Test Report: XSPC RX120

[Waterlogged]

Nice job skinnee

Thanks for testing my favorite sized rad first

I'll have to see how many of my builds will actually fit these little beasts.

[saxile]

thats a pretty broad statement. i doubt any company will ever dominate in every aspect....

Not really, they already make the best top for the DDC 3.X, now one of the top Rads, their blocks are up there and with minor tweaking could be on the top, not much else for them to do to be completely on top.

[Zeus]

Will this be the end for Thermochill? G1/4 thread, normal fan spacing and a decent paint job....hmmmm

[Dangals]

top work mate - a lot of effort went into this and it shows!!

Keep it up

[Waterlogged]

Not really, they already make the best top for the DDC 3.X, now one of the top Rads, their blocks are up there and with minor tweaking could be on the top, not much else for them to do to be completely on top.

...BUT...they have had QC issues in the past. If they can completely solve those, they will have a rather decent lineup.

Will this be the end for Thermochill? G1/4 thread, normal fan spacing and a decent paint job....hmmmm

Doubt it, there are still die hards out there that will use nothing but TC rads. Lets not forget, they still have the PA160 that no one else even makes. I'm waiting for DD or Jab-Tech to get some in stock so I can buy 2. If the rumors are true, I wish they'd hurry up and release the new rads already.

[mattkosem]

i'd sell my feser 480 for one of these, if they made a 4 x 120 solution..

Seriously. I'd but a RX480 right now if they made one. How disappointing.

The current selection of 4x120mm rads really leaves something to be desired. GTX480 needs too much CFM, TFC480 costs too much, Magicool...well...sucks, and I've not seen any solid data on the Koolance quad. An RX480 at ~$100-120 US would be perfect.

--Matt

[saxile]

...BUT...they have had QC issues in the past. If they can completely solve those, they will have a rather decent lineup.

but, if they learn from their mistakes and make sure that it doesn't happen again and get people like skinnee to go over their products I don't see them having much problems in that department. I love the fact that others are getting in the high end gear which will help companies like Feser and TC to push their stuff harder and harder to get better performance and help keep prices down. Just my

[Sparky]

One more thing on the topic of fins, the more I looked at the fins, something else seemed different. I tried capturing this in a photo but could not get the photo quality to really show what I saw ( I will keep trying though), the fins are split between the tubes. I have never noticed if this is the same on other radiators optimized for low speed fans. I will have to look closer next time I have a low speed fan optimized radiator in my hands.

Do you mean the fin wasn't solid for the whole depth of the rad, but had slits in it? My MCR320 is like that.

[skinnee]

Thanks for the kind words and feedback everyone, I truly appreciate the feedback and will try to incorporate it into further tests and reviews.

Very thorough and good review!

how confident is the extrapolation below 1000 rpms (in the last graph, heat dissipation)?

I wouldn't look too much into it

As Vapor said...it is a trendline and above or below the actual plotted data points are forecasts/predictions based on the data being plotted. It is probably close, but as to a confidence factor I could not say. I've been trying to find a way in Excel to calculate confidence factor like I can in other Statistical Analysis apps, but I have not found a method to do so yet.

Excellent review. Thank you for taking the time to do this and I see you are using Martin's format, which is a very nice layout.

Yeah, as I wrote in the Methodology/Specification section, Martin set the standard on the format and methods. Until I find something that doesn't work or could be improved, Martin's standard is the one I plan on following.

Wasn't expecting anything less from Paul - I would also liek to add that tthat was a prototype rad - the real deal had further improvements made!

Paul mentioned that, I am trying to find out what exactly was tweaked.

Do you mean the fin wasn't solid for the whole depth of the rad, but had slits in it? My MCR320 is like that.

The fins have small little slits in them, just the PA's and MCR's I have. But what I was trying to say (poorly I might add) was that for each tube there is a dedicated set of fins. There are three rows tubes for the depth of the rad and 3 rows of fins, one per row of tubes. The MCR series has a single row of tubes and the PA has two rows of tubes and I do not remember seeing two rows of fins for the PA. Does that help clarify?

I'll try to get a pic that shows what I mean.

[jollyjoker]

Great review thanks

[Sparky]

The fins have small little slits in them, just the PA's and MCR's I have. But what I was trying to say (poorly I might add) was that for each tube there is a dedicated set of fins. There are three rows tubes for the depth of the rad and 3 rows of fins, one per row of tubes. The MCR series has a single row of tubes and the PA has two rows of tubes and I do not remember seeing two rows of fins for the PA. Does that help clarify?

