TFC RAD in push/pull

Sayso · 4 Jan 2009 at 09:33

i have just swapped from a swiftech RAD 240 to a TFC 240 and i was hoping for a 5-10 drop in load temps which i haven't got.
i have swapped my set up into a bigger case a Stacker 832 and have the RAD facing out of the front in a push/pull with Scythe juani 1900s controlled from a fan controller in pairs (so one is in front of the other).
I have 4 side fans blowing in and an exhaust fan at the rear.
Any ideas what i could do to lower the temps, they are not scarily bad was just hoping to drop them a bit lower.
Pics....

MikeTimbers · 4 Jan 2009 at 10:17

How much difference did it make and why did you think going from a 240 to a 240 would drop your temps so much?

Sayso · 4 Jan 2009 at 10:24

mainly because of the slating everyone gave the swiftech when i said i was going to buy it in the spec thread, the move of my system to a bigger well ventilated case and now i can put push/pull rather than just push on the RAD made me "hope" that i would see an improvement in temps!!

w3bbo · 4 Jan 2009 at 10:33

A thicker rad will be able to handle more heat, from more sources. That dosn't mean it will always drop temps but it will be able to handle more blocks etc. The swifty rad is not a bad rad anyway so I don't why anyone would **** them off. Perhaps not as good as a TFC or PA but still a good rad.

MikeTimbers · 4 Jan 2009 at 10:41

then I think you've had some rather bad advice. The Swiftech is not "as good" as a Thermochill but it's a lot better than some of the Chinese rip-offs. If you have two radiators each capable of removing 125W and you're producing 100W, then the performance of the two radiators will be within a degree or two of each other. Where radiators start to differ is when you start to consider noise. Some radiators are better with 38mm-thick high flow fans, others excel with low-flow, quiet fans. Put the wrong fans on the radiator and you may end up with an inefficient system.

You may well find that the new rad will be no better with your current heat load but would be better if you clocked more.

This is something I was posting about last week; the rad doesn't have to be the best, it just has to be able to dissipate the expected heat load. Changing rads has less effect than changing fans. The only reason to change the rad is to a bigger one or to one better suited to the fans being used for a given noise level.

Sayso · 4 Jan 2009 at 10:58

thanks, that makes sense, as you can tell im a noob.
So what fans and in what set up work best with TFC RADs?

MikeTimbers · 4 Jan 2009 at 11:08

Sorry, I have no idea. I suggest taking a look at their website and see if they have any technical data. But you can get overly obsessed about this sort of stuff.

Example.

My quad is cooled by a Black Ice Extreme 120.1 that I've had now for four or five years. My load temp is currently mid-50s which isn't great but the system is stable and quiet which is all I care about. Would it be cooler with a better rad like the Vauxhall heatercore I also have? What if I use that heatercore with my Patriot 172mm fan? Of couree but there's no way I could cope with the noise!

So I don't bother because it won't be any more stable and it certainly won't be quieter! You've got to ask yourself why you changed the rad. If it was to drop the temps, why?