MagiCool XTREME NOVA 1080 ( 9 X 120mm) Radiator

[Marci]

That's the power of marketing and the deception of your own eyeballs over common sense I'm afraid... which exemplifies perfectly half of the problems with the watercooling scene...

Sheet of 2mm steel and a holecutter, edges bent over a table, applied directly to 3x MCR320's side by side.........

Also note, Nexxxos EXTREME core... the nature of the core by default means high pressure fans for most suited performance... whereas logic says with this many fans, you'd want it as quiet as possible, so would've made MUCH more sense to base it off the Pro core. It's back to "if it looks bigger it must be better" marketing method...

[Digz]

Dont know if it's already been posted but here is a review of the XTREME QUAD 480 version.

http://www.cooling-station.net/index...e=tests&id=171






.

[Turtle 1]

I agree with marci 100% here . Although I like the concept the design is just plain bad. Now using say the 160'core and using a crossflow 3 pass design I would say it would be perfect for say very very quit fans and have the ability to cool all things pc related. Dual pass might be ok . but i would preferr 3 pass cross flow . You guys really like these. that surprises me.

Marci could you point me to were I could get some G1/2 bungs Brass??

[zhangmaster12]

sooo, according to marcis analysis, three 120.3 BIP III would be better than 1 of these, correct?

[Turtle 1]

Yes they would. A high flow design would be much better. The use of 2 inlets and 2 outlets isn't I bad idea however but shut off valves should be used to ensure flow to the 2 differant loops could be controlled.

Its like marci said these are 3 rads incorperated as one. Much like Intels quad core C2D design Vs AMD's native design . Not saying Intels design is bad . But a native rad this size would be much superior. Yep a tank is a tank and 3 pass = same thing almost. Its that almost the Marci pointed out.

Had they used a cross flow concept. It would be much better. AS marci would agree I am sure. All they had to do was reverse one of the 2 inlet outlet rads and it would have been a 3 pass crossflow with 10 channels for each section. Marci are you sure that the 2 outside tanks are 10 channels. Looking at the tank configuration it looks to be 5 inlet 5 outlet per section. The tank configuration has me a bit confused.

[Marci]

Marci could you point me to were I could get some G1/2 bungs Brass??

Nope - they're not available...

1/2" BSPP bungs in brass are... which are exactly the same thread / physical characteristics... but nowhere makes them with a rubber O-ring groove and lip.

The "G" standard is just a variation of the BSPP standard, where an O-ring is added, but is isn't a British variation. It's a European variation (ie: Germany), and the demand there only exists for it in a 1/4" size... so G1/4" is available left right n' center. G3/8" we have to have them custom made in quantities of 1000's. G1/2" would have to be custom made in similar quantities, and at the moment there's no-one producing them. The fact that you're the only person I've ever seen ask for G1/2" shows the demand for it is extremely minimal, unless you have a list of 1000's of customers that you'd want to sell them to.

D-Tek would be the people best for you to speak to, but you'd need to commit to a large quantity to get them made.

Dont know if it's already been posted but here is a review of the XTREME QUAD 480 version.

But for our purposes, really it's a relatively useless one. At the end of the day look for reviews of it as the Alphacool Nexxos Extreme - reviews will be much more common and you'll find them of the common footprints that we have apples to apples figures for. It compares a 480 vs a 360... been here before... need to look at everything on a performance-per-fan basis. 9 isn't divisible by 4 if you get my drift...

sooo, according to marcis analysis, three 120.3 BIP III would be better than 1 of these, correct?

Depending upon desired noise yes. Remember, we have to talk about this assuming the exact same fans are in play on all rads involved.
With Panaflo-H fans shaking the desk, then the Nova would outperform 3x BIPIII due to the fin density etc of the cores. But with YateLoon -M fans or slower (Nexus, SilenX etc) then the BIPIII would outperform the Nova.

I'm assuming that for the basis of this discussion we're assuming no-one is gonna whack 9x delta screamers on the rads we're talking about... If we assume we're talking 60cfm airflow per fan or less (and even that's a slightly undesirable level of noise - when you're comparing 9 fans at once I'd say everyone should be on YL L's or Nexus fans for the sake of audible sanity), then three of PA120.3, or MCR320, or BIGTS360, or BIGT-XFlow360, or BIXIII, or NexXxos Pro360 would all beat the Nova.

