Rad capacity

NoNameNoNumber · 18 Oct 2013 at 21:24

Hello,

I have space for 1x120mm rad and 1x240mm rad and AFAIK this will only really be sufficient for the CPU, how much more rad space do I need to include a HIS 7950? and also will a single d5 be enough?

Thanks in advance

Avenged7Fold · 18 Oct 2013 at 22:10

If they are from decent manufacturers a 240 + a 120 will be enough for a CPU and a 7950. D5 is more than enough and you could actually get away with a cheaper less powerful pump if you are on a budget.

daveip · 19 Oct 2013 at 02:06

NoNameNoNumber said:
Hello,

I have space for 1x120mm rad and 1x240mm rad and AFAIK this will only really be sufficient for the CPU, how much more rad space do I need to include a HIS 7950? and also will a single d5 be enough?

Thanks in advance

Have you considered space for the reservoir + pump too? What case do you have? There might be some water cooled builds out there already to give you a few ideas

davido_labido · 19 Oct 2013 at 02:11

if your not overclocking the 1x120mm and the 1x240mm will be fine. If you are oc'n id at least think about getting another 120mm.

basic rule of thumb is 2 fans per componant thats watercooled (so for 2 items, you want 4 fans worth) but try 3 first, see what temps you get, you can always upgrade your loop after.

My first loop i had a 3770k and an gtx680 running on 1x 360 rad and the temps were fantastic!

The D5 will be more than enough for your needs, they are excellent pumps, i wouldnt really think about anything else, they generally last longer than the rest of the build will

mjones1 · 19 Oct 2013 at 02:40

davido_labido said:
basic rule of thumb is 2 fans per componant thats watercooled (so for 2 items, you want 4 fans worth) but try 3 first, see what temps you get, you can always upgrade your loop after.

What.

davido_labido · 19 Oct 2013 at 02:44

ie. processor + 1 gpu = 4 fans worth

so, 2 x 240mm rads, or 4 120mm rads or 1 x 360 rad and 1 x 120mm

If your not overclocking however, you can use less, its just a very rough rule that gets used.

atm, i have a 360 a 120 and a 240 in mine, cooling 2 gpu's and a cpu, and temps are fine, but before i added the 120, there were still no issues, i just added the extra for when i was folding

Avenged7Fold · 19 Oct 2013 at 02:57

I swear generally people say teh basic rule is 120mm of decent rad per component and then an extra 120mm on top of that for a bit of overhead.

360mm for a 7950 and 2500k is plenty

davido_labido · 19 Oct 2013 at 03:02

if your clocking, you would want to go for 2 per component, if your not, it will be fine as i say xD

Bart_Hunt · 19 Oct 2013 at 03:32

Get good fans with loads of static pressure and you should be fine with 120+240.

NoNameNoNumber · 19 Oct 2013 at 03:48

Thanks for that, I currently have a butchered antec 300 with a 240 rad with push/pull fans on a H100 but there's space over the I/O shield for a 120 rad too. Then I'm struggling for space after that. Which rads are currently the ones to go for and which ones should definitely be avoided?

davido_labido · 19 Oct 2013 at 03:55

i like xspc rads, they do the trick, and look well too!

theres nothing wrong with the EK ones or hardware labs though either imo.

Pretty much anything that OCUK stock are alright really

mjones1 · 19 Oct 2013 at 11:49

Avenged7Fold said:
I swear generally people say teh basic rule is 120mm of decent rad per component and then an extra 120mm on top of that for a bit of overhead.

360mm for a 7950 and 2500k is plenty

Yes, this is what people have been saying for quite some time and agree 360mm is more than enough.

JonJ678 · 19 Oct 2013 at 19:19

I'm certain that the rule is "find out what wattage you're cooling, decide what air-water delta is acceptable, look up how many radiators you'll need to achieve it"

C/W values for various fan/radiator combinations are available at Martin's lab. Multiply your wattage (200W ish for an overclocked cpu) by the radiator C/W value to get water temperature over ambient.

daveip · 21 Oct 2013 at 01:16

I think the rads to go for at the moment are the alphacool ones. 100% copper construction and do consistently well in tests

NoNameNoNumber · 23 Oct 2013 at 17:27

OCUK don't appear to sell any Alphacool 240's

Avenged7Fold · 23 Oct 2013 at 19:24

I wouldn't touch alphacool if EK, XSPC or Hardware labs radiators were available.

If it was in a case short on space, Hardware labs stealth would be the one to go for.

NoNameNoNumber · 23 Oct 2013 at 19:26

Thanks for that. I think I'll go for a standard thickness Hardware labs 240 with maybe a stealth 120 if needs be.

Uncle Petey · 23 Oct 2013 at 19:49

Avenged7Fold said:
I wouldn't touch alphacool if EK, XSPC or Hardware labs radiators were available.

Why's that?

Avenged7Fold · 23 Oct 2013 at 20:30

Had to RMA an alphacool radiator once due to a leak somewhere in the radiator. I was told that the leak was unlikely to be caused by the manufacturing process despite it being near the center of the radiator where i cant reach if i wanted to and got left with a paperweight.

Similar thing happened with an EK radiator but it got replaced within 5 days when i went through OCuk. I have also heard that XSPC and Hardware labs also have good RMA process.

OCuk deal with many RMAs within the first year of sale, i would rather pick a a radiator from the OCuk website just for this alone.

NoNameNoNumber · 23 Oct 2013 at 20:51

The RMA/customer service is the reason I'll pay more for parts from OCUK over other online retailers