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KazeoHin
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2011
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Tl/Dr: After coming to own a 'new' waterblock, I'm looking to build a CPU/GPU loop into my Thermaltake Urban S31 chasis. The case has mounts for one 280mm radiator and a couple other 120mm mounting spots. What are the benefits/drawbacks to the various radiator thickness? Which thickness should I choose for my needs for 'damn good' overclocking and 'pretty quiet' operation?
Hey guys, as you may know, I demonstrated that one should never mix gin and Ebay and am now the proud owner of a waterblock I have no immediate need for. I do plan on putting together a custom loop eventually, and have built custom loops in the past for customers, so assembly, filling and whatnot is not new to me. This 'accidental' purchase has kicked me into gear and now I look at building the custom loop before the end of the year. I may be grabbing a new GPU set-up soon as well: most likely going SLI/CFX which, should funding permit, also be watercooled. So I'm looking at 2/3 potential sources of heat.
So my case is the Thermaltake Urban S31. I love this case for its looks and its lean towards silent operation. It also has much more watercooling flexibility than its competition: the CoolerMaster Silencio 650. In my case, I can fit a 240mm or 280mm radiator up-top, and I have quite a few options for fitting various 120mm fans/rads should I need to. What's great about my chasis is that the top shell is removable should I choose to mount a thicker radiator externally. In my head, the 'external mounting' would look badass, but if the thicker radiator didn't suit my needs, I could use a much thinner one and keep the look of my case intact.
When I have built custom loops, I've always used basic 30-45mm thick radiators. As my customers are more concerned about looks and reliability, I've never really given thought to the thicker radiators out there. Now that it's time to build my own loop, I'm looking to make it 'different' to the various loops I've seen out there. I've had a look at the Alphacool NexXxos Monsta radiator series, and all of the reviews I've seen say the rad is great for higher RPM operation, whereas the much thinner Alphacool NexXxos ST30 is designed for slower RPM. I have yet to see a decent, modern review of these two radiators side-by-side. My main question is this: Would the 80mm 'Monsta' style radiator still perform just as well at the 'quiet' RPMs as the 30mm rads? or does the extra thickness actually hinder performance at lower RPMs? My assumption is that the thicker radiators perform identically to the thinner ones at lower RPMs thus they are a 'waste of money' compared to the thinner radiators if you plan to nly use slower speed fans, which is a different story than 'they simply don't perform as well at lower RPMs'.
With this assumption, my plan is to set a PWM curve that keeps the fans a lower RPM for your normal operation, but ramps up the fans under a heavy load to take advantage of the radiator's thickness. This is assuming that the 80mm rad will perform identically to the 30mm rad under lower RPM fan operation. If the 30mm will offer better performance at the lower RPM settings, I'll go with that, as that will keep my PC quieter overall. I love to overclock the balls off of stuff, but I prefer to have a 'damn powerful' but 'pretty quiet' workstation compared to a 'ridiculously powerful' but 'noisy as hell' workstation. If the 30mm will offer a quieter overall experience at the sacrifice of total TDP potential, I'm okay with that. If the 80mm will offer the same quiet profile, but have the ABILITY to perform like a badass when needed, I'll spend the extra money.
Any suggestions? Advice?
Hey guys, as you may know, I demonstrated that one should never mix gin and Ebay and am now the proud owner of a waterblock I have no immediate need for. I do plan on putting together a custom loop eventually, and have built custom loops in the past for customers, so assembly, filling and whatnot is not new to me. This 'accidental' purchase has kicked me into gear and now I look at building the custom loop before the end of the year. I may be grabbing a new GPU set-up soon as well: most likely going SLI/CFX which, should funding permit, also be watercooled. So I'm looking at 2/3 potential sources of heat.
So my case is the Thermaltake Urban S31. I love this case for its looks and its lean towards silent operation. It also has much more watercooling flexibility than its competition: the CoolerMaster Silencio 650. In my case, I can fit a 240mm or 280mm radiator up-top, and I have quite a few options for fitting various 120mm fans/rads should I need to. What's great about my chasis is that the top shell is removable should I choose to mount a thicker radiator externally. In my head, the 'external mounting' would look badass, but if the thicker radiator didn't suit my needs, I could use a much thinner one and keep the look of my case intact.
When I have built custom loops, I've always used basic 30-45mm thick radiators. As my customers are more concerned about looks and reliability, I've never really given thought to the thicker radiators out there. Now that it's time to build my own loop, I'm looking to make it 'different' to the various loops I've seen out there. I've had a look at the Alphacool NexXxos Monsta radiator series, and all of the reviews I've seen say the rad is great for higher RPM operation, whereas the much thinner Alphacool NexXxos ST30 is designed for slower RPM. I have yet to see a decent, modern review of these two radiators side-by-side. My main question is this: Would the 80mm 'Monsta' style radiator still perform just as well at the 'quiet' RPMs as the 30mm rads? or does the extra thickness actually hinder performance at lower RPMs? My assumption is that the thicker radiators perform identically to the thinner ones at lower RPMs thus they are a 'waste of money' compared to the thinner radiators if you plan to nly use slower speed fans, which is a different story than 'they simply don't perform as well at lower RPMs'.
With this assumption, my plan is to set a PWM curve that keeps the fans a lower RPM for your normal operation, but ramps up the fans under a heavy load to take advantage of the radiator's thickness. This is assuming that the 80mm rad will perform identically to the 30mm rad under lower RPM fan operation. If the 30mm will offer better performance at the lower RPM settings, I'll go with that, as that will keep my PC quieter overall. I love to overclock the balls off of stuff, but I prefer to have a 'damn powerful' but 'pretty quiet' workstation compared to a 'ridiculously powerful' but 'noisy as hell' workstation. If the 30mm will offer a quieter overall experience at the sacrifice of total TDP potential, I'm okay with that. If the 80mm will offer the same quiet profile, but have the ABILITY to perform like a badass when needed, I'll spend the extra money.
Any suggestions? Advice?
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