Hardware Labs Black ICE SR-1 360 Radiator v

DataVampire · 20 Sep 2011 at 17:29

Guys im going to replace the rad i have atm a EK CoolStream Radiator XT 360 (120.3)

with one of the folowing

Hardware Labs Black ICE SR-1 360 Radiator

or

Thermochill TA120.3 High Performance Radiator

Which one would you recomend and the reason for it please

Thankyou

JeffyB · 20 Sep 2011 at 18:34

I have an sr1-420 and couldn't be happier with it, the build and finish are excellent and it offers the best low speed fan performance of any rad. The sr1 also has a mini shroud built into one side of it (the opposite side to the fittings) to help eliminate fan dead spots. The TA series is the successor to the legendary PA series and offers very good performance that would scale better than the sr1 at higher fan speeds but i doubt there would be much in it. If i were buying now i would still buy the sr1.

shadowscotland · 20 Sep 2011 at 18:54

If using ~600rpm fans the SR1 is perfect
600-1000rmp which ever is cheaper
If higher the TA

GoogalyMoogaly · 20 Sep 2011 at 18:59

I've got a Black Ice SR-1 360 and if I were buying again I'd get the ThermoChill.
In fact first time around I'd have bought the Thermochill or XSPC RX rad if it wasn't for the fact I got the SR-1 cheap from the MM.
My reason being that I mount my rad in the top of my case which means the mini shroud is on the wrong side (i.e. on the top). This means that I actually get less surface area from the SR-1 and thus less cooling.
I say wrong side as I'm going for a push config because I've read (and it may well be wrong) that push is more efficient and slightly quieter. the mini shroud is only 10mm so not sure how much difference that would make.
(Well, they say the mini shroud is 15mm, but you usually get 5mm or so, so it's only about 10mm extra).

I found this graph useful/interesting/informative:

JeffyB said:
Different rads are better at different fan speeds. High fpi like the hw labs gtx come into their own at high rpm but at the cost of noise. Low fpi rads like the sr1 excel at very low rpm and are designed with silent running in mind. Rads like the thermochill pa series and the xspc rx's are great all rounders. I chose a sr1-420 and run my fans at 600rpm for near silence. Data from skinnee

R.C.Anderson · 20 Sep 2011 at 20:40

Out of interest, why have you decided you need to change from the EK Rad? Is it just not performing well enough? If that is the case, what are you cooling with it, and what's your temps?

DataVampire · 20 Sep 2011 at 21:04

im used to a custom wc setup, i went from a older thermochill pa120.3 to the ek one.

And you cannot realy compre the ek to the thermochill series, as they are worlds aprt, iebuild quality ect ect

(which is mymain consern)

Cleeecooo · 20 Sep 2011 at 21:53

DataVampire said:
im used to a custom wc setup, i went from a older thermochill pa120.3 to the ek one.

And you cannot realy compre the ek to the thermochill series, as they are worlds aprt, iebuild quality ect ect

(which is mymain consern)

I have the SR-1 480 and am running it passively with a 580 and i7 930. It does an amzing job with the 580 getting to 50ish under fairly heavy load.

Krony · 21 Sep 2011 at 06:51

The SR-1, TA and RX rads are all pretty much on par really, i went with a SR-1 480 as i thought as it was a bit thinner i could get push/pull on it in the top of my case but it was just a bit thick, if i knew this i would probably have gone with the 480 RX but i doubt it would have made much difference.

Greboth · 21 Sep 2011 at 10:20

shadowscotland said:
If using ~600rpm fans the SR1 is perfect
600-1000rmp which ever is cheaper
If higher the TA

If you are buying new this to be honest. I have had a 360 sr1 and now I have a 480 sr1 and would recommend them to anyone. However you should get the rad that best suits your fan speed. However if you find one second hand for cheap then the difference in performance at fan speed isn't going to have all the much effect.