XSPC RX360 radiator review

I recently got a chance to test the XSPC RX360 radiator.

http://www.abload.de/img/14buxrp.jpg

First of all, let me address the issues with the finish of these radiators that many reported. It seems that the first batch of these radiators were wrapped before the paint dried completely and this led to blemishes on the rad.
My model had almost perfect finish, but was seemingly also wrapped a little too early. The radiators from that first batch have been pulled in the meantime and the new ones are expected sometime next week.

http://www.abload.de/img/03nk2g.jpg

So far, I have only compared this radiator to three competitors:
- Thermochill PA120.3
- Magicool Slim 360
- Watercool HTSF 360

The reason I chose these competitors is mainly that I had them lying around here. :p:
But also, the TC is definitely the main competitor with the RX and the Magicool is a very low budget radiator so it is interesting to see how much better the high-end rads do in comparison.


Testing method
For testing the radiators, I set up a loop with one of the radiators, a Laing DDC (355) with an EK X-Res top, two 300W heaters and two arrays with two analogue thermal sensors each.

This is what the thermal sensor array thingy looks like:
http://www.abload.de/img/034c59.jpg
With this, I can measure the water in and water out temperatures.

An mCubed T-Balancer BigNG is logging all of the relevant temps in 5-second intervals and and has three digital thermal sensors attached that are measuring ambient temperatures.

In this test, I measure performance at five different fan speeds: 400rpm, 800rpm, 1200rpm, 1600rpm and 2000rpm.
For the lowest fan speed, I use Scythe Slip Stream 500 fans. For the medium fan speeds I use Nanoxia FX-1250 fans and for the high fan speeds I use Yate Loon D12SH-12. All of the fans are installed pushing air through the radiators.

Each test run lasts for 35 minutes and all of the temps from the last ten minutes of a run are averaged out to recieve the relevant data.
I don't know the actual heat loads of my heaters, so I just refer to the heat loads as 300W (with one heater active) and 600W (both heaters active) respectively, since the heaters are supposed to do 300W each.

Results

300W Heatload:
http://www.abload.de/img/en300whhes.jpg

600W Heatload:
http://www.abload.de/img/en600w7i42.jpg

The 600W heatload starts at 800rpm since it's just too much heat for 400rpm fans.
As we can see, the two highend-rads are quite clearly superior to the lower budget competitors.

It's a very close race between the RX and the TC. In short, at lower fan speeds, the RX is the better choice while at higher fan speeds, the TC has the edge. It's a close call either way, but I would certainly always recommend the XSPC RX over the TC for the following reasons:
- The RX has standard fan-spacing
- The RX has standard M4 threads
- The RX (and this is a very minor advantage) has the much more commong G1/4" threads for fittings
- The RX costs less
- And finally, for me personally, performance at low rpm is what really matters. I like my PC silent and at lower rpm the quality of the radiator makes much more of a difference than at high rpm. At 400rpm, the difference between the best and the worst radiator in this comparison is 3.5K at 300W.
At 2000rpm the difference between best and worst shrinks to just 1.3K, a difference that seems much less worth the extra price paid for the highend radiator.

You can find my original (german) article with lot's of more pics and some more details here.

That's all for now. Any questions and comments are welcome! :)

Cheers,
Shane

Great review, been waiting to see how this rad stacked up to the competition.

Thanks!

Nice review, seems like the XSPC just barely beats out Thermochill at the low end

I just picked up a PA120.3 a few weeks ago for about the same price as the RX360 - decisions, decisions :shakes:

:DI picked up a supposedly blemished one from jab-tech for $71.95 on friday. I am going to piant it I believe so the blemishes are not a concern to me. It is going to go on the bottom of my case, I was going to get another gtx or a feser, but this price was too good to pass up!!
http://www.jab-tech.com/XSPC-RX360-T...r-pr-4384.html

Thanks for the testing HESmelaugh keep it coming! :up:

Excellent work HESmelaugh! :up:

Damn, I just ordered one of the blemished ones (from Jab-Tech) as well today. Right on! The last 7 won't last now that this test is out.

Now I just need the rest of the parts for my loop

Quote:

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Originally Posted by defect9

Damn, I just ordered one of the blemished ones (from Jab-Tech) as well today. Right on! The last 7 won't last now that this test is out.

