TFC X360 VS. MCR320 to cool 2xGTX480's ??

[DoggRoger]

BTW, thanks for the activation:welcome::up:, so I need some advice on my soon to be completed water cooling array. I have 2 radiators/2 loops of which I have to decide which to use for the components below.

CPU/Mobo Loop::
EK-Multioption reservoir 250 rev.2 -
Swiftech MCP355 18w w/EK-DDC X-TOP rev.2 Acetal -
TFC X360 w/6 G-Typhoon 1850RPM -
Watercool HEATKILLER CPU Rev3.0 1366 LC -
EK-FB KIT for EVGA X58 3SLI (NB/SB/Mofet)

GPU/SLI Loop::
Swiftech MCR320-QP w/3 G-Typhoon 1850RPM+3SlipStream1900RPM-
Swiftech MCP655 - T/line
2x DD-GTX480 All Copper

Both loops will be using Tygon 1/2ID-3/4OD tubing and BP compression fittings. I plan to fabricate fan shrouds push/pull flow fro each rad.

From what I have been reading it seems like I would be better off letting the TFC X360 cool the 2xGTX480's, the the MCR320 to cool the CPU/Mobo.

For what it looks like the MCR320 can cool right around 530watts with a 10C delta, and from what I have read the TFC X360 can cool about 700watts? Due to the design I have in mind I was planing on MCR320 cooling the 480's but the more I am reading I am leaning towards switching the Rad's, my main question would be, do you think the MCR320 can handle 2x OC'd GTX480's?

Thanks, I'm going to start a work log here as I am chopping my Antec P180 up to make this work, much modding to be done here.

Just a teaser shot
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/9601/img1005m.jpg

[justin.kerr]

you planning on running those 1850 RPM fans full speed all the time, or fan controller?
either radiator will be fine, there honestly is not that much difference in performance between them.

[NaeKuh]

remember worklogs go here:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=286

And to answer your question, i think they will both net u almost the same.

The difference would be probably less then 1C on the cpu end, because your not close to getting near the capacity of the 360.
On the GPU end i dont think it would matter, because u will be limited by voltage in overclocking.
The difference on loaded gpu's with either rad wont help you net any performance gain.

I Would go purely on bling aspect for your build in regards to your question... meaning do whichever way you want to do it...
The difference between either will be incredibly small, you might as well build it the way you want.

[ascl]

http://skinneelabs.com/assets/images/Radiators/TripleV2/triples-v2_heatdiss-10dT.jpg

Image linked from: http://skinneelabs.com/triplesv2.html?page=4

So, to answer your question, yes the TFC is better, but given your fan speed, its not a huge difference imo (maybe 50w). So which one you use is up to you. The Swiftech should handle it fine, albeit it with slightly higher temps than if you used the TFC.

[DoggRoger]

you planning on running those 1850 RPM fans full speed all the time, or fan controller?
either radiator will be fine, there honestly is not that much difference in performance between them.

I'll be running an 8 channel fan controller "NesteQ FanMax", and a 4 channel fan controller Scythe "KazeQ", and depending on noise/vs temp I will adjust accordingly.

Thanks for the linked images, Im pretty sure I've seen that image before but I understand it a lot clearer now. So it sounds like I'll be fine doing the way I intended to. Thanks again, I knew about the worklog section and am reserving the rest of the pictures for it.

[antiacid]

you could put the push/pull config on the dual loop and the single mcr320 on the cpu. I know that a mcr320 can handle a q9650@4.2 without issues with 3 fans. The gtx480 are space heaters so you probably want more cooling on that. As NaehKuh said though, the difference should be minimal between both reservoirs anyway.

As for the fan controllers, any reason why you aren't combining your fans on a single controller? A little bit of rewiring could save you a bunch of space on your front panel :)

[DoggRoger]

Where can you find a 12 channel fan controller? Or do you mean some other way of running the 12 fans for the rads? My system will have at least 14 120mm fans, 2 I plan to run off the board headers.

[mechman]

The 360 rads will definitely be put to the task with the heat load from the GTX480's. Should be fine but be ready with a contingency plan just in case you need to add another 120mm rad if you have heat issues! I assume these will be in an air conditioned environment?

[EvilClocker]

I am currently running the Swiftech 360 Rad to cool my GTX 480.. with Danger Den Block..

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm77/michellelane1971/gtx480866.jpg

[DoggRoger]

Cool, looks nice, will be interesting to see temps with an sli setup, if temps are unacceptable I'll add a 120.2 rad to the front of that case for the GPU's.

[DarthBeavis]

Skinee might tell you what will cool but I will tell you what will cool with maximum bling ;)

[skinnee]

Skinee might tell you what will cool but I will tell you what will cool with maximum bling ;)

:yepp:

:rofl:

[Slowb00st]

Where can you find a 12 channel fan controller? Or do you mean some other way of running the 12 fans for the rads? My system will have at least 14 120mm fans, 2 I plan to run off the board headers.

have you ever heard of a Y cable? you can run more than one fan on each channel of the fan controller. Yes you have to take in consideration how many watts each channel can take so you know how many fans it can handle.

