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Quick question regarding radiators

What size and thickness of radiators would you use for an i7 extreme and 3 GPU's? I'm trying to find a case for an upcoming build, so I want to start with the rads. 

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Any will do, so it depends do you want to watercool GPU also.

 When the going gets weirdthe weird turn pro.

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Any will do, so it depends do you want to watercool GPU also.

 

I don't want to sound like an ass, but I was asking what would be the most efficient setup for the 4 components.

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Project Depravity: £850 / ????? (03/12/2015) Case: Phanteks Enthoo Primo SE Red Keyboard: Corsair K95 RGB MX Red Monitors: 3* Asus PG279Q Stand: Ergotech Triple Desk Stand Webcam: Logitch C920

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RIP in kill: CPU: Single core Celeron M @1.73GHz RAM: 1GB (512MB x2) DDR2 SO-DIMM Motherboard: Asus MOCA-AR HDD: 160GB SATA2 5400rpm

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Current System: CPU: Intel i5-4690K Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Motherboard: MSI Z97 Gaming 5 RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury 8GB 1866MHz GPU: Gigabyte Windforce 960 4GB SSD: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB HDD: WD Caviar Blue 1TB PSU: Corsair CX500M Case: Corsair 200R Windowed MonitorLG 22MP55HQ 22" IPS + HP w19 MouseRoccat Savu Keyboard: Corsair Raptor K30 Mouse Pad: Perixx DX-1000XXL Headset: Kingston HyperX Cloud OS: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit 

 

 

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If you're up to the challenge, you can always figure out how to build an external cooling box that holds the pump, reservoir, and whatever size radiators you want to use. That way you can buy whatever case you want, and have the coolant lines flowing through pass-throughs (bulkhead) fittings to get to the cooling box. Some pre-fab boxes can hold three triple-120mm radiators, or you can build your own for whatever radiators you want.

 

As for radiator space for what you have, the minimum recommended would be 4x120mm. Basically that's the "break even point". To offer better cooling, thereby better temperatures, I'd say to go 6x120mm. If you want to go with 140mm radiators, then 3x140mm is roughly equivalent to 4x120mm. So 4x140mm or 6x120mm would be the minimum I'd recommend for what you have.

Wife's build: Amethyst - Ryzen 9 3900X, 32GB G.Skill Ripjaws V DDR4-3200, ASUS Prime X570-P, EVGA RTX 3080 FTW3 12GB, Corsair Obsidian 750D, Corsair RM1000 (yellow label)

My build: Mira - Ryzen 7 3700X, 32GB EVGA DDR4-3200, ASUS Prime X470-PRO, EVGA RTX 3070 XC3, beQuiet Dark Base 900, EVGA 1000 G6

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Any will do, so it depends do you want to watercool GPU also.

 

I don't want to sound like an ass, but I was asking what would be the most efficient setup for the 4 components.

 

Kalle Hänninen is right. It depends on if you also want to add the GPU into a custom water loop or if just want to cool your CPU.

 

What is your CPU's spec, essentially, what is its Watt or TDP? from that you can use that to see which radiator would cool you setup the best. 

 

Hope this helps.

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I don't want to sound like an ass, but I was asking what would be the most efficient setup for the 4 components.

The absolute minimum you should aim for is 5x 120 so lets say a 360 and 240. More is always better! Personally I would go for atleast two 480s

Thickness helps but is no alternative to surface area simply because there are commonly less fins in a thick rad. Helps with sound though (less fins means lower rpm fans)

Your resulting temps are directly linked to total surface area and tdp.

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480mm rad, 60mm thick. I got two 980ti's on it and they never go above 35C with passive airflow.

As for radiator space for what you have, the minimum recommended would be 4x120mm. Basically that's the "break even point". To offer better cooling, thereby better temperatures, I'd say to go 6x120mm. If you want to go with 140mm radiators, then 3x140mm is roughly equivalent to 4x120mm. So 4x140mm or 6x120mm would be the minimum I'd recommend for what you have.

 

Currently looking at the new H440+ as a serious competitor. A thick 360 in the front and whatever 240 in the top, I guess, should suffice. Reckon it should do the job as I do plan on doing a fair bit of overclocking.

 

As for the external cooling box, my desk is crying for more space...

 

Kalle Hänninen is right. It depends on if you also want to add the GPU into a custom water loop or if just want to cool your CPU.

 

What is your CPU's spec, essentially, what is its Watt or TDP? from that you can use that to see which radiator would cool you setup the best. 

 

Hope this helps.

 

I'm not sure if English is your first language hence the confusion, but in both posts, I was implying cooling the cpu AND the gpu's. As for the CPU, i7 extremes always tend to have a TDP of ~130W.

