screws and a warning sign in german language. Thermochill TA120.4: Technical Information: Color: matte black Material: Copper fins, Brass Fittings: 1/4" Weight: ca. 2,5 kg Seize (LxBxH): 524 x 129 x 60mm Delivery Content: 1x Thermochill TA120.4 Quad Radiator - 480 Radiator 16x 13mm Self-tapping screws Thermochill has been one long to spearhead the radiators. The models of the PA series were very successful. Unfortunately, these radiators are not as common with us, which may be due to the high legal cost. He comes well protected in plain white packaging. In addition, there are also the self-tapping screws. Unfortunately, the processing quality is only moderate, the paint is not applied correctly and the finish is not very good. Fortunately Thermochill has adjusted its usual format of the connection threads G 1 / 4 ", which was also a major drawback of earlier models. XSPC RX480: Technical Information: Color: matte black Seize: 125x58.5x510mm (BxHxT) Material: Copper Fittings: 2x G1/4" Thread-Size: M4 Screws: 4x M4x10, 16x M4x 30 Specials: 3x water channels in the height The radiators of the RX series from XSPC have been that of the RX360 Radiator always appear on the front seats to find. The Radiator comes in white box. The radiator itself is wrapped in foil. The package is limited to the obligatory screws. The processing on my copy would be referred to as a super, but there is a little error in the paint. The paint wears in some places clearly traces of bubble wrap. Apparently, two different models are circulating of this radiator, the one that is probably older revision, equipped with UNC 6-32 threads, and the one I got on this comparison, with M4 threads.
The Test system in detail: Mainboard: Asus Maximus III Formula CPU: Intel Core i7 860 @ 4 Ghz@1,4V GPU: AMD ATI Radeon HD6950@6970 @ 1,175V Memory: 8GB Corair Vengeance CL9 Power Supply: be quite! Dark Power Pro P9 850W HDD: Samsung F3 500GB Watercooling Setup: CPU: Alphacool HF14 Yellowstone CooperEdition GPU: Alphacool NexXxoS ATXP ATI 6970/50 Pumpe: Phobya DCP-12 400 AGB: Alphacool Cape Corp Coolplex Pro 25 Fittings: 16/10 Alphacool Cooper DFM: AC DFM HighFlow Control: Aquaero5 XT Temperature sensors: 2xPhobya IG/AG ¼ und Einschraubsensor für AGB Tube: 16/10 Masterkleer 4 quick couplings Koolance VLN3 The new Phobya G-Silent 12 1500rpm Blue Led were used as Radidator fans. Every Setup was tested with three fan speeds, 600rpm, 1200rpm and 900u/min. For all tests, I used the included components of the manufacturer. The tool CoreDamage was used for heating up the CPU and rthdribl was used for the GPU. The Setup ran for one hour and the temperature of air and water was noticed via Aquaero5. The fans were mounted blowing on the radiators. Here are the results: Delta T @ 600u/min Delta T @ 900u/min Delta T @1200u/min Flow Lph: Preis: Scaling of the individual radiators Price-performance comparison Conclusion: At first a positive announcment: Every Radidator was able to cool the System. The Koolance Radiator has lower values, because of the tight-fitting fins. The rest of the test field is already as close together, because of the high producing standards of the manufactures. There are two fairly groups, which consist of the midfield EK, Magicool, Phobya Xtreme, and Swiftech, Thermochill. The peak power of this test field, the radiators from Coolgate, Phobya G-Changer and XSPC. The rear and cut off the Koolance radiator stands alone because, although he has his right to exist but at the expense of the volume. He is, by its small thickness, for people who thought that rely on such thin radiators and want to take the higher volume in sales. The quality of machining, I was disappointed overall by most manufacturers. A very large bright spot is the Coolgate radiator, with its excellent quality and great delivery. Close behind are the two premature packed radiators and Phobya XSPC. The rest of the test field is plagued with more or less small quality problems, which again stands out of the Koolance negative. So let us see, which Radiator gets an Award. Coolgate Copper radiator 480mm gets for the performance and for the quality of workmanship "Cartago's Review Award" in gold. XSPC RX480 and Phobya G-Changer480 get for her performance a "Cartago's Review Award" in gold and not quite perfect for processing a "Cartago's Review" Award in Silver. EK-CoolStream RAD XT 480, MagiCool Xtreme480, Phobya Xtreme Quad, Thermochill and Swiftech TA12.4 get all of their performance and quality of each one "Cartago's Review Award" in silver. Koolance Radiator 4x120mm unfortunately, only gets an award and indeed for the service, as can be seen from the tables increases the power significantly with increasing speed. For the performance, there is a "Cartago's Review" Award in bronze for the quality there is no award. Although it could be that I've just caught a bad copy but unfortunately this also requires that package comes out of the radiator to damage in shipping. Acknowledgments: I hereby want to thank Aquatuning and all the other manufacturers you for support in this roundup, and Guapa @ Hluxx for creating the tunnel diagrams.
Great review, was looking for something like this! Huge roundup, nice layout! ...was quite thinking about buying one coolgate 480, now you have convinced me. Thanks a lot alphadog
Coolgate Radiator Could anyone tell me if I can use the fill/drain port on the Coolgate radiator as a coolant input or output port for this radiator in my cooling loop? or should it only be used to fill/drain coolant from the radiator?