Now I just need the rest of the parts for my loop

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Most places have it for around $100, so $71.95 with blemishes is a great deal for the rad!!;)
Wow, defect, I live 30 minutes away from you!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BringerOdeath

Most places have it for around $100, so $71.95 with blemishes is a great deal for the rad!!;)
Wow, defect, I live 30 minutes away from you!!

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haahaa, small world it seems. Might have to hook up sometime to talk mods or BS or something.

Tahoe is totally beautiful, year-round.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by defect9

haahaa, small world it seems. Might have to hook up sometime to talk mods or BS or something.

Tahoe is totally beautiful, year-round.

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LOL, I have a funny story about how small the world is....but this isnt the time for it!!;) I have an extra CPU block(Fuzion V2) and some extra Blue 1/2"ID-3/4" OD tubing if you need some. I may also have an extra res if I decide to put dual pumps in a loop.....:D

HESmelaugh

excellent review,

kelvin....i rather not..lol

Nice review - thanks for taking the time to do it. :cool:

Test very interesting!

You may publish the numerical values of the chart ?
300W Heatload and 600W Heatload:

http://www.pctunerup.com/up/results/...9_untitled.jpg http://www.pctunerup.com/up/results/..._untitled2.jpg

So I can insert them in my spreadsheet........
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=206542

Thank you......
....very good work! :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hondacity

HESmelaugh

excellent review,

kelvin....i rather not..lol

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Thanks. What do you mean by that last line, though? I'm not getting it... :confused:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AndreaBZ

Test very interesting!

You may publish the numerical values of the chart ?
300W Heatload and 600W Heatload:

http://www.pctunerup.com/up/results/...9_untitled.jpg http://www.pctunerup.com/up/results/..._untitled2.jpg

So I can insert them in my spreadsheet........
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=206542

Thank you......
....very good work! :D

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You can get the numerical values from here: Link.

Oh, I just realized that those aren't all of the numerical values from the test. I'll have to compile the others, too.
But don't add my data to your calculations just yet, because I don't know the actual wattage of my heaters. I'll get a gizmo for measuring that within the next days and then I'll post actual wattage and all of the numericals, ok?

@everyone: Thanks for the encouraging comments. Much appreciated. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HESmelaugh

-----------------------
Oh, I just realized that those aren't all of the numerical values from the test. I'll have to compile the others, too.
But don't add my data to your calculations just yet, because I don't know the actual wattage of my heaters. I'll get a gizmo for measuring that within the next days and then I'll post actual wattage and all of the numericals, ok?

@everyone: Thanks for the encouraging comments. Much appreciated. :)

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OK :up:
thanks

Nice, I have the RX360 so I can sleep at night now :p: :up:

Wow, that's impressive, nice review!

Nice review!

Seems XSPC RX series are great price/performance performers and the are ofc high end stuff. Doing at the level of Feser and TC.

I Just ordered mine! Should be an upgrade from my gtx120 :D

Excellent review! I was waiting for a review on this as I've been thinking about jumping over to water cooling. That review did it, I just ordered one of the "blems" from jab-tech :D

EDIT: Just out of interest, any comments on how fan orientation (push vs. pull, etc.) affects this particular radiator?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mr. K6

Excellent review! I was waiting for a review on this as I've been thinking about jumping over to water cooling. That review did it, I just ordered one of the "blems" from jab-tech :D

EDIT: Just out of interest, any comments on how fan orientation (push vs. pull, etc.) affects this particular radiator?

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I alway use pull with shrouds.....

Excellent review. Only thing is the price, for UK customers the Thermochill is a good £15-20 cheaper.

Ordered mine last week from Jab-Tech. Somehow I ended up with a non paint marred RX360 even though it was labeled as such. Can't wait until this makes it into my new system I'm cooking up. Great review HESmelaugh!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mr. K6

Excellent review! I was waiting for a review on this as I've been thinking about jumping over to water cooling. That review did it, I just ordered one of the "blems" from jab-tech :D

EDIT: Just out of interest, any comments on how fan orientation (push vs. pull, etc.) affects this particular radiator?

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Glad to have helped. And welcome to the small group of crazy people who run water in their PCs. :D

I don't know how fin density affects push/pull behaviour of a radiator. My guess would be that you can go with the results Martin posted some time ago: Link

hey HES great test,

however did you assume the higher RPM values? Because the start you and skinnee match, but towards the end, you guys branch off.

