Multiple rads, one loop

Schnippzle · 24 Oct 2008 at 09:54

Howdy,
Been considering watercooling for a while now but have yet to take the plunge. In my case I have one 140mm fan, and one 120mm (both as exhaust fans). Would it be an idea to get one rad for each of these fan outputs instead of say one 120.2 or 120.3? Iv seen the Black Ice GT Stealth which is a 140mm single fan radiator which I think would fit quite nicely in my case, coupled with a 120.1 radiator from thermochill. What do you think?

E.D.I.T.: Just reda that the GT Stealths are really not very good

So in that case, how about two 120.1's? One with a shroud on it to fir the 140mm fan slot?

ZX-10R · 24 Oct 2008 at 10:04

it would work and be around the same as a single 102.2, it might be slightly more restrictive

I've been looking at doing a something similar with a 102.2 in the to and a 102.1 on the grafix intake on my TJ-09

it all depends on what your planning to add to the loop and having a good enough pump to keep the pressure up

gurusan · 24 Oct 2008 at 10:09

More rads means more head loss which will translate to a drop in flow rate across the block(s) and rads. I would recommend a single 120.2 or 120.3 mounted externally. However if you MUST have two rads...and you have a small loop then having 2x 120mm rads would be ok as long as you have a very strong pump such as a Laing DDC.

Schnippzle · 24 Oct 2008 at 10:24

gurusan said:
More rads means more head loss which will translate to a drop in flow rate across the block(s) and rads. I would recommend a single 120.2 or 120.3 mounted externally. However if you MUST have two rads...and you have a small loop then having 2x 120mm rads would be ok as long as you have a very strong pump such as a Laing DDC.

Cheers for the heads up. I agree, a strong pump is a must and is something worth investing in as it would give me a lot of headroom to work with. I really dont want to have my rad externally mounted so two internal 120.1's will be an ideal solution. Now the question is, will two 120.1's be able to cool two 4870's and one Q6600 at 3.6ghz?

gurusan · 24 Oct 2008 at 10:31

Schnippzle said:
Now the question is, will two 120.1's be able to cool two 4870's and one Q6600 at 3.6ghz?

I would say no, especially if ocing. For 2 4870s and a quad I would want at the very least a good 120.3.

Which case are you using?

Schnippzle · 24 Oct 2008 at 10:38

Im using a Lian-Li PC-A17B. As Im changing graphics cards quite often, I figure they may not be too important in the loop as I will need to change blocks in about 6 months when I change cards as well

E.D.I.T.: I was considering putting a 120.3 in the bottom of the case blowing air out, could that be a viable option?

gurusan · 24 Oct 2008 at 10:55

Not sure. Space and logistics are the main difficulties to overcome with watercooling. You are best googling to see what others have done with your case. Be prepared for some thinking and cutting.

pegasus1 · 24 Oct 2008 at 11:12

Added a second rad to my rig and it made no difference to temps.

Schnippzle · 24 Oct 2008 at 14:41

Cheers for the inputs guys, much appreciated.

pegasus1: what rad did you add? what was your original set up?

Bubo · 24 Oct 2008 at 14:54

Post pics of your case as is with the side off so we can get an idea of how much space you have to work with. Personally I favour externally mounted rads as I believe anything to minimize conjestion around the mobo is a good thing.