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Project Depravity: £850 / ????? (03/12/2015) Case: Phanteks Enthoo Primo SE Red Keyboard: Corsair K95 RGB MX Red Monitors: 3* Asus PG279Q Stand: Ergotech Triple Desk Stand Webcam: Logitch C920

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RIP in kill: CPU: Single core Celeron M @1.73GHz RAM: 1GB (512MB x2) DDR2 SO-DIMM Motherboard: Asus MOCA-AR HDD: 160GB SATA2 5400rpm

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Current System: CPU: Intel i5-4690K Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Motherboard: MSI Z97 Gaming 5 RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury 8GB 1866MHz GPU: Gigabyte Windforce 960 4GB SSD: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB HDD: WD Caviar Blue 1TB PSU: Corsair CX500M Case: Corsair 200R Windowed MonitorLG 22MP55HQ 22" IPS + HP w19 MouseRoccat Savu Keyboard: Corsair Raptor K30 Mouse Pad: Perixx DX-1000XXL Headset: Kingston HyperX Cloud OS: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit 

 

 

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The absolute minimum you should aim for is 5x 120 so lets say a 360 and 240. More is always better! Personally I would go for atleast two 480s

Thickness helps but is no alternative to surface area simply because there are commonly less fins in a thick rad. Helps with sound though (less fins means lower rpm fans)

Your resulting temps are directly linked to total surface area and tdp.

 

The problem with going above 5*120mm is that none of the cases are mid towers. I want to keep it as compact as possible. Going over some of Linus' vids of the 760T, 780T and a few others to help with the decision. 

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Project Depravity: £850 / ????? (03/12/2015) Case: Phanteks Enthoo Primo SE Red Keyboard: Corsair K95 RGB MX Red Monitors: 3* Asus PG279Q Stand: Ergotech Triple Desk Stand Webcam: Logitch C920

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RIP in kill: CPU: Single core Celeron M @1.73GHz RAM: 1GB (512MB x2) DDR2 SO-DIMM Motherboard: Asus MOCA-AR HDD: 160GB SATA2 5400rpm

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Current System: CPU: Intel i5-4690K Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Motherboard: MSI Z97 Gaming 5 RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury 8GB 1866MHz GPU: Gigabyte Windforce 960 4GB SSD: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB HDD: WD Caviar Blue 1TB PSU: Corsair CX500M Case: Corsair 200R Windowed MonitorLG 22MP55HQ 22" IPS + HP w19 MouseRoccat Savu Keyboard: Corsair Raptor K30 Mouse Pad: Perixx DX-1000XXL Headset: Kingston HyperX Cloud OS: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit 

 

 

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Currently looking at the new H440+ as a serious competitor. A thick 360 in the front and whatever 240 i the top, I guess, should suffice. Reckon it should do the job as I do plan on doing a fair bit of overclocking.

I'm not sure if English is your first language hence the confusion, but in both posts, I was implying cooling the cpu AND the gpu's.

You might have to ramp up the fans a bit but a 360 and 240 do not leave a ton of room for overclocking. As long as you do not expect record breaking overclocks it should be fine though

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I don't want to sound like an ass, but I was asking what would be the most efficient setup for the 4 components.

If you have a point to make, it doesn't matter how it sounds. Moral victory is for the losers.

 

Finding the sweetspot depends on components, but you should find as big case you're comfortable with and use radiator both intake and outtake.

 When the going gets weirdthe weird turn pro.

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The problem with going above 5*120mm is that none of the cases are mid towers. I want to keep it as compact as possible. Going over some of Linus' vids of the 760T, 780T and a few others to help with the decision.

Have you looked at the define s? It can do 2x 360 and you might be able to fit an extra 120 in there aswell

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If you have point to make, it doesn't matter how it sounds. Moral victory is for the losers.

 

Finding the sweetspot depends on components, but you should find as big case you're comfortable with and use radiator both intake and outtake.

 

I have looked into this, and I do agree it's an amazing case. The problem is, without the moduvents, the aesthetics take a heavy hit for me. However thanks for the suggestion :D

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Project Depravity: £850 / ????? (03/12/2015) Case: Phanteks Enthoo Primo SE Red Keyboard: Corsair K95 RGB MX Red Monitors: 3* Asus PG279Q Stand: Ergotech Triple Desk Stand Webcam: Logitch C920

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RIP in kill: CPU: Single core Celeron M @1.73GHz RAM: 1GB (512MB x2) DDR2 SO-DIMM Motherboard: Asus MOCA-AR HDD: 160GB SATA2 5400rpm

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Current System: CPU: Intel i5-4690K Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Motherboard: MSI Z97 Gaming 5 RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury 8GB 1866MHz GPU: Gigabyte Windforce 960 4GB SSD: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB HDD: WD Caviar Blue 1TB PSU: Corsair CX500M Case: Corsair 200R Windowed MonitorLG 22MP55HQ 22" IPS + HP w19 MouseRoccat Savu Keyboard: Corsair Raptor K30 Mouse Pad: Perixx DX-1000XXL Headset: Kingston HyperX Cloud OS: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit 

 

 

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If you have a point to make, it doesn't matter how it sounds. Moral victory is for the losers.

