Radiators, Fans, and Pumps, OH MY!

[Wrexhavik]

I really wish someone would make a good "sticky" post (in the Liquid Cooling area) about different parts like radiators, pumps, fans, reservoirs, etc... such as:

Radiators:

Size - 480/360/240/120 (and the 140mm ones). Which size would be appropriate for how many blocks? CPU only, CPU + GPU, CPU + GPU + MB, etc... Is there a "rule of thumb"? Is it about what you can fit in your case? When should you use 2 or more rads? If using more than 2 rads, what are the benefits of doing single loop vs dual loop?

Radiator diferences - fins per inch, rads for slow fans, rads for fast fans, brand preference or strictly price based? is paying for an XSPC better than buying an EK?

Pumps:

DDC vs D5. Or do you just look at flow rate per hour? What is the deal about using 2 pumps in serial using a "pump top" (I've even seen 3 pumps connected with a top on You Tube)? Does this increase the flow rate or does it reduce the wear and tear of 1 pump by spreading the work between 2 pumps, or is this a fail safe incase 1 pump dies your flow still continues with the 2nd pump until you can replace the faulty one?

Pump mounting (reducing vibration) - I've heard of something called a "shoggy shammich" (a sponge in between 2 pieces of foam). This would be for a pump you would have attached to the bottom of your rig. Whats the best or common way to reduce vibration?

Choosing fans for use with radiators:

Is this something to take seriously or would I use the same type of fan I would use as a case fan? Or is it just a matter of personal preference? A lot of people use Gentle Typhoons because of their CFM and low noise, but is that all that makes a fan good for use with radiators? There are people out there that like LED fans, so they will probably go with what they like over what is more pratical. That's personal preference. I'm not saying that I'm trying to build the best of the best of the best. Sometimes that's just not economically practical, and then if everyone did that then everyone's rig would look the same. Koodos to being human and having a mind that wants to think differently than others!

Reservoirs:

Tube vs bay? Does the vertical flow of a tube res better than the horizontal flow of a bay res, or is that all negated from the flow of the pump? What about multiple res's or dual/triple loops? Is this just getting rediculous or is it just about "bling"?

OMG! Just so many choices out there. I've watched TTL's video on "Beginners Guide to Watercooling" and that's an excelent start (what you need to get started, filling and bleedind the loop...) but when it comes to "OK, do I choose this rad over that rad, or is EK block better than Koolance, or do I need 2 rads or 4?" it gets really confusing. Where is the line when it goes from practical to overkill? I am purchasing a CaseLabs TH10...do I need 4x 480 rads or more just because it fits? TTL mentions in his video that more radiators will not lower your temps lower than the ambient room temp, and that its not necessary to put a rad in between every waterblock.

A lot of these threads that start with "I need some advice..." probably could be answered if there were "sticky" threads at the top that covers this kind of stuff. I mean there are hundreds if not thousands of people reading these forums and make comments every day, but to search through all those posts when a sticky would be "right there" would be so much easier.

Ok, I'm going to stop here. Thanks all for reading.

 

[S_I_N]

to many variables to make such a beast to answer how many rads and whether-to and why-for as far as chosing fans for a perticular rad most sites that sell them say basically what kind of fan it benifits most from low cfm vs static pressure just gotta read the specs. alot of the rest is personal preference. pecially in rez type as far as the samwich thing under the pump its a good idea but you can make one easily enough. I for example had some old weather stripping laying about from my chilled water and phase change days that I just cut a few strips of it to size and placed it under my rez/pump combo. I can t hear a thing. not trying to say a sticky isnt a good idea just alot will go into it.

 

[sheroo]

I think the OP is right. You either seem to get the guys that have been doing this forever and just know instinctively what kit is good and how much cooling is required and the rest of us are blundering around in the dark. Yeah, it was nice to see the beginners guide and that seems straight forward enough.

I for one would like to see an entire vid just explaining parts, mounts, rads and especially pumps and tops etc. Just Tom sittin' there explaining stuff as a reference that I could go back to would be pure gold.

 

[SieB]

Well I can relay the info from all the research I have done from Specialtech, here and many other forums but people with more experience will be able to go in more detail. All the info is out there you just have to search for it although it would be good to have a guide so it's all in one place.

Radiators:

The bigger the radiator the more heat it can remove from the loop. A 120mm radiator is small and is barley enough for just cooling a CPU a 240mm radiator is better because it is twice the size and able to remove more heat from the loop, same applies to 360 and 480 radiators.