So im kinda lost.

Finally, the XSPC 360..

great review there HESmelaugh :up:

simple review, but with outstanding result...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HESmelaugh

Glad to have helped. And welcome to the small group of crazy people who run water in their PCs. :D

I don't know how fin density affects push/pull behaviour of a radiator. My guess would be that you can go with the results Martin posted some time ago: Link

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I actually just read that yesterday :D. With such a lower fin density, I would hypothesize that it doesn't make much of a difference on the RX360. But anyway I was just wondering; thanks for the reply and the welcome!

Edit: Oops, missed that there was another page here.

@NaeKuh: Thanks.
No, those are all measured values...

I was just writing some explanations when I realized: Skinnee uses Scythe Ultras for his high rpm right?
Seeing that they are 38mm and have a huuuge hub, I'm not surprised if they don't behave the same as my 25-mm-Yate Loons that I use for high rpms. ^^

I've got some news here, too:

Edit: Here is the data from the first post (Water-Ambient delta) shown as bar graphs so you can see the actual, numerical value for each of the radiators at each of the fan speeds.

1. Actual heat load: 289.9W
http://www.abload.de/img/bars300wig93.jpg

2. Actual heat load: 573.1W
http://www.abload.de/img/bars600w8c05.jpg

how are you measuring the heat load?

EDIT: now i see you are using heaters to test.... interesting

I'm measuring the heat load with a wattage measuring thingy that I install in between the socket and the heaters... Damned if I know what that's called in english. ^^

both tc and xspc rads are so close that would hardly make a advantage when cooling you cpu and such, i would go with xspc because i am not gonna pay extra money for the same performance rad

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HESmelaugh

I'm measuring the heat load with a wattage measuring thingy that I install in between the socket and the heaters... Damned if I know what that's called in english. ^^

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watt meter :D

Yup, for 2300RPM and 2800RPM I use Scythe Ultra Kaze (DFS123812H).

HES, what are those graphs in post #28 a measure of? Water Out-Air In delta? :shrug:

edit:
I gotta say, your charts are much better looking than mine. :D

Hey, is it as results of test difference between room temps and water tems like delta T? I have tested my old rad in my room and my temps are pretty good I think compared with this test as I have Black Ice Pro 3 (thin) triple fan rad. I tested with 3 and 6 fans at 5 (800 rpm), 7 (1200 rpm) and 12 (1800 rpm) volts. I tested fan placement as push, pull and push/pull with 6 fans, with 3 fans best was push and all the way 6 fans on push pul is the best.

Here is my test and I want to understad is it worth to upgrade to thicker rad or not, looks like not, no big boost if I understand correctly :ROTF: My room temp is ~ 23 degrees and results are water temps mesured after rad. Heat is from Q6600 @ 3800 1.56v, its aprox 235 wats. Sorry, imige is in my native language, but I think its easy to understand, "velk" means pull and "pūš" as pull! :ROTF:

http://eoz.lv/attachment.php?attachm...7&d=1235424534

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SparkyJJO

watt meter :D

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Ok, now I feel kinda stupid for not coming up with that myself... :p:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by skinnee

Yup, for 2300RPM and 2800RPM I use Scythe Ultra Kaze (DFS123812H).

HES, what are those graphs in post #28 a measure of? Water Out-Air In delta? :shrug:

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I have some 38mm Yate Loons that I was messing around with. They look almost identical to the Ultra Kaze.

Sorry for not clarifying about the graphs. Those are Water (average in and out)-Ambient delta temperatures.
Same data as in the graphs of the first post, but now with the actual numbers for each rad and fan speed.

Kashelz, that's some really good data! Thanks for sharing.

It's hard to compare this to the above data though, simply because I don't know how much of the processor's heat actually gets dumped in the water.
How do you come up wit the estimate of 253W? Seems very high for a CPU.

Very nice review HESmelaugh.
It's good to see the XSPC performing up to scratch. :)

Thanks for clarifying! :up:

Good testing! Nice to see some comparisons for the work we do. I should have the RX write-up done this evening, I do like how we covered different RPM ranges though.

I need to share with you some of the calculations in Excel that will make some of the number crunching easier.