[Turtle 1]

Thanks much Marci - I found what I was looking for from these guys.

http://www.hatecinc.com/EMB/visual.htm

[septim]

ftw: someone mod 2 or 3 MCRs or even PAs pls...

[Duh]

marci, could you please answer my previous post?

how about using 9x noctua ( dead silent ) @5 v with the beast rad?

cheers

J

[IanY]

marci, could you please answer my previous post?

how about using 9x noctua ( dead silent ) @5 v with the beast rad?

cheers

J

Didn't Marci just give you the answer ? Look about three posts above yours. Slow fans = this Magicool Nova rad gets beaten badly. Fast fans = this Magicool Nova rad is no better than a typical Black Ice, and definitely no where as good as a Thermochill. In sum, this radiator is a horrible buy.

[Turtle 1]

marci, could you please answer my previous post?

how about using 9x noctua ( dead silent ) @5 v with the beast rad?

cheers

J

Your asking a pretty tough question here. Lets say that a rad this size using 9x noctua @5v using a core like the 160's or even the Pa 120.3 x3 I believe the 25cfm would do the job that would be sweat @ 6dB(a)x 9 Even if you had to go up to 12v @ 48cfm @ 17dB(a) it wouldn't be that bad.

We just installed 6 noctua in your case 4 mounted on 160's 2 case fans .
they remained very quit and did a great job of cooling were happy. We haven't installed the resistors yet so we don't know the performance@ 5v.
As it stands right now I am pleased with the results we have.

So basicly 9x @ 5v with that poorly designed rad. I would say positively NO . @ 12v. its a big ????

[phixie]

Hello,

I just bought this radiator a week ago and tested it with some problems at the moment . It only gets hot on the lower side of the rad, not in the middle and top so in my opinion, the water is not flowing within the whole rad. Is this normal?
I use my watercooling in the following order:

Reservoir: aquacomputer aquatube
Pump: hydor L30seltz II
Rad: nova 1080 + 9xYate loon D12SL-12
Cpu: E6600
Gpu: 8800gtx
Reservoir
Tubing is 8/10.

Cpu clocked at 3150 at 1.3v, gpu on stock giving me temps as following:

Cpu idle 65°C, Load 80+ !
Gpu idle 62°C, Load 70+

Hope someone can help me...

Gr,
Phix

[Duh]

have you compared the performance with other rad we know? We are more concerned about it rather than rad temp :p

forgot to ask: how about the flow coming out of it?

[phixie]

before this, i had a WC from Waterchill, changed the original antartica CPU block into a alphacool nexxxos XP 775. The rad was a Black ice pro 2 with 2 adda fans. It kept my cpu cool at 40°C idle and 62°C load.
Right now, i added a gtx to the loop but can it make this difference, particulary as u know i upgraded the rad from 2x120 to 9x120?

Don' t have a flow meter, so i really don' t know sorry

[Marci]

Too many changes to attribute performance differences to anything in particular. Change one thing at once and note the differences. Change more than one thing at once, and it's anybody's guess.

[phixie]

problem right now is i sold all my waterchill stuff.
is it possible my rads connections are wrong? Because no manual was shipped with it, i just tried it. On one outer connection, i pump the water in, linked the middle connections, and from the other outer connection i go to my cpu. But as i allready mentioned, the lower side is Hot, all above it is Cold.

[entropy]

Didn't Marci just give you the answer ? Look about three posts above yours. Slow fans = this Magicool Nova rad gets beaten badly. Fast fans = this Magicool Nova rad is no better than a typical Black Ice, and definitely no where as good as a Thermochill. In sum, this radiator is a horrible buy.

Are you suggesting fast fans on a PA120.3 would beat fast fans on this in thermal dissipation?

I'm no expert, but I'm sure even Marci would concede on this point. Most people are better off with the PA120.3 b/c low fpi, pressure drop, etc. I have one myself. But if you had to cool two computers or something, a radiator this size might be nice @ $150. Bad design though as previously mentioned...

is it possible my rads connections are wrong? Because no manual was shipped with it, i just tried it. On one outer connection, i pump the water in, linked the middle connections, and from the other outer connection i go to my cpu. But as i allready mentioned, the lower side is Hot, all above it is Cold.

Disconnect your wc system. Pump through inlet and see where water comes out. Connect all parts. Check flowrate with bucket of water.

[Marci]

I'm no expert, but I'm sure even Marci would concede on this point. Most people are better off with the PA120.3 b/c low fpi, pressure drop, etc. I have one myself. But if you had to cool two computers or something, a radiator this size might be nice @ $150. Bad design though as previously mentioned...

