Hey guys,
those of you interested in reading this roundup are probably a group of those people, that prefer their enviroment to be as silent as possible or are running a lot of up-to-date hardware that has to be cooled properly.
Normal radiators often reach their limit when cooling up-to-date hardware, especially in summer and that’s why people request bigger radiators. When the first “monster-radiators” for up to nine radiators got released, there was a lot of criticism because you couldn’t use all the performance, but it turned out that they become more and more popular. That’s why it’s no surprise that Watercool comes up with the new MO-RA 3 models, of which I want to present two of and test them against their predecessor MO-RA 2. Also competing we will find another popular radiator made by Phobya: the Nova 1080, which doesn’t have to hide when compared to the models by Watercool and can also be expanded with a lot of accessoires, but we’ll get to that later.
Let’s start with presenting the candidates:
UPDATE :
Phobya Xtreme SUPERNOVA 1260 Radiator
Phobya strikes back ! This brandnew Supernova Radiator climbs on top of the charts ! The little brother, Phobya 1080 brings a very good performance and has many fans around the world, but this one even beats the Big Mora 3 for 140mm fans !
The good thing is: You can mount 140mm or 200mm/220mm fans and both fangrills are included in the package ! There is a separate Rad Holder available, which gives this Monster a safe stand on your desk or on the floor.
Well, the performance is really impressive, because of the 6x G 1/4" Threads, even a 2- or 3 Loop Watercooling System is no problem for this big black thing !
The overall build quality is ok, but hey, Mora 3 Series looks and "feels" better at all, because of their stainless steel grill and german craftmanship.
But when you´re in the market for the BEST Radiator available when it comes to the performance, this Phobya Xtreme Supernova 1260 Radiator is the one for you !
Technical data:
Size: 460x420x46mm
Threads: 6x G 1/4"
Fins per centimeter: 5
Screw threads: M3
Weight: around 5000g
Price: 180 EUR
The Phobya Xtreme Supernova 1260 Radiator earns the GOLD AWARD for it´s awesome performance !
Watercool MO-RA 2 PRO
For those of you who didn’t know it already: MO-RA stands for “Monsterradiator” and this model was succeeded by the MO-RA 3 by now. Still I want this radiator to take part in this roundup, as a lot of units of it are around and there are probably a lot of people upgrading from this one who want to know the differences in performance to other radiators of this size.
The MO-RA2 is a radiator made out of tubes, which is, as far as I know, a kind of radiator building only used by Watercool and makes it a lot easier to get the air out of the system.
Size: 39 x 5,7 x 41.5 cm
Threads: 2x G 1/4"
Fins per centimeter: 6
Weight: ca. 5000 g
Fan size: 9x 120 mm
Pressure tested: 2 Bar
4x M4x8 mm allen screws
4x M4x20 mm spacers, steel
4x spacers
1x allen key
Price: around 120 € + fan grill around 30 €
> This radiator isn’t produced anymore! <
Phobya Xtreme NOVA 1080
Phobya continues their popular radiator series with this oversized Phobya Xtreme NOVA 1080. While their smaller models scored well in former reviews, this model doesn’t change that at all. When in factory setting, it can suck up up to nine 120mm fans with the fan grill it comes with. Other grills are also available at extra charge just like with the MO-RA3, offering mounts for 4x180mm or mounting fans on both side of the radiator. Furthermore, stands has also been made available. The user Cartago2202@HWluxx.de has also presented the 4x180mm grill before, I’ll also include a few of his pictures for illustration. But let’s get to the most important part of the Phobya Xtreme NOVA 1080: its performance. It doesn’t have to hide when tested against its competitors. The Nova 1080 performs as well as the MO-RA2 and isn’t too far behind the 120mm version of the newer MO-RA3. When it comes to build quality, you have to lower your sights when comparing, but when you look at the price, that’s around 35€ less than the cheapest MO-RA radiator, you can just ignore the slightly worse paint and the simple fan grill.
Overall, the buyer gets a product, that’s very suited for current high end systems with several graphics cards.
By the way: the radiator is now available in a new revision that comes with a black fan grill!