"Those are Water (average in and out)-Ambient delta temperatures"

What is that test method? Whats about avarage? I did when testing just mesure temps out that comes cooled water (max that my temp sensor gave) and useing different rads in same room temp and fans you can easy mesure what is the bes rad from the tests, but whats after all after your mesurments??? :shakes:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by skinnee

Thanks for clarifying! :up:

Good testing! Nice to see some comparisons for the work we do. I should have the RX write-up done this evening, I do like how we covered different RPM ranges though.

I need to share with you some of the calculations in Excel that will make some of the number crunching easier.

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Looking forward to your writeup on this.
And am also eager to learn from your Excel Skillz. :D

Bedtime for me now, but I'll check to see if your report is up tomorrow. :up:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kashelz

"Those are Water (average in and out)-Ambient delta temperatures"

What is that test method? Whats about avarage? I did when testing just mesure temps out that comes cooled water (max that my temp sensor gave) and useing different rads in same room temp and fans you can easy mesure what is the bes rad from the tests, but whats after all after your mesurments??? :shakes:

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Check the first post for a relatively detailed description of my testing methods. I simply average out the temperatures from four separate temperature probes in the water instead of just one. I only do that so that the measuring errors from the sensors get evened out.

And for my testing I use this web site to calculate watage of the CPU, dont know whats the real heat comes out but its warm, at stock load temps is under 50 degrees, now its 69 to 77 depends on fan speed. 2400 Mhz and 1.25v is stock, now its 3800 and 1.56 volts.

http://extreme.outervision.com/tools.jsp#cpuoc

And I think one sensor will not fail, no need to use more than one, as you use the same measurement device and temp. sensor to all rads to test water temp so they are comparable :)

Bravo...Bravo!!!! I love all this awesome and very detailed testing going on, I appreciate all the work it takes, excellent precision and repeated testing!!:clap:

Keep up the awesome work:up:

great job :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HESmelaugh

Thanks. What do you mean by that last line, though? I'm not getting it... :confused:



You can get the numerical values from here: Link.

Oh, I just realized that those aren't all of the numerical values from the test. I'll have to compile the others, too.
But don't add my data to your calculations just yet, because I don't know the actual wattage of my heaters. I'll get a gizmo for measuring that within the next days and then I'll post actual wattage and all of the numericals, ok?

@everyone: Thanks for the encouraging comments. Much appreciated. :)

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He means that you have the water temperature on your chart followed by (K) denoting Kelvin instead of Celsius. I only wish it could cool water that well...

only two of the blem-rads left for $71.95 at Jab-Tech: http://www.jab-tech.com/XSPC-RX360-T...r-pr-4384.html

Quote:

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Originally Posted by defect9

only two of the blem-rads left for $71.95 at Jab-Tech: http://www.jab-tech.com/XSPC-RX360-T...r-pr-4384.html

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Hehehe, yeah! There was 8 or 9 when I ordered on friday night!!:cool: sold out now......

and that deal is GONE!

Congrats everyone who got a deal and is willing to repaint their rads lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by defect9

and that deal is GONE!

Congrats everyone who got a deal and is willing to repaint their rads lol

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It might not need repainting, you don't know how big of a defect the paint has until you get it! You might not have almost any defect at all, now only petras has it in stock now for $94.95...:cool:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by atomic ferret

He means that you have the water temperature on your chart followed by (K) denoting Kelvin instead of Celsius. I only wish it could cool water that well...

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Kelvin is used to describe temperature differences.
Whether I calculate the difference between 20°C and 30°C or the difference between 293.15K and 303.15K doesn't make a difference for the absolute temperatures.

i got one from jab tech and it does not need repainting. looks fine to me.
good review btw. i thought that the rx360 would come close to the PA but not that close. now i am an even happier owner

PA's reign seems to be ending....even the MCR was a full-on competitor in Skinnee's reviews (until higher RPM at least). Granted the MCR and PA have both been out for awhile, but more and more data is coming out progressively now :)

http://www.skinneelabs.com/

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bot@xs

i got one from jab tech and it does not need repainting. looks fine to me.
good review btw. i thought that the rx360 would come close to the PA but not that close. now i am an even happier owner

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I will tell you how mine comes out when it gets here on thursday from jab-tech!;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bot@xs

i got one from jab tech and it does not need repainting. looks fine to me.

