What's the best X-flow rad?

[Milky1]

Hello guys! I've got myself in a bit of a pickle and was wondering if anyone would be so kind as to help me out. I am looking for a X-Flow radiator, one of the ones which has entrance/exit at opposite ends of the rad. However looking around there seems to be 3 different types and I cant find any reviews so am unsure which is the best performer.

X-Flow Black Ice Pro III High Performance Radiator
Black Ice Xtreme 3 X-Flow Radiator
Black Ice GT Stealth 360 XFlow Highest Performance Radiator

Which of these three perform the best? :S

Also just a foot note: I know the X-flows don't perform as good as normal rads however I will be using a 360 to cool a single GPU and a i5 2500K and I'm aiming for silence over performance. :)

[Waterlogged]

PA160 is the best x-flow rad. . .of the 3 you listed, BIP will be the best for silence while the GTS will be the best for performance (with higher RPM fans only). Normally, I rag on the GTS to no end but, in the X-flow configuration, it actually isn't anywhere near as restrictive as it's 2 pass brother and the narrow tubes actually work to the benefit of the rad. The thing that still turns me off is the FPI on them though, they say 30 but I say it's actually 60. :p:

[Milky1]

PA160 is the best x-flow rad. . .of the 3 you listed, BIP will be the best for silence while the GTS will be the best for performance (with higher RPM fans only). Normally, I rag on the GTS to no end but, in the X-flow configuration, it actually isn't anywhere near as restrictive as it's 2 pass brother and the narrow tubes actually work to the benefit of the rad. The thing that still turns me off is the FPI on them though, they say 30 but I say it's actually 60. :p:

Hi Waterlogged thanks for the quick reply! so you think in a low noise situation (I'm currently using 3X Scythe Gentle Typhoons running very slowly) the Pro 3 will perform better than the Xtreme 3?

[Waterlogged]

Which GT's and how slow?

[Church]

"aiming for silence instead of performance" should automatically strike out any high FPI rads. That leaves Black Ice Pro as only alternative.
BTW, is there reason why you absolutely MUST use X-flow rads instead of better cooling ones with both inlets on one side?

[Milky1]

Which GT's and how slow?

I have the GT 1450's but at the moment they are running as slow as possible without no longer spinning.


"aiming for silence instead of performance" should automatically strike out any high FPI rads. That leaves Black Ice Pro as only alternative.
BTW, is there reason why you absolutely MUST use X-flow rads instead of better cooling ones with both inlets on one side?

yes because my 360 rad is mounted in the roof of a Lian LI PC-A05NB and it is very very tight :)

EDIT:

Actually it looks like I might be able to get away with a conventional radiator, in which case what would be the best to go for with very slow fans, and if its thin that's a bonus.

BTW it I am using the old X-flow Xtreme 3 at the moment, would it be worth upgrading at all? the reason I asked is because that new Pro 3 is almost half the thickness which would be handy.

[Church]

Aren't X-Flow rads even bigger then conventional ones? As in they need extra length for inlet no just from one rad side, but from both?
From hwlabs.com normal black ice pro is 397mm long, as for X-flow one - 412mm.
As for using old Xtreme (probably with higher FPI), you'll get some cooling improvements by exchanging it .. but probably not by that much. Better price/performancy wise is not to change rad, but to add another to loop.

[Milky1]

Aren't X-Flow rads even bigger then conventional ones? As in they need extra length for inlet no just from one rad side, but from both?
From hwlabs.com normal black ice pro is 397mm long, as for X-flow one - 412mm.
As for using old Xtreme (probably with higher FPI), you'll get some cooling improvements by exchanging it .. but probably not by that much. Better price/performancy wise is not to change rad, but to add another to loop.

The main issue is actually the thickness :D my current X-flow (which I believe is 40mm?) covers up most of the bottom half of the mobo and only leaves a single PCI-E lane clear, and even then the fitting only leaves a few mm from the GPU.

But if I got a regular rad with both entrance/exit same end someone suggested the XSPC 360 rad is best for a quiet system, does this sound about right?