Technical data:
Size: 36 x 5 x 38.5 cm
Threads: 2x G 1/4"
Fins per centimeter: 5
Screw threads: M3
Weight: around 2745g
Price: around 90 EUR
+ fan grills for 180mm fans or additional 120mm fans
The user Cartago2202 has presented the grill for 180mm fans and the fitting radiator stands in the following link (in German):
http://www.hardwareluxx.de/community...se-751693.html
The Phobya Xtreme NOVA 1080 radiator gets the award for value for money!
And the Bronze Award for the third place in performance:
MO-RA 3 PRO (Version for up to 18x 120mm fans)
Let’s get to the successor of the successful MO-RA2 radiator, that was very popular for several years. The older versions required a grill sold at extra charge to mount fans and stands weren’t available at all. Apart from a lot of other changes, this was also addressed when Watercool released the new MO-RA3 series. But, of course, they’ve also improved the performance.
The MO-RA3 is the result of further developments based on the MO-RA2. The performance was improved and a few more features have been introduced. More than 36 m of copper pipes and 3 m˛ fins are in every single MO-RA3.
The coolant flows simultaneously in 80 pipes. The new, high-flow fitting-socket with three G1/4” threads also enables you to use, for example, a reservoir or a fillport directly at the radiator. While a fan grill isn’t necessary anymore, you can still buy one for visual improvements and is available in several designs and colors. The available stands are also available in clear or black.
The MO-RA3 is available in several variants, from models for 9/18 120mm fans, versions for 4x180mm fans up to the mega radiator for 9/18 140mm fans.
Just as known from the old MO-RA2, the build quality is good an d the performance outstanding. Even high-end-systems can easily be cooled with the MO-RA3.
The MO-RA3 comes with everything required to start at once. The scope of delivery includes caps to seal the unused threads, fan screws and of course also spacers to mount the radiator on the case.
Using the flexible modular design, the MO-RA3 can be customized according to your wishes. There are several fan grills, fan controllers, stands and external mounts.
Technical Data:
Material inside: Pipes copper, fins Aluminum
Material case: Steel, stainless steel
Size : 415 x 383 x 65mm
Weight: around 6000g
Pressure tested: 5 Bar
Surface: black powder painted
Threads: 6x G1/4”
Scope of delivery:
1x MO-RA3 9x120 PRO
4x Sealing caps G1/4”
4x Spacers M4x20mm
1x Set fan screws (72 pieces)
1x Manual
Price: around 150 EUR
This radiator was able to perform second best in the performance section and receives the Silver Award for this:
MO-RA 3 PRO (Version for up to 18 140mm fans)
The big brother of the MO-RA3 radiator for 120mm fans tested before offers spots for 140mm fans. As we’res testing the PRO-version right here, we can mount nine of them on each side, so up to 18 fans on one radiator. Up until now, there is only one fan grill available and the radiator only comes in one color: black, while other versions are probably coming soon. The stands for the 120mm version can conviently also be used for this version.
Because of the bigger fans and the bigger radiator size we can once again see a better performance. For those of us who can’t have a radiator big enough or who want to have the performance of their dreams, this is the fitting radiator. Before releasing this radiator, the manufacturer asked the users in their forum for voting for several sizes. This was implemented in the final version – a nice option which should be used by other manufacturers in the future – it’s always nice to be part of the development of a product while only being a consumer after all.
Technical data:
Material inside: Pipes copper, fins Aluminum
Material case: Steel, stainless steel
Size : 475 x 430 x 65mm
Weight: around 7700g
Pressure tested: 5 Bar
Surface: black powder painted
Threads: 6x G1/4”
Scope of delivery:
1x MO-RA3 9x140 PRO
4x Sealing caps G1/4”
4x Spacers M4x20mm
1x Set fan screws (72 pieces)
1x Manual
Price: around 180 EUR
The MO-RA3 Pro for up to 18 140mm fans is currently the lonely top of the radiators and receives the Gold Award because of this.
Let’s take a look at all the available accessoires for the MO-RA3 series:
Watercool MO-RA3 420 Wall/Case-mount - Price: around 25 EUR
Watercool MO-RA3 Blende Classic Black - around 34 EUR
Watercool MO-RA3 Blende Classic White - around 34 EUR
Watercool MO-RA3 Blende Rhombus Stainless Steel - around 34 EUR
Watercool MO-RA3 Blende Rhombus Black - around 34 EUR
Watercool MO-RA3 Blende Rhombus White - around 34 EUR
Watercool MO-RA3 420 Blende Classic black - around 38 EUR
Watercool MO-RA3 Stand transparent - around 24 EUR
Watercool MO-RA3 Stand black - around 24 EUR
Testsystem & the way I tested:
Banchetto 101 Bench Station by Microcool
Gigabyte GA EX58 Extreme & GA-X58A-UD7 Mainboard (With special thanks to Gigabyte for providing the UD7-Board!)