 

Finding the sweetspot depends on components, but you should find as big case you're comfortable with and use radiator both intake and outtake.

 

It's just a habit from work. I tend to be over-considerate when dealing with these types of situations. 

 

As for the case, mid tower is what I am looking at, but considering radiator support as mid towers mainly support 5* 120mm, I may have to ditch that thought, hence this thread to confirm it. 

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Project Depravity: £850 / ????? (03/12/2015) Case: Phanteks Enthoo Primo SE Red Keyboard: Corsair K95 RGB MX Red Monitors: 3* Asus PG279Q Stand: Ergotech Triple Desk Stand Webcam: Logitch C920

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RIP in kill: CPU: Single core Celeron M @1.73GHz RAM: 1GB (512MB x2) DDR2 SO-DIMM Motherboard: Asus MOCA-AR HDD: 160GB SATA2 5400rpm

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Current System: CPU: Intel i5-4690K Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Motherboard: MSI Z97 Gaming 5 RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury 8GB 1866MHz GPU: Gigabyte Windforce 960 4GB SSD: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB HDD: WD Caviar Blue 1TB PSU: Corsair CX500M Case: Corsair 200R Windowed MonitorLG 22MP55HQ 22" IPS + HP w19 MouseRoccat Savu Keyboard: Corsair Raptor K30 Mouse Pad: Perixx DX-1000XXL Headset: Kingston HyperX Cloud OS: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit 

 

 

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It's just a habit from work. I tend to be over-considerate when dealing with these types of situations. 

 

As for the case, mid tower is what I am looking at, but considering radiator support as mid towers mainly support 5* 120mm, I may have to ditch that thought, hence this thread to confirm it. 

Fractal design Define S supports 420mm top and 360 front. (And looks pro as hell.)

 When the going gets weirdthe weird turn pro.

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the easiest way I think about how many rads you need is 1 120 x 35 for every component  and 2 if you plan on heavy OC.

 

so a 140 is about 35% bigger then 120.

 

so depending on your case, I would go with min of 4 x 120, 6 would be nice. 8 would be awesome. just try and use bigger or thicker rads to not need as many fan spots.

 

1 60mm 2x120 in front

1 2x140 on top

that would be like 7 120x35

 

 

my planned future build will use 1 180 to cool 2 gpu and cpu. that is 2.25 120 rads in performance.

if you want to annoy me, then join my teamspeak server ts.benja.cc

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the easyist way I think about how many rads you need is 1 120 x 35 for every component  and 2 if you plan on heavy OC.

 

so a 140 is about 35% bigger then 120.

 

so depending on your case, I would go with min of 4 x 120, 6 would be nice. 8 would be awesome. just try and use bigger or thicker rads to no need as many fan spots.

 

1 60mm 2x120 in front

1 2x140 on top

that would be like 7 120x35

 

 

my planed future biuld will use 1 180 to cool 2 gpu and cpu. that is 2.25 120 rads in performance.

 

You did some critical damage with that maths.

 

But thanks for the help :D

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Project Depravity: £850 / ????? (03/12/2015) Case: Phanteks Enthoo Primo SE Red Keyboard: Corsair K95 RGB MX Red Monitors: 3* Asus PG279Q Stand: Ergotech Triple Desk Stand Webcam: Logitch C920

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RIP in kill: CPU: Single core Celeron M @1.73GHz RAM: 1GB (512MB x2) DDR2 SO-DIMM Motherboard: Asus MOCA-AR HDD: 160GB SATA2 5400rpm

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Current System: CPU: Intel i5-4690K Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Motherboard: MSI Z97 Gaming 5 RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury 8GB 1866MHz GPU: Gigabyte Windforce 960 4GB SSD: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB HDD: WD Caviar Blue 1TB PSU: Corsair CX500M Case: Corsair 200R Windowed MonitorLG 22MP55HQ 22" IPS + HP w19 MouseRoccat Savu Keyboard: Corsair Raptor K30 Mouse Pad: Perixx DX-1000XXL Headset: Kingston HyperX Cloud OS: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit 

 

 

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You did some critical damage with that maths.

 

But thanks for the help :D

 

Also wrong, a 120 x 30 mm is more or less equal to a 120 x 60mm, due to fin density. 

