Need advice on radiator layout for my first custom loop.

SkaGroup

SkaGroup

SkaGroup

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Hi,

I am planning to build my first custom loop with Corsair Hydro X series stuff for CPU and GPU. Currently I am running with:
  • Corsair 750d case
  • Ryzen 2700x stock 105W
  • Sapphire Vega 64 Nitro+ undervolted and memory overclocked. In fire strike extreme test it draws around 225W
I will be using 420x140x30 16FPI radiator on top as exhaust in push configuration, read that it is possible to squeeze it if you bend some drive bay legs. At the back i have air flow 140mm fan as exhaust.
My question is, which of these setups below will be better for the system in regards to temps? I am running fans up to 1200-1500RPM, like to have my system to be silent.
  1. 280x140x30 16FPI at the front of the case in push as intake and 2x120mm case fans at the bottom also as intake or
  2. 240x120x54 13FPI at front of the case in push/pull as intake and 240x120x30 16FPI at bottom in pull as intake, I think I can fit these two radiators an fans in this case
  3. 240x120x30 16FPI at front of the case in push as intake and 240x120x30 16FPI at bottom in pull as intake
If you have any other suggestions regards to the setup I would like to hear it.
Thanks
 
So if I understand correctly - you're aiming for 4x fans worth of intake. And it's a question of whether to go rad and fans, two rads, or two rads including a push/pull?

In my option more radiators is always better. So long as your bottom radiator won't be getting clogged with dust, I'd do that, both intakes. Up to you which way you orient fans - intakes will always collect dust in tricky to clean places. Exhaust in pull would allow you to clean the fins without removing fans, as they gather dust.

For reference I'm using a 360x45mm front intake and a 120x30mm as exhaust for straight through airflow. With Corsair SP120s I consider 800RPM the limit of "silence" and I don't like to see much higher than that. With your 7x140mm worth of radiator I'd hope you won't need to hit 1200RPM.
 
Thanks for reply. I wanted to find the best rad setup for the case to get the lowest temps possible with as much fans as necessary to support them.

I was doing some calculations between different rad setups with 420mmx30mm push rad on top and 140mm airflow fan at back as exhaust and I found that either:
  1. 280mmx54mm rad push/pull at front as intake or
  2. 240mmx54mm push/pull at front and and 240mmx30mm at bottom as intake
Which would give me best temps? what i am not sure of is by how much in real load situations 2 option will outperform the 1 and if it is worth it? As you mentioned it could be hard to clean the bottom fan. Also would it benefit temps that i have intake and exhaust case fans that move hot air out of the case rather than more radiators with no intake case fans?

At the moment my ryzen 2700x is cooled by 280mmx30mm h115i pro and on idle with 700rpm and 22C ambient temp water temp sits at 29C. I need to set all fans to 1200rpm and test the noise. will do that tomorrow. I am planing to use all ML120 or ML140 for my setup.
 
Well again I think more rads is better. So the question of whether an intake is air only, or air via a radiator, it's hard to say. More intake than exhaust is often best.

I personally don't think push/pull is that useful for low fan speeds. It adds pressure rather than airflow, so it's most beneficial on dense radiators or for maximum cooling at top speeds.

Would a bottom radiator make tubing runs easier, or harder?
 
I have
Front rad intake
Bottom rad intake
Top rad exhaust and mounted a rear fan
But not powered it up but was there just in case
Didn't need it though my phanteks 719
Has good airflow
And I remove the dust filters and just dust it out now and then
 
UnLuckyBenski said:
Well again I think more rads is better. So the question of whether an intake is air only, or air via a radiator, it's hard to say. More intake than exhaust is often best.

I personally don't think push/pull is that useful for low fan speeds. It adds pressure rather than airflow, so it's most beneficial on dense radiators or for maximum cooling at top speeds.

Would a bottom radiator make tubing runs easier, or harder?
Click to expand...

I am not worried about the tubing. I might need to mount dust filter outside of bottom of the case, this will allow me to remove it when necessary, i found that at the bottom dust settles the most.

