Radiator thickness on 120mm

[Mr. Smith]

Don't judge me. I'm using a 120mm rad in a custom loop.

FT03 has space for a single rad in the roof and a dual 80mm in the floor (without really having to do much modding). Since there are basically two '160mm' rads it's an easy choice.

So, single rad. The loop is CPU/GPU only. Ivy i7 and HD7950 (GPU will be replaced for something tasty down the line once it starts struggling/funds allow).


AC Monsta - call it £60 - 86mm (80mm effective) - fins per inch 14

EK CoolStream RAD XTX - £40 - 64mm (60mm effective?) - fins p" 11

XSPC RX - RRP £45 can get for £25 delivered! - 58.5mm (probably 55mm effective) fins p" 8

My dilemma is my build is on a budget; everything is 2nd hand/used where possible.

Someone offered me XSPC for £25 delivered but it also the thinnest rad I'm looking at.

Will there be a lot of difference between the three in terms of how much heat they can dissipate. I notice the fin density is much less as they get thinner...

 

[tinytomlogan]

more fins mean more noise effectively

if it was me both those rads would be for cpu only - if youre thinking about GPU too then in all honesty youre wasting your money

 

[WYP]

You will be much better off investing in a good air cooler and when you buy a gpu to get a brand with a quiet after market cooler.

cooling both a CPU and GPU with such a small amount of rad space is not a great plan, watercooling for most people here are for low temps and silence, you likely wouldn't have either.

 

[Mr. Smith]

Cool. I already bought the GPU block on ebay a little while ago. I've since seen the exact same build I am planning but with a Titan which kicks out more head than a 7950.

For me, this build is a compromise on size and performance.

If the temps really suck then I'll take the GPU out.

Noise is a moot point; when I game my speakers drown out fans and when I'm not gaming I'll have a different OC profile active so the fans can run quiet.

What I wanted to know is from a price/performance point of view is there any point spending the money over the cheapest option? Will the thicker, denser finned rad dissipate that much more heat than the thinner, lower fin density rad?

Cheers

 

[WYP]

With rads, the larger the surface area to dissipate heat, the better the cooling power. This is either done by increasing the thickness or the fin density.

I would put the thickest rad I could fit in there, from a price to performance point of view the £25 is the best (because it is so cheap, great deal there), but please go for the thickest rad you can, it will perform better.