One radiator vs two?

[GilmourD]

So... I'm looking to go water-cooling on my box and I've been wondering: Is there actually any benefit to having two radiators vs one? 

 

I've got a Corsair Air 540, so there's PLENTY of space in there. I could put a 360 on the front and a 280 on the top, but how much benefit would there actually be to doing so?

 

My ultimate goal is to keep idle as close to ambient as possible and have the full-load delta as small as possible. This is CPU only, for now, but maybe the GPU in the future when that gets upgraded.

 

What do you guys think?

[Lurick]

For what equipment?

CPU? GPU? Both?

What one(s)?

[Yatys 93]

the more rad space you have means more heat can be removed from the liquid, so if both are in budget then go for it, also means you can run the fans slower so will be quieter

[GilmourD]

1 minute ago, Lurick said:

For what equipment?

CPU? GPU? Both?

What one(s)?

CPU. Yeah, forgot to say that in the OP. LOL

 

Current setup is in my sig.

[Yatys 93]

1 minute ago, GilmourD said:

CPU. Yeah, forgot to say that in the OP. LOL

 

Current setup is in my sig.

can you still get blocks for a 560ti? might want to look at upgrading that before you watercool

[GilmourD]

1 hour ago, Yatys 93 said:

the more rad space you have means more heat can be removed from the liquid, so if both are in budget then go for it, also means you can run the fans slower so will be quieter

I'm not too bothered by noise as long as it's not like my old FOP38 which sounded like a hairdryer on the other end of the house.

 

1 hour ago, Yatys 93 said:

can you still get blocks for a 560ti? might want to look at upgrading that before you watercool

Not too worried about the 560 at the moment.

[Lurick]

1 minute ago, GilmourD said:

I'm not too bothered by noise as long as it's not like my old FOP38 which sounded like a hairdryer on the other end of the house.

I say go for both if you can. You will have the loop ready to go if you expand to the GPU in the future and still have plenty of cooling capacity.

You can run the fans low or turn them up a bit depending on how much you want to cool and find that happy medium

[Yatys 93]

2 minutes ago, GilmourD said:

Not too worried about the 560 at the moment.

so you are just looking at cooling CPU? in that case you would get away with just the 360, but having the extra 280 would mean if you do get a new GPU someday, then you can just add it in no problem instead of having to expand that too

[GilmourD]

1 minute ago, Yatys 93 said:

so you are just looking at cooling CPU? in that case you would get away with just the 360, but having the extra 280 would mean if you do get a new GPU someday, then you can just add it in no problem instead of having to expand that too

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Kids distracting me while posting. LOL Good thing I have less kids than Linus does. LOL

[SolarNova]

if u can afford it, get both the 240 and the 360.

 

the more rad you have, the slower you can run the fans for the same amount of cooling vs less rad higher speed fans.

 

For example, i originaly intended for a single 240x80 rad + single 240x40 which is all i had room or in my case. But i mistakenly got sent 2 240x40's and a 240x80, 1 free rad ...sweet, so i bolted to the back on my case, and now i can run my fans slower than i would have needed if i didnt have the extra rad.

[Yatys 93]

5 minutes ago, GilmourD said:

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Kids distracting me while posting. LOL Good thing I have less kids than Linus does. LOL

have to do pics on here when its done, 540 is one case I really wanna do a watercooled system in, you got parts in mind yet?

[GilmourD]

1 minute ago, Yatys 93 said:

have to do pics on here when its done, 540 is one case I really wanna do a watercooled system in, you got parts in mind yet?

Definitely.

 

I haven't really put much thought to the parts, yet. Just getting started with my research. Wanna get the best bang for the buck. It might lack RGB. LOL

[Yatys 93]

1 minute ago, GilmourD said:

Definitely.

 

I haven't really put much thought to the parts, yet. Just getting started with my research. Wanna get the best bang for the buck. It might lack RGB. LOL

no RGB, you aren't PCMR'ing right

[GilmourD]

Just now, Yatys 93 said:

no RGB, you aren't PCMR'ing right

I'm amazed sometimes at how much RGB adds to the price of some stuff and how little it adds to other stuff.

 

You'd probably be sad to know that I still only have the stock fans in my Air 540 and the two front ones only have white LEDs with meh brightness.

