I'm cooling a GTX 770 (230 Watts) and a i5 3570k (77W) - total 307 watts of base cooling required. I'm likely to be over clocking them both so not really sure what wattage they will pull OCed (suggestions?). I'm wondering how many radiators I can get away with? I'm interested in the minimum I can get away with. I'm building a a Micro-ATX system (Corsair 350D - max rad capacity, 2x280 + 1x120) on a fairly small budget for the custom cooling loop. Ideally I hope to get away with one radiator... i doubt i can get away with a 240 (hopeful)? Worst case scenario would be a 280 (cost a bit more and causes issues with the fans i've selected). Cheers
I would go for two 240mm rads so you won't have any issues with the 120mm fans you've selected. you could get away with one 240mm, however I do not recommend it. unless you plan on using a 240 for now whilst you save for a second one. if you shop around you can find some really good deals. I got myself an EK rad and two sp120s for £30. check ebay and gumtree
Thanks for the response.... In that case I'll go for just one duel rad for now (280 with 2x phanteks PH 140 TS) and see how the temps turn out.
People always overestimate the radiators needed. If you look at Stainless Tower in project logs, about 400W is being shifted with a single 200mm fan radiator, which in surface area is slightly more than a dual 140mm fan radiator.
Oh wow looks like i'm sorted then thanks... love the Avatar btw, looks exactly my boss! Though I don't think he'd look that good in those shorts! pmsl
This. You can put a heavy OC'd 2011 and tri fire 780's on a 280...this was with 1000rpm fans. Dont expect the best Delta in the world but you will be getting your monies worth out of it thats fo sho. Rad efficiency goes up dramatically with increased delta. Rad estimation,along with pump power requirements,are the 2 biggest watercooling 'urban myths' Look at the recent AMD card and ARES card,2 full GPU dies both on a 120 rad of poor quality,according to most you will meet this card should be renamed 'Three Mile Island' when in reality this is not the case. For a good combination of silence and good delta's then a 360 is the most prudent answer,it allows for headroom for expansion or slower fan speeds. The rule of thumb for rad requirements is a 240 for the CPU and 120 for each extra block in the loop,mobo and ram counts as one block combined.
Thanks, and yes I am aware of newtons laws on thermal mechanics I'm a mechanical (analytical) engineer
To add to that: I run a dual Opteron 250 (2x89W) and an ATi Radon 1650Xt (50W) totalling 228W on a single Black Ice Xtreme radiator with a 69CFM fan. Temperatures are in the mid-40C's, mid-50C's on warm summer days.
Ok, so hypothetically you could have a 70W GPU and an i3 with a 240mm rad and slow-ish fan speeds? I'm trying to find the best way of quietly cooling an ITX rig, and with these expandable AIO's coming.. It's very tempting to give it a go!