The more/larger radiators you have the lower temps you will get because you will be able to remove more heat from the system. If you are just cooling a CPU and one GPU then one thick 360 radiator is enough but if you wanted to get the lowest possible temps having two radiators in your loop would be the best option. If you are cooling a CPU and two cards in SLI/CF then two radiators is pretty much essential because one radiator is not enough to remove all of the heat, well it is but your temps would be just as high as on air cooling and it defeats the purpose of watercooling in the first place, also you would need your fans on full wack meaning it would also be just as loud as air cooling.

As for dual loops as far as I know and from what I have read having one loop is better. 1. because there is only a few *c difference anyway and 2. it makes the loop tidier.

For FPI, a radiator with a high FPI will need high CFM fans because there is a lot of resistance with the air flow because of there being lots of fins closely together. A radiators with a low FPI are designed to be used with low CFM fans allowing you to have your fans on low making your system near silent.

Fans with a high static pressure are more important than fans with just pure CFM. The high static pressure will help push the air through the radiator. Scythe Gental Typhoons are meant to be the best fans for radiators akasa Apache's are good also.

Pumps:

I don't know the answer to most of that.



The more waterblocks, reservoirs and radiators you have in your loop the more restriction there is on the flow of the coolant so having a more powerful pump or more than one increases the flow of the coolant which means the heat from the coolant is passed through the radiators more quickly.

Reservoirs:

I don't think there is a difference performance wise between a cylinder or drive bay res, I could be wrong but i haven't come across anything saying otherwise. I think that having a larger res is better though because it prevents the coolant from heating up quickly from inside the res.

This is just information I have picked up from watching Toms vids and doing my own research, as I said people with first hand experience might be able to go in to more detail or give you more info than I have this is just me passing on what I have learned.

 

[sheroo]

You can also get a 200*200 rad as well.

I've seen those quick disconnects used as well - are they any good?

 

[SieB]

I've seen those quick disconnects used as well - are they any good?

Don't know to be honest but I have seen a few people using them in high end loops, so at a guess i'd say they are good, but I could be wrong.

 

[Scoob]

Hi,

I've thought the same that a "definitive" post in the form of a sticky would be great, but it'd just never work or EVER be complete.

Personally I like to see the detailed build logs people put together, that way I can see exactly how effective certain rad/fan/pump etc. combinations are in a real rig. Often what parts get changed out later in the build give more valuable information that then initial specs.

Rad-wise I've helped build a loop with an externally mounted 360x360 ran running 18 120mm fans in push/pull - that's a bit mad but damn, does it work well! I actually looked at a 420x420 ran for 9 (or 18) 140mm fans for my next build...somewhat excessive and would be free-standing or bolted to the case, so not that neat.

It's great there's lots of stuff out there, but it really does get quite overwhelming. I remember when I first looked to water cool, things like blocks, pumps etc. were fairly easy to pick. Then I started looking at the fittings...lol. Also rad, for say the 360 type, there are different thicknesses as well as different densities, each requiring different things from the fans used.

Some of the simple guides Tom has done get you thinking the right way I think and that grounding can be built upon. However, there's no substitute for doing it, while of course asking questions here

Cheers,

Scoob.

 

[Wrexhavik]

Thanks guys for all your responses. They are very informative.

There is a fine line between "what works" and what is "excessive" and it's all about trial and error. I mean, with the plethora of cases and water cooling bits out there, there are just too many options to list every possible scenario. Size of case definitely determins what you can put inside of it. You can start out with the minimal setup as suggested by SieB above, and then just go from there if you need more cooling. Like I said, I'm getting the TH10 and even though it has room for tons and tons of radiators, it's just not feasible to have 4x 480 rads just to cool CPU and 2,3 or 4 GPUs. If you have checked out Vertex636 on Youtube, he is using a TH10 and has 2x 480s and 2x 360s and is cooling CPU, MB, 2x GPU. TTL says it all in all his videos, "use what works" and "keep it tidy". The reason I'm gettig the TH10 is for the versatility and heck, it will last me a long long time before I'll ever need anything better (which honestly I can't think anything ever will top a Case Labs case)!

Like Scoob says above, "I've thought the same that a "definitive" post in the form of a sticky would be great, but it'd just never work or EVER be complete." but if we could have something like "rule of thumb" ideas like SieB has and that would be good information to go along with TTLs videos.

It all boils down to personal preference, "bling bling" or simple. You're gonna make what makes you happy and many will look simply awesome because you took the time to research, put it together, make adjustments and then have a great final product.

Thanks guys for all your input.