Cooling Flowrate impact on temperature

Hi there,

Does anyone have any hard data on whether increase water flow improves watercooling setups.

My WC loop is very restrictive at the end of the loop back into the res the water is trickling in, I am happy with the performance and my little system has done a stellar job but I buy a pump with a higher flow rate when I add a flow safety switch I forgot to put in initially.

The question is whether it is worth it though?

I have done a search on here and google but found nothing conclusive, numbers, graphs with real data are what interests me.

Thanks

 

Depends on the setup (as always). Some blocks come into their own with higher flow, with others it doesn't seem to matter. With small-bore systems there is little difference so we will not be able to give you a clearer answer unless you descibe your loop.

In any case expect perhaps a few degrees C difference at most. A bigger radiator generally tends to have more effect.

 

Mine is a small bore 8mm setup, no matter it was just a thought, it can stay as it is, perhaps I'll buy one and test it later in the year.

 

i have a 1/2 inch setup, one day one of the tubes collapsed severely restricting the flow, i really didnt notice much difference in temps, a degree or two and my overclock was still stable so i left it until the next block upgrade. as a rule though, more flow = lower temps.

 

there's also a balance as bigger pumps put more heat into the water (especially if running sumberged) so that there's a point where you can run a smaller pump and have the temp be .5 degs warmer. they had an article about this on procooling where they went down the line with several popular pumps, as some rads whilst bigger are more restrictive so they can have a net negative effect as well.