No... I won't... people seem to be blatantly MISSING my point. I would NEVER recommend THIS radiator, when you can purchase 3x MCR320's for less money and pipe them in series, and outperform the Magicool. I would recommend anyone considering the above simply went out and bought 3x MCR320s, or 3 of any other radiator that rank higher than the Nexxxos core upon which this Magicool radiator is based. We are not comparing the above radiator to a SINGLE PA120.3 or a SINGLE MCR320. We are comparing the Magicool 9x120 to THREEx PA120.3 or THREEx MCR320 (thus same frontal area in all cases) - both these options would outperform the Magicool. How many times and how many different ways does it need saying before this sinks in?

[newls1]

No... I won't... people seem to be blatantly MISSING my point. I would NEVER recommend THIS radiator, when you can purchase 3x MCR320's for less money and pipe them in series, and outperform the Magicool. I would recommend anyone considering the above simply went out and bought 3x MCR320s, or 3 of any other radiator that rank higher than the Nexxxos core upon which this Magicool radiator is based. We are not comparing the above radiator to a SINGLE PA120.3 or a SINGLE MCR320. We are comparing the Magicool 9x120 to THREEx PA120.3 or THREEx MCR320 (thus same frontal area in all cases) - both these options would outperform the Magicool. How many times and how many different ways does it need saying before this sinks in?

Exactly.............Just some common sense needs to play a roll here

[entropy]

I thought he was comparing one PA120.3 to the 1080, which I know is unfair in terms of size.

Anyway, I'm considering running 3x PA120.3 on my next case mod. My question for Marci, is should I run them parallel or in series? I plan on cooling just about everything in the case that I can. I already have a ddc-2.

I'm also looking into copper car radiators, which I can find cheap and at a low fpi. My only concern is that they are single pass and a PITA to mount. Plus my high-restriction loop wouldn't work well with the single-pass because I couldn't get anywhere near turbulent flow rates.

PM me if I'm getting too off topic.

[Marci]

Have a search for Turtle1's thread on parallel vs series within this section - that covers it in depth...

[Monkeywoman]

i could mod that into my car!

[gmcg]

Marci, no doubts you are an expert here and I am a nOOb, therefore I still don't understand why do we need to compare 120.3x3 with 1080, the price for 1 120.3 ($134) is almost equal to 1 1080 ($149) here in the US?

We also need to take in consideration mail delivery costs, for 3 boxes it will be significantly more than for 1.

It should be enough to use 1080 with 3xSLI OC cards + OC CPU and silent fans, why do we need to care that 3xPA120.3 will perform better if 1080 will still be enough and perform better (less temp diff/noise) for such setup than 1xPA120.3, while max dissipation needed will be around 700W - all together?

It is very convenient to have one piece with sexy looking grills instead of 3 rads ... unless someone doesn't care about the design and wants only performance ... or uses a big case with all 3 rads inside.

IMO we shouldn't just blame worse engineered stuff looking for non-perfections and comparing to better items, we need to take in consideration the technical task terms, design and economics (including locations), should we?

That's exactly what it is - it's 3x Alphacool Nexxxos Extreme 360 cores (ie: Magicool 360 cores rebadged to Alphacool) with modified endtanks, with a wrapper around them for fan mounting (with no rebadging). That's it, plain and simple.

One more question - if 1080 is 3 x Alphacool NexXxos Extreme III (rev 2, as it is quite new), how come the weight of it is only 4000g while weight of one Alphacool NexXxos Extreme III is equal to 1750g? The weight of 4 removed side frames+2 ports couldn't be 1250g, could it? Did I miss anything here?

[STEvil]

Marci, no doubts you are an expert here and I am a nOOb, therefore I still don't understand why do we need to compare 120.3x3 with 1080, the price for 1 120.3 ($134) is almost equal to 1 1080 ($149) here in the US?

We also need to take in consideration mail delivery costs, for 3 boxes it will be significantly more than for 1.

gmcg - $50 for MCR320's in US/Canada. Shipping will depend on the BOX used as all 3 MCR320's can be put in one.

we need to take in consideration the technical task terms, design and economics (including locations), should we?

You didnt. I agree PA's are expensive here but MCR's, BIX's, and others are not. Performance will be better with just about any of them and within margin of error for price difference. They also offer more versatility in installation.

[dunn2953]

i would recommend not disagreeing with MARCI on your first post