[DoggRoger]

have you ever heard of a Y cable? you can run more than one fan on each channel of the fan controller. Yes you have to take in consideration how many watts each channel can take so you know how many fans it can handle.

Excellent, I actually was not aware that was possible off of a fan controller:shrug:, I'll have to investigate how many watts each channel can handle on my NesteQ NFS-2108... this might allow me to add another 120.2 rad to the front is this works.:clap:

EDIT: Looks like for that controller it's 6w per channel, anybody know how many watts @12v the 1850 GT's run? Can't find quick link.
EDIT #2: Okay so the 1850RPM GT is rated at 12v/.083A, so does that mean it only uses 1 Watt? I found this on the net.


maybe you're thinking about something in your automobile which is run on 12 volts DC - - and in that case, 1 watt equals .083 amps or 83 milliamps
source: http://www.blurtit.com/q8677124.html

[Slowb00st]

Excellent, I actually was not aware that was possible off of a fan controller:shrug:, I'll have to investigate how many watts each channel can handle on my NesteQ NFS-2108... this might allow me to add another 120.2 rad to the front is this works.:clap:

EDIT: Looks like for that controller it's 6w per channel, anybody know how many watts @12v the 1850 GT's run? Can't find quick link.
EDIT #2: Okay so the 1850RPM GT is rated at 12v/.083A, so does that mean it only uses 1 Watt? I found this on the net.

basically Watts = Volts × Amps so W = 12(more or less)v and .083A = 0.996 w = 1 watt

so you can run 6 GT fans of one channel but I would run less to be on the safe side.

[Waterlogged]

Excellent, I actually was not aware that was possible off of a fan controller:shrug:, I'll have to investigate how many watts each channel can handle on my NesteQ NFS-2108... this might allow me to add another 120.2 rad to the front is this works.:clap:

EDIT: Looks like for that controller it's 6w per channel, anybody know how many watts @12v the 1850 GT's run? Can't find quick link.
EDIT #2: Okay so the 1850RPM GT is rated at 12v/.083A, so does that mean it only uses 1 Watt? I found this on the net.


basically Watts = Volts × Amps so W = 12(more or less)v and .083A = 0.996 w = 1 watt

so you can run 6 GT fans of one channel but I would run less to be on the safe side.

Don't forget to account for start up draw on the GT's. ;)

http://catalog.nidec-servo.com/digital/english/general/pdf/D1225C.pdf

[DoggRoger]

Don't forget to account for start up draw on the GT's. ;)

http://catalog.nidec-servo.com/digital/english/general/pdf/D1225C.pdf

Okay thanks for the link, so the startup draw for the models I have is .36A which means it'll be 4.32watts, Im guessing it would not be a good idea to split each channel, being that my controller is only 6watt per channel, right?

Is the startup draw a hypothetical number, like a "up to" number or is it basically saying the fan will not start up if 4.32 watts are not available at startup? :rolleyes:

[Church]

Mhmm, doesn't lot of controllers have capacitors to work arround bigger startup power draw?

[Conumdrum]

Mhmm, doesn't lot of controllers have capacitors to work arround bigger startup power draw?

No, caps don't work like that. Unless your talking BIG caps, bigger than a D cell battery. And you still have the output of the mosfet direct to the fans. Thats what smokes no matter the size of the LOL cap.

[Waterlogged]

Okay thanks for the link, so the startup draw for the models I have is .36A which means it'll be 4.32watts, Im guessing it would not be a good idea to split each channel, being that my controller is only 6watt per channel, right?

Is the startup draw a hypothetical number, like a "up to" number or is it basically saying the fan will not start up if 4.32 watts are not available at startup? :rolleyes:

It may not be exactly 4.32W on every start up but it's fairly consistently in the area, probably ±½%. It's only an instant spike that lasts a handful of ms.

[Church]

It would be interesting to see controller with realised idea of 'staggered disk spinup' - as in more connectors per each channel, but power each connector with small interval to not experience very big initial startup powersurge.
If that startup power draw spike is that short .. then imho there are also some short term 'endurance limits' of any PCB even if those are above stated numbers .. afterall, for it to heat up noticeably it probably needs to be used overspecs for longer time? Just like with liquid cooling, even without res, water in loop has some small but nevertheless inertia to heat up till thermal equilibrium ..
It's all just a theoretical blabbering. I'm shure people with more experience and knowledge will prove me wrong :)

[justin.kerr]

I have ran 20 1850 RPM gentle typhoons on one circuit, plus 20+ other fans on another circuit, but all on one fan controller, the fan controller has only been in use for a year, but all seems fine. on my latest build I only have 33 fans, but also all the lights, and there is a lot, lol all run off of one fan controller. It just comes down to how heavy duty the fan controller is.. because I know for a fact that a lot of them will only do rated output, and even then some don't last very long. I have killed more fan controllers than CPU's.. lol need to get my priorities straight. :rofl:

[H20Cooled]

I would not worry to much about the start up spike as most fan controllers max rating is for extended use. running at 20watt load on a 6watt controller will most likely run fine but after a while the heat build up from all that current might cook it. a start up spike is so short you would never notice it.