How much Radiator Surface Area is too much?

[cluelessgenius]

so what if you where to have no spce issues and could use as many Radiators as you wanted, after how many radiator would we reach a point where it wouldnt make a difference?

 

for example would 5 480 rads be significantly better thean 4? or would 4 even be better than 3 and so on.. 

 

would it be possible to run the system passively if there is enough radiator area? (even under load?

 

what kind of pump setup would one need ? 

[Wiflare]

It really depends on the radiator material and surface area of the fins. I'm sure a car radiator would be near the point of super diminishing returns.

[AlwaysFSX]

When it costs more than a Death Star.

[cluelessgenius]

When it costs more than a Death Star.

ok i laughed but my question was actually serious... 

[AlwaysFSX]

ok i laughed but my question was actually serious... 

Well through physics you're capable of running the entire system passively but you'd need something like a dozen meters for radiators. You'd need a pump or a handful of them that can push several gallons of liquid through them.

[cluelessgenius]

It really depends on the radiator material and surface area of the fins. I'm sure a car radiator would be near the point of super diminishing returns.

so lets say how many ut60 s would be overkill would 5 480 matter over 4 and so on? for example im sure 2 would be better than one and 3 also may be better but are 4? or 5? or even 6?

[cluelessgenius]

Well through physics you're capable of running the entire system passively but you'd need something like a dozen meters for radiators. You'd need a pump or a handful of them that can push several gallons of liquid through them.

well there are also rads with mounted pumps on them so practicly i could get one pump per rad but im not sure if that is really needed

[AlwaysFSX]

well there are also rads with mounted pumps on them so practicly i could get one pump per rad but im not sure if that is really needed

I have to wonder how they'll do when they're all pushing a ton of fluid through.

[cluelessgenius]

I have to wonder how they'll do when they're all pushing a ton of fluid through.

well im kinda planning this uberbuild for a while now ( well at least i plan to do it doesnt mean i figured out everything yet) 

 

and id really like to go full on batshit crazy on this so i might just get those but id also like to opt for the lowest noise possible so yeah i dont know

[AlwaysFSX]

well im kinda planning this uberbuild for a while now ( well at least i plan to do it doesnt mean i figured out everything yet) 

 

and id really like to go full on batshit crazy on this so i might just get those but id also like to opt for the lowest noise possible so yeah i dont know

You can get a few of those 3x3 120mm or 140mm radiators and throw them together. Run some Noctua fans at like 600rpms.

[cluelessgenius]

You can get a few of those 3x3 120mm or 140mm radiators and throw them together. Run some Noctua fans at like 600rpms.

well i actually planned to use ut60s because of their fpi and use e-loops on them or maybe gelid wings

[AlwaysFSX]

well i actually planned to use ut60s because of their fpi and use e-loops on them or maybe gelid wings

Whatever floats your boat I guess. It'll work.

[Exotath]

What exactly are you trying to cool? "Uber build" could mean anything.

 

You are looking for a simple definitive answer when really it depends on several factors. You're not going to get below ambient by adding a fuck-ton of radiators if that is what you are after. But you will enter a lovely world of diminishing returns.

 

http://martinsliquidlab.org/    

 

^tons of information.

[cluelessgenius]

What exactly are you trying to cool? "Uber build" could mean anything.

 

You are looking for a simple definitive answer when really it depends on several factors. You're not going to get below ambient by adding a fuck-ton of radiators if that is what you are after. But you will enter a lovely world of diminishing returns.

 

http://martinsliquidlab.org/    

 

^tons of information.

well i didnt give information on what im trying to cool because its not about that i want it to crush everything i could throw at it and who said something of below room temps i just would like it too keep everything cool maybe without even turning on the fans and maybe even while gaming have it "fanless" 

[Exotath]

Okay.

 

http://martinsliquidlab.org/

 

A 360MM UT60 dissipates around 90 watts with three fans at around 600rpm. So base that off whatever mythical heat load you have in mind. 

[Shaqo_Wyn]

so what if you where to have no spce issues and could use as many Radiators as you wanted, after how many radiator would we reach a point where it wouldnt make a difference?