I found a website where rads at different speeds were compared. For example Nemesis 360 gts(30mm) and gtx(54mm) radiators perform similar
at push only 750rpm: GTX 178W and GTS 191W for W/10Delta T
at push only 1300rpm: GTX 298W and GTS 290W for W/10Delta T
at push/pull 750rpm: GTX 210W and GTS 206W for W/10Delta T
at push/pull 1300rpm: GTX 337W and GTS 309W for W/10Delta T

It makes sense that you are saying push/pull wont give great benefit. Although I need more fans as intake so I might need to go push/pull anyway. if I do only push than I will have 4 fans as intake and 4 as exhaust.
 
Mcnumpty2323 said:
I have
Front rad intake
Bottom rad intake
Top rad exhaust and mounted a rear fan
But not powered it up but was there just in case
Didn't need it though my phanteks 719
Has good airflow
And I remove the dust filters and just dust it out now and then
Click to expand...

How many fans you have as intake and exhaust? And what temps u getting? What are your specs?
 
SkaGroup said:
I need more fans as intake so I might need to go push/pull anyway. if I do only push than I will have 4 fans as intake and 4 as exhaust.
Click to expand...
Adding a fan to an existing intake location doesn't really add intake capacity in the same way as adding a fan where there are none. But it's good to think through every aspect, ultimately it's worth aiming for stronger intake.

SkaGroup said:
I found a website where rads at different speeds were compared.
Click to expand...
Thermal Bench is an EXCELLENT site and always my first choice for radiator data :)
 
SkaGroup said:
How many fans you have as intake and exhaust? And what temps u getting? What are your specs?
Click to expand...
3900x PBO on
Gtx1070 oc to 2ghz
Went over the top with the fans and rads but had them laying around anyway so wasn't costing anything
480mm front push/pull intake
240mm bottom push intake
360mm top exhaust push
Max 1000rpm
40c to 45c gaming on gpu
70c Prime95 small ffts on cpu though only ran it 15 minutes as not a fan of torture testing way beyond
Everyday use scenarios though it had stopped increasing by then anyway
Ambient temp is around 18c
 
UnLuckyBenski said:
Adding a fan to an existing intake location doesn't really add intake capacity in the same way as adding a fan where there are none. But it's good to think through every aspect, ultimately it's worth aiming for stronger intake.
Click to expand...
750d case have maximum 8 fan locations: 2 front and bottom, 3 at the top and 1 at back.

UnLuckyBenski said:
Thermal Bench is an EXCELLENT site and always my first choice for radiator data :)
Click to expand...

I used them as reference point to understand how different size radiators and numbers of fans give cooling capacity.
 
Mcnumpty2323 said:
3900x PBO on
Gtx1070 oc to 2ghz
Went over the top with the fans and rads but had them laying around anyway so wasn't costing anything
480mm front push/pull intake
240mm bottom push intake
360mm top exhaust push
Max 1000rpm
40c to 45c gaming on gpu
70c Prime95 small ffts on cpu though only ran it 15 minutes as not a fan of torture testing way beyond
Everyday use scenarios though it had stopped increasing by then anyway
Ambient temp is around 18c
Click to expand...
You have loads of rad space.
What is your water temperature compared to ambient in idle and load?
 
UnLuckyBenski said:
This was my reasoning - water temp hard limit is 60° so if GPU never goes over 55°C, water must be below that.
Click to expand...
Water temps always will be lower than components that produce heat in the loop as heat is released through rads. do you have temp probe in water? I have h115i pro 280mm air for cpu and on idle i get about 28-29C. need to check temps on full load, i use Fire strike extrame test.
 
SkaGroup said:
Water temps always will be lower than components that produce heat in the loop as heat is released through rads. do you have temp probe in water? I have h115i pro 280mm air for cpu and on idle i get about 28-29C. need to check temps on full load, i use Fire strike extrame test.
Click to expand...
I don't have a temp probe in my current build but found I really wanted that data. So I'll probably put one in during maintenance soon. My next build definitely will have a sensor, and Aquaero controller for resilience even if the machine crashes.
 
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