Outside radiators

smilertoo

smilertoo

smilertoo

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Joined
4 Aug 2005
Posts
3,367
Hello,

I'm a total water cooling noob but i was wondering is there a functional reason people don't screw big radiators to the outside of the case panels where the air is cooler? or is it purely aesthetic?
 
I have done both over the years and generally found that the slight performance benefit of having the rad outside in no way makes up for the inconvenience.
 
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smilertoo said:
I was thinking more along the lines of having a big radiator in cooler air would remove the need for cooling fans.
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Only if its gigantic and your room is like a fridge. Room (ambient) air is not amazingly colder than the air in the case, the difference is less than the room in summer vs the room in winter.
 
Come August i will be watercooling my system and making use of an external passive rad of some form in addition to an internal rad which i hope to be able to turn off most of the time
 
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rads always benefit massively from even the tiniest of air flow, but running a big external rad is;

cheaper than running several smaller ones inside the case (a big external rad will cost marginally more than say a 480)
means you can use any cheap fans
run those fans on near minimum speed (e.g. silently)

I run a big external rad and I wouldn't ever do it any other way now
 
most of my volume is outside the case

pump control unit rads res

i prefer the rad outside allways mine is hanging down the back of my desk
some people like everything tucked away in a box i prefer mine external personal preference external systems allow for more volume.
 
ubersonic said:
I have done both over the years and generally found that the slight performance benefit of having the rad outside in no way makes up for the inconvenience.
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What inconvenience, cheaper, easier to install, maintain and temps.

My radiator is free standing, case is below in side my desk foot well and hanging from to eye hooks above it. It takes all of 1 minute to clean the dust off once a month, to excess the pc l just put a cloth on top of my case lie the rad on top slide the case out lift it onto my desk. As for temps that can vary due to custom loop spec, radiator position in case[air flow], room ventilation for ambient temperature and where the PC is placed in the room.

I have to radiator's Ix420/1x140+140:900rpm fans, at first my 420 was free standing my 140 inside the case. When l serviced the loop l remounted the 140 onto the back of the case[FTO1] temps dropped by about 3'c. Them moved my desk out of the alcove in my living room got a further 1'c drop in temperature. Due to stagnant air flow and all the hot air being trapped in the confined space given out from my pc.

As l keep record of my temps so l can compare them with any change's l do to the loop. So with them few adjustments l gained 4'c drop in loop temperature my next build will just be one big radiator a Phobya Xtreme 1080 externaly with a 230mm low rpm fan placed in the middle for air flow.
 
In my opinion, these look good....
WC-187-XS_61236_600.jpg
 
External watercooling gives you more options than internal. If the radiator is outside the house, it's all kinds of win in winter. If you can put the radiator(s), pump, fans in another room - you've moved most of the noise to somewhere far away from your desk.

I agree with rjk, radiators should be hidden. They just don't have to be hidden in the same box as the rest of the hardware.
 
My rad is outside the case. Mounted horizontally on a couple of rad stands. Looks ok. Got it seperated from the loop witha couple quick disconnects if I need ti move either.

It is kinda hidden at the bottom/ rear of desk but even not hidden wouldn't look awful.

Would have ideally preffered to have had everything inside the case, but unfortunately didnt have the room inside my P280.
 
JonJ678 said:
External watercooling gives you more options than internal. If the radiator is outside the house, it's all kinds of win in winter. If you can put the radiator(s), pump, fans in another room - you've moved most of the noise to somewhere far away from your desk.

I agree with rjk, radiators should be hidden. They just don't have to be hidden in the same box as the rest of the hardware.
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Outside the house? That is a bit extreme lol.
 
The problem with going external is that to justify it properly you are probably running a 1080 or larger rad. I had a 1240 phobya and they are an utter ***** to fill and bleed. I had to fill it in the bath and carefully carry it to my room.
 
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