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I just received mine... Looks perfectly fine. There are some 'shadows' that look like they were caused by bubble wrap, but from more than an inch or two away, they're not visible :D

Just got mine. It has the paint blemishes, but honestly, a little wet sanding and they'll disappear. They're not as bad as I expected, so I'm happy. and for that price, hell, I'm even happier.

Yeah, mine had some very slight blemishes too, but they hardly show. They aren't even visible on the fotos I made and I wasn't trying to hide them or anything. So I think it wasn't such a big deal in the first place. But of course, this kind of performance plus perfect finish = even more awesome rad!

Glad to hear you guys got some good deals on this.
BTW: More radiator testing is to follow quite soon.
First I have to finish the looooong overdue stacked-radiator testing, though.

Cheers,
Shane

I got mine today also....very light marks..... You can't see them unless you get really close and angle the rad. Here are some pics....
http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/g.../Photo0120.jpg
http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/g.../Photo0121.jpg
http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/g.../Photo0122.jpg

Great review!! Thanks for the hard work you've put into this!!!

It definitely gives me a better idea of just how close the XSPC and the TC are in terms of performance vs the price! Thanx again!

great review, glad i bought one. don't notice any "blemishes" though so that's great too.

the blemishes are very hard to see unless your purposely look for them!!!

Nice, BoD! Have you installed it yet?

I also want to say that the overall build quality of the XSPC RX is really good. It's one of the few radiators I've ever had here where the fin-spacing is absolutely even and perfect all accross the radiator. No dents, on bent fins or anything.

:D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HESmelaugh

Nice, BoD! Have you installed it yet?

I also want to say that the overall build quality of the XSPC RX is really good. It's one of the few radiators I've ever had here where the fin-spacing is absolutely even and perfect all accross the radiator. No dents, on bent fins or anything.

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Going to cut the hole on the bottom of the case for it tomorrow I believe!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HESmelaugh

Nice, BoD! Have you installed it yet?

I also want to say that the overall build quality of the XSPC RX is really good. It's one of the few radiators I've ever had here where the fin-spacing is absolutely even and perfect all accross the radiator. No dents, on bent fins or anything.

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agreed

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...y/100_1640.jpg

Here's a tiny update.

Inspired by Martin's and Skinnee's testing, I tried my hand at some calculations. Here is a comparison between the RX360 and the TC of watts dissipated for a ten degree Water-Ambient temperature difference at the different fan speeds.

I'm not sure if I got this right, so let me know if this looks wrong to you.

http://www.abload.de/img/wp1017m8.jpg

here are some pics of my rx120 and rx360 from jab-tech

here is a pic of some bubblewrap marks on the RX120.
nothing a good rubdown couldn't fix

Looks okay to me. (EDIT: Didn't see that last pic when I posted)
Is it smelly? ^^

Hmmm..nice to see more options out there. I still love my PA120.3 though!

Ordered one today....fed up of waiting for the TFC Xchanger. For a new HAF build :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HESmelaugh

Looks okay to me. (EDIT: Didn't see that last pic when I posted)
Is it smelly? ^^

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Mine was!

Also 2 of the fan holes don't line up by a good 2mm, I can't screw them in but loosing 2 screws doesn't matter as a fan only needs 2 to be solid (Unless you're using one of those crazy ass 3000rpm+ ones)

hmm i might be able to send you a TFC 360 for testing ;)

my build is going to take another 2 weeks so i can spare it

only problem would be shipping...

You're the man! :)

You have PM (on Luxx).

Thank you HESmelaugh for this review , better late than never I guess :) . I am upgrading my rad tommorrow and I was going to by the Feser but my eye was on the XSPC Rx 480 . Athough the difference in price is only $25.00 I think its worth the savings . I have 3 Ultra Kaze fans on my MCR320 QP right now so I will buy 1 more Ultra kaze fan and its a rap on changing rads . Here she is right here ! http://www.jab-tech.com/XSPC-RX-480-...r-pr-4430.html This will be for my Phenom II X4 940 BE and my 2 ATI 4890 GPU wb's which I should have soon . In your opinion do you think I am making a good move purchasing this Rad instead of the Feser X-Changer Quad 120mm Xtreme Performace Rad ? http://www.jab-tech.com/Feser-X-Chan...r-pr-4279.html Thanks for your imput in advance ; )

While I still haven't gotten the chance to test a Feser X-Changer, I would guess that the performance difference between it and an XSPC RX would be small. I don't know which one is better, but I'm sure they are close, so going for the slightly cheaper XSPC RX is a good move, IMO.

