Worth it to add a single 120mm radiator to a triple-rad setup?

[AndrewZorn]

I get my MCR320 and a bunch of other stuff soon. I have a BIX 120mm radiator from my last on-the-cheap attempt. Is it worth it to add it into the loop, or is going to slow down the flow too much to make it worth it? I'd be using a slow fan on it, which I know the BIX are not good for.

[CedricFP]

Most people will tell you the pressure drop is not worth it.

I'm thinking of adding another MCR220 to my current loop.

[AliG]

as cedric said, the pressure drop isn't worth it, unless you plan to add in a second pump

depends really on what you plan to cool I suppose

[CedricFP]

as cedric said, the pressure drop isn't worth it, unless you plan to add in a second pump

depends really on what you plan to cool I suppose
Adding a single rad seems to be a bit iffy.

Adding a double, though, I doubt the pressure drop would outweigh the benefits in cooling - you could run your fans at lower volts, less noise to achieve the same temps which is really my concern. I'm not after lower temps, I'm after quieter temps.

So if that's your goal, if you want to run your fans lower, invest in another double or perhaps even triple.

There are a fair few members here running 2xpa120.3's and I bet they can run their fans very low.

However... if you ask me, adding another rad to a triple? It's not worth it, but not because of the pressure drop or whatever. It's not worth it because your triple will handle nearly everything you throw at it.

And with die process shrinking, outputting less heat and requiring less voltage...

[peterpiper]

What about a double and a single?

[lennox]

I added a single 120 to a triple, there was no noticable benefit or loss so I left it since 2 is greater than 1 ;)

(there was no noticable pressure drop either, the D5 was still making the same size tornado lol)

[Kurz]

Singles are for people who want a very compact solution.
Doubles and Triples are for performance.

[peterpiper]

I was thinking of going pump->Double Rad->CPU->Single Rad->NB->Res? Any thoughts?
Sorry AndrewZorn, don't mean to be hijacking your thread!

[Stigma]

If oyu allready have a double rad, I have to ask myself, what do you need a third for?

Well, granted, more/bigger rads will generally lower the temp of the coolant, but unless you have a :banana::banana::banana::banana:load of watts to dump through the coolant, oversizing the radiator system dosn't really do much at all. You quickly come to a point where oversizing the radiators give no noticable difference, and double rads can allready handle a lot of watts given that there is atleast a little airflow on them.

I probably wouldn't bother with it. mostly because... heck, where are you going to PLACE all those rads? ..

-Stigma

[AndrewZorn]

I was thinking of going pump->Double Rad->CPU->Single Rad->NB->Res? Any thoughts?
Sorry AndrewZorn, don't mean to be hijacking your thread!
Don't worry about loop order is my suggestion... as you'll read here, and as I foudn out from my first one, each pass actually picks up VERY little heat. Order the loop based on where everything is in the case. As long as your reservoir is right before the pump you can't really mess it up.

When building my first setup, I even made sure to put 'hot' tubes above 'cold' tubes because I was thinking about heat rising and warming the 'cold' tube. WAAAAAAY overthought it. It takes minutes and many passes for the water to even get warm. It's more of an over-time type thing.

where are you going to PLACE all those rads? ..
well after these suggestions, I'm not putting the single in. My triple is going to be externally mounted, so it doesn't take a lot of creativity to fit a single in any case. But it was going in the front.