Oh ok I understand now. Yep that helps, thanks

[Vapor]

As Vapor said...it is a trendline and above or below the actual plotted data points are forecasts/predictions based on the data being plotted. It is probably close, but as to a confidence factor I could not say. I've been trying to find a way in Excel to calculate confidence factor like I can in other Statistical Analysis apps, but I have not found a method to do so yet.

With only 5 data points dictating a trendline with a (visually) low R^2 value, even the interpolative confidence level isn't great.

If you could get any data at low RPMs (400-500RPM), it'd probably go a long way toward contributing to the shape of the curve at low RPMs

In this case, I think it's close (because the rad is designed for low airflow), but in situations where a radiator can be easily airflow starved....data at very low airflow levels goes a long way toward showing the shape of the curve

Again, great review skinnee

EDIT: is it just me or are the trendlines different on the various 10CdT graphs?

[skinnee]

With only 5 data points dictating a trendline with a (visually) low R^2 value, even the interpolative confidence level isn't great.

If you could get any data at low RPMs (400-500RPM), it'd probably go a long way toward contributing to the shape of the curve at low RPMs

In this case, I think it's close (because the rad is designed for low airflow), but in situations where a radiator can be easily airflow starved....data at very low airflow levels goes a long way toward showing the shape of the curve

Well said! Yes, anytime you add data near or modify your spec limits that will start to change the regression/trendline.

EDIT: is it just me or are the trendlines different on the various 10CdT graphs?

Yes...nice catch. The single 10CdT is a Power trendline and the comparison is a 2nd order polynomial. The R^2 value is +/- 0.0007 between the two different regression/trendline types.

[pika198]

Insane rads for a super price

http://www.tilatech.com/xspcrx120.html - 120
http://www.tilatech.com/xspcrx240.html - 240
http://www.tilatech.com/xspcrx360.html - 360

I think TC and Feser need to rethink their prices.

[combatus]

Brilliant job, very informative. Great to see some reliable results for these new rads at last and they're worth waiting for! Thanks Skinnee

[situman]

Maybe I missed it, but how does it compare to a TC? I have an old ass beat up PA120.3. Maybe the RX360 would be a good replacement?

[Chruschef]

Not really, they already make the best top for the DDC 3.X, now one of the top Rads, their blocks are up there and with minor tweaking could be on the top, not much else for them to do to be completely on top.

their res's aren't that great.. aluminum/vortex issues . their waterblocks aren't even consider one of the best, not to say that it isn't good. it just isn't considered one of the greatest.

good company though.

[pika198]

their res's aren't that great.. aluminum/vortex issues . their waterblocks aren't even consider one of the best, not to say that it isn't good. it just isn't considered one of the greatest.

good company though.

Their new V3 Delta has gotten good reviews and compares to a fuzion V2 and is slightly less performance then the GTZ, but at half the price

[Mick64]

Nice testing skinnee! I use XSPC kit and I think it's superb quality at a good price. I'm happy to see that you feel the same. Keep up the good work...

[Chruschef]

Their new V3 Delta has gotten good reviews and compares to a fuzion V2 and is slightly less performance then the GTZ, but at half the price

that wasn't my point, the point was it isn't renowned.

[exe163]

Good lord orgy review~ XSPC does the pricing right in responds to our economy while not losing it's performance. It pretty much RX360 I am expecting around 80 will be a great buy if the performance is scales right.

[jab-tech]

i'd sell my feser 480 for one of these, if they made a 4 x 120 solution..

Maybe they will make a 480

[twwen2]

Great review skinee!

Looks like a great rad at a nice price point too.

[Cathar]

Nice, well detailed review. Well done.

Now, if we could convince you to start measuring other competing radiators of a similar size, and then grow the thick skin to weather the jibes, you'll be providing a great service to the community.

(My apologies if you've posted other similar threads that I've not yet seen.)

[iandh]

Nice, well detailed review. Well done.

Now, if we could convince you to start measuring other competing radiators of a similar size, and then grow the thick skin to weather the jibes, you'll be providing a great service to the community.

(My apologies if you've posted other similar threads that I've not yet seen.)

I was reading your posts in the other thread regarding 8fpi designs at TC; I had always wondered why someone didn't loosen up the fin count a little in the recent past- with the migration towards low RPM fans and silence that we've seen.

I also agree very much with your point about watercooling today's hardware, although it is a fun tinker, it is pretty hard to justify for anything other than fun when my system already demolishes all the apps I throw at it at stock speeds.