I pulled the trigger today and I also got 4 new 2200rpm 120 x 25mm loons at Jab-Tech for $ 3.30 a peice ( fan speed controlled ). I got the XSPC RX480 at performace-Pc's for $124.95 because Jab-Tech didn't have any in stock . I figured the same thing as you HESmelaugh so thats why I pulled the trigger on the RX480 . I will post back with the difference in my Phenom II X4 940 BE temps compared to the temps I had with my Swiftech MCR320 QP Rad . Thanks you HES :)

Thank you HESmelaugh for your time and effort, I do appreciate it!:clap:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pcnazz

I pulled the trigger today and I also got 4 new 2200rpm 120 x 25mm loons at Jab-Tech for $ 3.30 a peice ( fan speed controlled ). I got the XSPC RX480 at performace-Pc's for $124.95 because Jab-Tech didn't have any in stock . I figured the same thing as you HESmelaugh so thats why I pulled the trigger on the RX480 . I will post back with the difference in my Phenom II X4 940 BE temps compared to the temps I had with my Swiftech MCR320 QP Rad . Thanks you HES :)

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I'll be interested to see if you see any temperature difference between the rads (assume both tested with same fans).

(as an aside, I picked up the Magicool Extreme radiator based on HESmelaugh's reviews ... quite impressed with it)

Hi guys , I got the XSPS RX480 today . I installed it using two elbows cause I came up short on tubing that I thought I had but can't seem to find about 3ft that I'm sure is here . I'm not crazy about elbows . Do you guys think my flow will suffer some with two elbow into the rad and out of rad . I'll post back shazza and let you know on my new temps compared to my MCR360 that was on here . I bought 4 2200 rpm 120mm X 25mm loons for this rad . I was using 3 Ultra Kaze 3000 rpm 120mm X 38mm fans and I ran all 3 at 2000 rpm 24/7 . Tell what you think about these elbow please . Thank You ! http://justpurefun.com/forums/viewto...&t=149&start=0

Concerning the elbows: Don't sweat it. Based on Hondacity's and my own tests, I would estimate the elbows reduce flow by about 4-5% in your system. That's nothing to worry about.

Clean! Does it fit on a desk or does the 480 sit too low?

Proud owner of a new RX360 here!

Any problems with flushing them?

@TopFuel
In the past 3 months I have cleaned 8 XSPC rad's . ZERO prob's with any of them being dirty .
I rinse them out with 70% isopropyl alcohol , then two times with hot distilled ..........good to go
j

Okay Hes 4c to 5c i can live live . I see no difference really in the return turbulence in my res . WOW ! This thing is huge compared to my MCR320 QP Swiftech ! . I think its going to be around 3c drop at best if that . I will post when I know for sure . This rad will shine when I add 2 4890 full blocks to the loop I would think . I would recommend not going for any 480 Rad . A 360 Rad is the one to buy . My opinion is only based upon cooling just my cpu .

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HESmelaugh

Concerning the elbows: Don't sweat it. Based on Hondacity's and my own tests, I would estimate the elbows reduce flow by about 4-5% in your system. That's nothing to worry about.

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per fitting? what is the conversion unit?

if its per fitting, thats horrible. Consider the fact on average u need 2, 4 is convience, and 8 is bling.

:X

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pcnazz

Okay Hes 4c to 5c i can live live .

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percent... not C... so its actually less... if he's saying total 4-5%, it means it will only increase your overall temp by a very small amount because 4-5% flow is very small.

Look at my pic NaeKuh you can see where I use only two elbows . Both elbows are out side the case running to and from the rad . I understand what HESmelaugh meant saying 4c to 5c loss in flow rate and I'm sure he based that response on knowing I have two elbows . I assume you agree with that , yes ? Also if I get a nice spacer for in-between rad and fans I could maybe get rid of both elbows . I like to max everything out and if I can pick up even the smallest gain I'm all for it !

Ok, to clarify, I meant a 4-5% loss of flow with both elbows in the loop vs. no elbows in the loop.
If I recall correctly, Hondacity measured a loss of 2.1 percentage points per elbow with 1/2" fittings and I measured a loss of 2.8 percentage points per elbow with 8mm ID fittings (so smaller ID in the fitting makes the elbow more restrictive - makes sense). Not knowing what your tubing size is and allowing for some variation between different fitting-types, I guess two elbows would mean something between 4% and 5% less flow on average.