 

The only advantage of a thick rad is that the fin density is lower so your fans dont have to spin as fast.

 

I know of no high fin density thick rads. But I will swallow my words if they exist.

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Sigh, hopefully some water-cooling friendly mid tower cases are released during Q4, otherwise the H440+ will most likely be the only option as it can support a thick 360 and a thick 240 as well as looking fricking amazing.

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Project Depravity: £850 / ????? (03/12/2015) Case: Phanteks Enthoo Primo SE Red Keyboard: Corsair K95 RGB MX Red Monitors: 3* Asus PG279Q Stand: Ergotech Triple Desk Stand Webcam: Logitch C920

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RIP in kill: CPU: Single core Celeron M @1.73GHz RAM: 1GB (512MB x2) DDR2 SO-DIMM Motherboard: Asus MOCA-AR HDD: 160GB SATA2 5400rpm

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Current System: CPU: Intel i5-4690K Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Motherboard: MSI Z97 Gaming 5 RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury 8GB 1866MHz GPU: Gigabyte Windforce 960 4GB SSD: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB HDD: WD Caviar Blue 1TB PSU: Corsair CX500M Case: Corsair 200R Windowed MonitorLG 22MP55HQ 22" IPS + HP w19 MouseRoccat Savu Keyboard: Corsair Raptor K30 Mouse Pad: Perixx DX-1000XXL Headset: Kingston HyperX Cloud OS: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit 

 

 

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Also wrong, a 120 x 30 mm is more or less equal to a 120 x 60mm, due to fin density. 

 

The only advantage of a thick rad is that the fin density is lower so your fans dont have to spin as fast.

 

I know of no high fin density thick rads. But I will swallow my words if they exist.

 

Ya I was assuming fin density is the same. it only add another layer to think of if you want to know exactly how well your set up will cool.

if you want to annoy me, then join my teamspeak server ts.benja.cc

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Ya I was assuming fin density is the same. it only add another layer to think of if you want to know exactly how well your set up will cool.

 

Here is basically the math xD

 

max cooling potential = Σ (surface area x (fin density x thickness) x some variable that differs from rad to rad) xD

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I would go with total 7X140mm radiator x30mm thickness or better. But really its all up to your case. Max out your case is the best way to cool your system.

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I would go with total 7X140mm radiator x30mm thickness or better. But really its all up to your case. Max out your case is the best way to cool your system.

 

This thread has just become a realization for me to go with a full tower and watch my desk cry due to lack of space. 

 

Please mighty gods of Corsair and NZXT, release a mid tower case that can accommodate dual 360 rads.

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Project Depravity: £850 / ????? (03/12/2015) Case: Phanteks Enthoo Primo SE Red Keyboard: Corsair K95 RGB MX Red Monitors: 3* Asus PG279Q Stand: Ergotech Triple Desk Stand Webcam: Logitch C920

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RIP in kill: CPU: Single core Celeron M @1.73GHz RAM: 1GB (512MB x2) DDR2 SO-DIMM Motherboard: Asus MOCA-AR HDD: 160GB SATA2 5400rpm

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Current System: CPU: Intel i5-4690K Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Motherboard: MSI Z97 Gaming 5 RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury 8GB 1866MHz GPU: Gigabyte Windforce 960 4GB SSD: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB HDD: WD Caviar Blue 1TB PSU: Corsair CX500M Case: Corsair 200R Windowed MonitorLG 22MP55HQ 22" IPS + HP w19 MouseRoccat Savu Keyboard: Corsair Raptor K30 Mouse Pad: Perixx DX-1000XXL Headset: Kingston HyperX Cloud OS: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit 

 

 

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This thread has just become a realization for me to go with a full tower and watch my desk cry due to lack of space. 

 

Please might gods of Corsair and NZXT, release a mid tower case that can accommodate dual 360 rads.

 

Make that triple and Ill start buying cases again xD

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As for the external cooling box, my desk is crying for more space...

You don't need a huge amount of desk space. You can build a box that is about the same width/depth as a mid-tower case but build it tall to hold several radiators. You can find projects of such by Googling around, either on this forum or other forums. Here's an example from 10 years ago: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=915156

Wife's build: Amethyst - Ryzen 9 3900X, 32GB G.Skill Ripjaws V DDR4-3200, ASUS Prime X570-P, EVGA RTX 3080 FTW3 12GB, Corsair Obsidian 750D, Corsair RM1000 (yellow label)

My build: Mira - Ryzen 7 3700X, 32GB EVGA DDR4-3200, ASUS Prime X470-PRO, EVGA RTX 3070 XC3, beQuiet Dark Base 900, EVGA 1000 G6

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