Mips Fusionblock Nickel
i7 920 @4Ghz @1.40V (Bios setting)
CPU Block: Watercool Heatkiller 3.0
Cougar GX 1050 PSU
Corsair XMS3 Dominator DIMM Kit 6GB PC3-12800U CL7-7-7-20 (DDR3-1600)
2x EVGA GTX480 VGA-cards (run at stock settings)
2x Aquacomputer aquagraFX for GTX 480 (GF100) nickel plated version
Noiseblocker PL2 (120mm) and Noiseblocker PK2 (140mm) fans
Aquaero VFD
2x Laing DDC+ Pump with Aquacomputer Aquacover Dual DDC top
EK Waterblocks EK Multioption reservoir 250mm Advanced
Aquacomputer flow sensor High Flow
Koolance VL3N quick release couplings & CPC Metall quick release couplings
Masterkleer & Primochill 16/10 tubing + Perfect Seal and Bitspower fittings
3x watertemp sensors (2x T-Line, 1x in the reservoir)
1x dig. Sensor in the reservoir for calibrating
Filter by Aquacomputer
Gelid Extreme thermal paste
Innovatek Protect Ready-to-use
ArctiClean
To put maximum load at the CPU, Prime95 (small FFTs) was used in the newest version; to measure the temperatures I used the Aquasuite. These temperature measurements were done after no less than 60 minutes in 5 planned intervals of 5 minutes.
I also ran Furmark at the same time to load the EVGA GTX480 VGA-cards.
The most interesting value in this test was the difference in temperature (Delta T) of room temperature to water temperature of the water exiting the radiator. This value shows the cooling performance of the radiator very well by showing how well the radiator can use the room temperature to cool down the water. The less this difference is, the better the radiator performed. The results should easily be understandable for the interested user, so I’ll only add the values for flowrates and the values at different fan speeds.
Testresults:
Fanspeed: 600 RPM/Min.
Difference (Delta T) from room temperature to water temperature. The less, the better.
Flowrate in Liter:
Liter / hour. The more, the better.
Final Conclusion
One thing is clear: All the radiators in this roundup offer brute cooling performance for all current and watercool systems coming up. When you decide to buy one of them, you’ll have more than enough performance for years to come and so the high price of some of them might be more understandable for a lot of you, as you won’t have to upgrade for a time.
Being a long-time watercooler with a lot of watercooling systems having gone through my hands, I know that you’ll never stick to a radiator when buying your first system. The demands increase and that’s why the first radiator will never be enough. When having been infected with the watercooling-virus, it might be a good idea to directly look at these radiators instead of buying a smaller one at first.
Espcially when looking for an especially silent working environment, these radiators are especially recommended. For example, for everyday-use, the fans on them can be deactivated and only used when the performance becomes necessary, getting another step closer to the completely silent PC.
Even when running high-end-systems in summer, letting the fans spin at slow RPM is enough when using these radiators to achieve good temperatures. The test system used here has been chosen especially with the high wattage in mind, while this amount of wattage doesn’t occur in real life, so you’ll still have a lot of reserves. Using socalled quick-release –couplings, the monster radiators can be disconnected from the PC and be taken to LAN-parties without problems or changing parts of the watercooling, for example the coolant.
Because of the several color- and size-variants and the accessoires like the stands or fan grills for fans of different sizes, the manufacturers offer a wide range of possibilities for the buyer. Furthermore, a fan-controller for the MO-RA-models has also been announced, that can be integrated into the radiators, also improving the wiring of the fans.
Special thanks:Thanks go out to the following companies for helping me with this roundup: Aquatuning , Phobya , www.watercool.de, EVGA , GIGABYTE , MIPS-Computer.de ,Noiseblocker , Aqua Computer , Corsair, COUGAR , www.koolance.com , www.caseking.de and the users cartago2202 (pictures) & Axelfpeace (logodesign)[/QUOTE]
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by To(V)bo Co(V)bo
Bookmarks