Hey everybody. I'm planning on watercooling a pc. It'll probably be just single-loop for now, cooling a e6600 cpu and probably a 8800 gtx or 8800gts 640 mb. I might wc my motherboard too, it depends. I'm just not sure what size radiator i should be using. Would a dual 120 mm radiator be ok? I'm thinking of overclocking it slightly. Also, is there a difference if you use two seperate, single radiators instead of one dual radiator? Thank you all very much
A dual 120.2 would be fine, AFAIK the twin-single setup isn't quite as good, but you do get to put them in different places without drilling holes.
K, good to know. What if i used 3 single radiators? I'm really interested in the lian li v1000b and well...it's not really big enough for one big radiator (at least not the way i want it) Btw what's a nice brand for radiators? I've heard good stuff about thermochill, but i don't really know why they are preferred? Thanks for helping a (pc) watercooling noob...
Using two 120s will impart a greater head loss on your system than a single 240. In other words, the flowrate of the loop will be less because there is a greater amount of restriction (more inlets/oulets, and possibly more tubing length). A lower flowrate yields lower cooling abilities. However, the effect may be too negligible to notice unless you're a hardcore WCer.
Ok, thanks for clearing that up. I have just started watercooling (xbox 360, although that's something different), so i'm not expecting huge overclocks or extremely low temperatures, i just want an up-to-date pc with suitable watercooling. I think i'll use these parts: -ek waterblocks cpu and gpu cooler -innovatek radiator dual -aq/innovatek aquatube -laing ddc-1t -tygon 8x1,6 tubing I'm not too happy about having to use aluminium/copper, but there aren't any nice looking plexi reservoirs What kind of temperatures would this setup give me?
I'm Using a BIX2 to cool an OC'ed X1800 and an FX-57 @ 3.2Ghz, however,for your set-up i'd go for a PA120.2, don't go for an innovatek rad, they are very very thin and don't really have very good cooling performance. Have you had a look at EK's reseviors?
Yes, all ThermoChill products use 3/8" BSPP (G3/8") threads. Alphacool Nexxos Extreme rads require high pressure fans to perform, and have a high pressure drop - ie: They'll be noisy. If avoiding ThermoChill, Swiftech's rads are the next best performers. Re: The Blastflow stuff - not sure what's going on with them... available under various names as they come out of Eastar Trading in Germany, and are the same rads as Alphacool use under their "Nexxxos" brand (compare Nexxxos Extreme to Blastflow Extreme - they're the same rad). Quite a few sites selling them - made in China basically. Performance testing was done on the Nexxxos brand - test results are posted below. From looking at that one above you can spot a few "issues" straight away. For a start, they're an unbalanced 4 pass.... water goes down 10x tubes, then back up 5 tubes, then back down 5 tubes, then back up 10 tubes. The pressure drop on this configuration will be fairly large and put quite a dent in flowrates (3x 180 degree turns). FPI detail is unknown. Core looks to be more dense than ThermoChill PA Series cores, so higher pressure fans needed to match cooling performance on a per-fan basis.
nexxxos = bad. thermochill = best so far also, larger doesnt always mean better. for example, the MagiCool EXTREME Nova 1080 You still can't bleed the middle pass... the "blue things" are only on the outer two chambers, that center chamber is one big airlock waiting to happen... I'm not saying this as ThermoChill... I'm saying, if given the choice, I'd rather pick 3x 120.3 footprint rads from any other manufacturer that we know to perform better than the Nexxxos Extreme Core... Three of ANY of the above brands/models would outperform the Magicool Nova... so if 3 of any of those brands came to the same price, but offered better performance, you'd take it wouldn't you (?)... note: i merely just took marci's alalysis of the magicool XTREME nova (9*120). all credit is his.
Ahh Marci, I wondered when you'd come around.. With the Nova, they cost about £100, while say 3x PA120.3's would be over £150 (not that I want one..)
Now look at the price again, but using 3x MCR320s instead of 3x PA120.3 - still much more desirable than 3x Nexxxos Extreme cores... then it becomes £96 for the Swiftech option vs £117 for the Nova... for better performance with lowcfm fans and less flow restriction.