 

for example would 5 480 rads be significantly better thean 4? or would 4 even be better than 3 and so on.. 

 

would it be possible to run the system passively if there is enough radiator area? (even under load?

 

what kind of pump setup would one need ? 

Too many radiators would be the point where the cost of the loop outweighs the cooling performance you're getting. More rads will always maintain the benefit of being able to run the fans on them at insanely low RPM tho. 3 480mm UT60's would be nice for a good overkill ballin rad setup.

[EchoRomeoCharlie]

One could theoretically 'passively'(without fans, I don't consider pumps and water passive cooling) cool a PC without any radiators.

 

With a large enough reservoir, you could play for hours without a drastic water temp change.

 

One could do the calculations...take the wattage use of the system, and the specific heat of water....see how many gallons it would take to keep the water temp from rising above a detrimental point.  

 

People don't do this mainly because it would take LOTS of water...which is just physically not feasible for a typical system.  


This would be an interesting way to heat your pool....4 290X's and dual zeon CPU's folding....that should heat up a pool nicely...lol

[cluelessgenius]

One could theoretically 'passively'(without fans, I don't consider pumps and water passive cooling) cool a PC without any radiators.

 

With a large enough reservoir, you could play for hours without a drastic water temp change.

 

One could do the calculations...take the wattage use of the system, and the specific heat of water....see how many gallons it would take to keep the water temp from rising above a detrimental point.  

 

People don't do this mainly because it would take LOTS of water...which is just physically not feasible for a typical system.  

This would be an interesting way to heat your pool....4 290X's and dual zeon CPU's folding....that should heat up a pool nicely...lol

.D nice idea. a pool? i laughed so hard my grandpa downstairs woke up and asked what the damn hell is wrong with me ( its 11 pm here ) you really think a pool would be necessary ? how about an aquarium?

[EchoRomeoCharlie]

.D nice idea. a pool? i laughed so hard my grandpa downstairs woke up and asked what the damn hell is wrong with me ( its 11 pm here ) you really think a pool would be necessary ? how about an aquarium?

 

I have no idea what would be necessary.  I haven't done the calculations nor do I really care to...it's not something I'm personally interested in pursuing.  In the end it really depends on how long you want to game without reaching temps above what is considered appropriate.  

 

WIth a swimming pool, you could probably game indefinitely.  WIth an aquarium, maybe 5 hours(again, this is a complete guess).  That may or may not be sufficient depending on the person.

 

 

EDIT: I just did some very crude calculations...

 

Assuming 1 gallon of water, a computer running about 500w constantly for 1 hour would raise the temperature of the water approximately 116ºC.  Assuming zero loss to the environment which the water itself would be transferring heat into the environment while sitting in the res.  Plus, not all 500w is going to be pushed into the water...the PSU/MOBO/RAM/etc will not be watercooled...so....

 

So...assuming that scales, divide it by the number of gallons one will use....10 gallons of water will result in a delta of about 11.6ºC in an hour.

 

Again, these are very simple rough estimates and may possibly be way off.

[gigabyte]

If you're tinning 4x titan and 2x processors 2x 480mm will be more than enough

[fishy]

maybe consider something like this

http://www.quietpc.com/reserator1-v2

or a couple of them

[cluelessgenius]

maybe consider something like this

http://www.quietpc.com/reserator1-v2

or a couple of them

ok so now i know you are joking...but...that.. looks...AWESOME!. im actually thinking about getting one 

[fishy]

ok so now i know you are joking...but...that.. looks...AWESOME!. im actually thinking about getting one 

 

i wasn't joking

if you can get your hands on some of those, i'd love to see it in it's natural habitat next to PC tower and also see how it performs

[cluelessgenius]

i wasn't joking

if you can get your hands on some of those, i'd love to see it in it's natural habitat next to PC tower and also see how it performs

well im actually looking for them right know but it seems they are hard to get but i be damned if i wont find a way

[EchoRomeoCharlie]

It can most likely be made very easily.  A stainless steel tube and some fins welded on to it with an integrated pump.  I wouldn't integrate the pump like that.  Hide that in the case that way if it goes out, it's much easier to change.