In practice this would mean, for example, 1.5 GPM without the elbows and about 1.43 GPM with two elbows in the loop. This is all theoretical, of course.
All I really mean to say is:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HESmelaugh

Concerning the elbows: Don't sweat it.

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Do you like using air boxes or other alternative spacing in between fans and Rad ? I have the 2200 rpm 120mm X 25mm loons on the RX480 now all on an Ultra fan controller . I would be able to get rid of those elbow also with a deep enough spacer . I'm looking into them right now and might go for one . Its funny these new loons I got look lost on this Rad . I should of just got one more Ultra Kaze 120mm X 38mm to go with the matching 3 I had on the MCR320 QP Rad .

I change the mount position of the new XSPC RX480 . I did not like using two 1/2in elbows in the loop . For me if there is a 4% to 5% for example loss in cooling performance I need to correct it . I figure if there is something that can be gained its just a no brainer for me . I changed my head mounting it this way now but my 655 should have no trouble with it . The old way looked better but efficiency is # 1 . Any thoughts on this ? http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/r...X480Mod005.jpg

Looks fine. What's your issue with how it looks? Getting rid of elbows = Good News.

Hi Capt Proton , Yes for sure about getting rid of those elbow . First time I ever using them and I lasted maybe 3 days with them . I just got this Rad and I had it hooked up this way at first . http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/r...ad4001-2-1.jpg On the outside of case I used two elbows to make the route in and out of Rad . It bothered be doing it this way cause I was restricting my flow rate . Now I have a much more direct and free flowing loop this new way I mounted it http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/r...0Mod2005-1.jpg . But no I don't care really about the looks I just think it looks better even with the top of my case rather than rising above the case . Which way does it look better mounted to you ?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pcnazz

Hi Capt Proton , Yes for sure about getting rid of those elbow . First time I ever using them and I lasted maybe 3 days with them . I just got this Rad and I had it hooked up this way at first . http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/r...ad4001-2-1.jpg On the outside of case I used two elbows to make the route in and out of Rad . It bothered be doing it this way cause I was restricting my flow rate . Now I have a much more direct and free flowing loop this new way I mounted it http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/r...0Mod2005-1.jpg . But no I don't care really about the looks I just think it looks better even with the top of my case rather than rising above the case . Which way does it look better mounted to you ?

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I like the one with albows the most, but ofc its not as good flow, but not having the rad sticking up ontop of the case is a bonus imo :)

I agree MechOz . It looked really odd to me at first rising above my case . Im getting a little more used to it . I feel very relaxed with the routing of the tubing now and no elbows ! I think the Rad is just to big . I would recommend going with HESmelaugh and his XSPC RX360 instead . My temps are the same now as they were with my Swiftech MCR320 QP Rad ( using 4 high speed loons @ 2000 rpm on RX480 ) ( MCR320 QP was using Ultra Kaze 3000 @ 2000 rpm ) . I have a Phenom II X4 940 BE @ 1.5v @ 3.9 MHz . Theirs only so much an extreme Rad can do when its cooling 1 block . I think that lowest temp is reached on a 360 Rad cooling 1 wb . I have 2 GPU 4890 full blocks coming soon . This RX480 should pay its way then . I hope !

I Put the 4 Ultra kaze 120mm X 38mm 3000rpm on the XSPC RX480 and removed the 120mm X 25mm 2200rpm loons . I ran the kaze at the same rpm as the loons and I am seeing 3c cooler temps than the Swiftech MCR320 QP Rad that had these same kaze fans . I'm curious to see how both Rads do with the 2 4890 wb's added to this loop . The Swiftech MCR320 QP is a huge Bang for your buck for sure . I will let you know how they compare with 2 4890 blocks added to loop . That MCR320 I have will go inside up top of my antec 1200 and will be used to cool my new mother board .

well pcnazz... you'd better not run those Kaze fans @ full speed... I have 2 of them just for testing purposes and they drive me crazy lol :D

That is for sure Garrett . I run all four at 1950 rpm . They are quiet and effective at 2000 rpm and under . I'll put up a new pic of my rig with them . The 38mm depth is what helps the cooling of the rad . Also it put me a little more away from the back of my case to better align the tubes in and out of the rad .