[Church]

Thin low-to-middle FPI rads .. hmm, Black Ice Pro III was 29mm thick, Swiftech MCR was 34mm thick, XSPC RS 35.5mm thick, Magicool plexi elegant 34mm. (last one had bad reputation of cracking/leaking, supposedly fixed in rev2, but haven't heard yet proof of it). Yup, BIP seems thinnest of them all. Most of other thin rads usually have very high FPI (20-30), that results in bad cooling performance with silent slow fans, so imho not worth considering.
XSPC RX might be among the best for silent fans, yeah. Coolgate rads, Black Ice SR1 rads, Thermochill PA are also good. But all of these are 50-60mm thick.

[Milky1]

Thin low-to-middle FPI rads .. hmm, Black Ice Pro III was 29mm thick, Swiftech MCR was 34mm thick, XSPC RS 35.5mm thick, Magicool plexi elegant 34mm. (last one had bad reputation of cracking/leaking, supposedly fixed in rev2, but haven't heard yet proof of it). Yup, BIP seems thinnest of them all. Most of other thin rads usually have very high FPI (20-30), that results in bad cooling performance with silent slow fans, so imho not worth considering.
XSPC RX might be among the best for silent fans, yeah. Coolgate rads, Black Ice SR1 rads, Thermochill PA are also good. But all of these are 50-60mm thick.

Someone else recommended quite highly the Swiftech MCR320, and it looks quite nice, its relatively thin (6mm thinner than my current rad) and is nice and cheap, So I think I will go for that one.

[Waterlogged]

Hi Waterlogged thanks for the quick reply! so you think in a low noise situation (I'm currently using 3X Scythe Gentle Typhoons running very slowly) the Pro 3 will perform better than the Xtreme 3?

Just so happens that I have a couple of BIX X-Flows here. I did a test with a AP-14 and the single X-Flow I have and WOW, that is some crappy airflow you've got. RPM's is about 330 and I couldn't even feel any air on my face with it about 2" away. :down:

I did the same test with a single MCR and could feel a slight breeze roughly a foot away from the rad, should really improve temps a bit but I'd also recommend a bit more juice to the fans as well. If that's out of the question, then may I suggest picking up some AP-11's or 12's for the rad and run them @ full speed.

[pluck]

Most of other thin rads usually have very high FPI (20-30), that results in bad cooling performance with silent slow fans, so imho not worth considering.


FPI isn't the only determining factor for optimum fan speeds. The optimum fan speed is actually determined by the surface area of the rad per fan, and the surface area is determined by FPI AND thickness.

This is why a 14 FPI MCR has pretty much the same optimum fan speed as a 7-8 FPI XSPC RX, because the surface area per fan is pretty much identical (not to mention it's also the reason why performance is also near as dammit identical, but that's another matter..).

[Church]

pluck: following your logic for GTS to perform well with silent fans it should be 15mm thick, which it is not. OP asked for rad fit for silent build. GTS or similar thin rads with 30FPI i mentioned are not fit for such.

[pluck]

pluck: following your logic for GTS to perform well with silent fans it should be 15mm thick, which it is not. OP asked for rad fit for silent build. GTS or similar thin rads with 30FPI i mentioned are not fit for such.

I apologise if I misunderstood, but your initial comment made it sound like you were saying the only (or main) determining factor in what fan speed is best suited for a rad is FPI, which was what I was commenting on, not the suitability of a specific radiator for silent fans.

[Milky1]

Just so happens that I have a couple of BIX X-Flows here. I did a test with a AP-14 and the single X-Flow I have and WOW, that is some crappy airflow you've got. RPM's is about 330 and I couldn't even feel any air on my face with it about 2" away. :down:

I did the same test with a single MCR and could feel a slight breeze roughly a foot away from the rad, should really improve temps a bit but I'd also recommend a bit more juice to the fans as well. If that's out of the question, then may I suggest picking up some AP-11's or 12's for the rad and run them @ full speed.

Hey Waterlogged thanks for the info! I've already ordered my MCR, however what are AP-11? just a guess, is it Air Penetrators?

[woffen]

It is a slower version of the Gentle Typhoons, AP-11 = 500rpm.