[Yatys 93]

2 minutes ago, GilmourD said:

I'm amazed sometimes at how much RGB adds to the price of some stuff and how little it adds to other stuff.

 

You'd probably be sad to know that I still only have the stock fans in my Air 540 and the two front ones only have white LEDs with meh brightness.

ya its crazy, the 3 pack of corsair RGB fans make me ill when I see the price, just add RGB strips later is the easiest way  IMO EK make very nice clean parts but not sure what the price is like compared to some other companies

[GilmourD]

Just now, Yatys 93 said:

ya its crazy, the 3 pack of corsair RGB fans make me ill when I see the price, just add RGB strips later is the easiest way  IMO EK make very nice clean parts but not sure what the price is like compared to some other companies

Yeah, I just went through EK's configurator and got a price of like $600+. I immediately thought "I could probably get that down if I do some research".

[RollinLower]

4 minutes ago, GilmourD said:

I'm amazed sometimes at how much RGB adds to the price of some stuff and how little it adds to other stuff.

 

You'd probably be sad to know that I still only have the stock fans in my Air 540 and the two front ones only have white LEDs with meh brightness.

RGB is overhyped anyway.

the beauty of custom watercooling is that you can personalise your rig without all those LEDs

[Yatys 93]

2 minutes ago, GilmourD said:

Yeah, I just went through EK's configurator and got a price of like $600+. I immediately thought "I could probably get that down if I do some research".

ya they look great but you really do pay for that badge, think I spent a little over £500 on my little box, pics are on my profile if your curious

 

[GilmourD]

2 minutes ago, Yatys 93 said:

ya they look great but you really do pay for that badge, think I spent a little over £500 on my little box, pics are on my profile if your curious

 

Over $700 in just cooling... Ouch. LOL

[Yatys 93]

Just now, GilmourD said:

Over $700 in just cooling... Ouch. LOL

it looks so good but it hurts just part the list up lol

[SolarNova]

If you really want top teir performance, top teir quiteness, and RGB, then you can do the following

 

Noctua fan, i.e NF-P12

Phantek Halo

 

Pricey, in the UK this would cost you between £25-£30 per set (1 fan 1 halo), but you know for sure you getting the best (Noctua) and ur RGB fix.

vs a pack fo 3 Corsair RGB fans which come in at between £85-£89, the choice is comparable.

 

From CCL Computers i can get 3x NF-P12's + 3x halo' for £80.10

From CCL Computers i can get pack of 3 Corsair LL120 RGB for £85.13

 

Personaly i find RGB to gawdy, i prefer a more refined look. But if i had to choose between Corsair and Noctua, i'd always goes Noctua.. hands down.

[GilmourD]

1 minute ago, SolarNova said:

If you really want top teir performance, top teir quiteness, and RGB, then you can do the following

 

Noctua fan, i.e NF-P12

Phantek Halo

 

Pricey, in the UK this would cost you between £25-£30 per set (1 fan 1 halo), but you know for sure you getting the best (Noctua) and ur RGB fix.

vs a pack fo 3 Corsair RGB fans which come in at between £85-£89, the choice is comparable.

 

From CCL Computers i can get 3x NF-P12's + 3x halo' for £80.10

From CCL Computers i can get pack of 3 Corsair LL120 RGB for £85.13

 

Personaly i find RGB to gawdy, i prefer a more refined look. But if i had to choose between Corsair and Noctua, i'dalways goes Nocuta hands down.

As far as the RGB, I tend to be of the sort to set it to one color at a time or use a controller that can change color depending upon system state or something. 

[SolarNova]

3 minutes ago, GilmourD said:

As far as the RGB, I tend to be of the sort to set it to one color at a time or use a controller that can change color depending upon system state or something. 

Phantek Halo's are apparently compatable with Asus, MSI and Gigabyte motherboard RGB light control software.

[Mick Naughty]

I’d rather do 2 280 rads in a 540. 

Doing a 360 and 280 would require shifting the 280 over a tad and running the 360 fans on the front of the case losing the air filter. Could get alway with it if a 240 is used up top and a thin 360 is used. 

 

Both of my 540’s are water cooled. More is always better if you have th airflow.