3/8 vs 1/2 inch Tubing, is bigger better?

[vhaarr]

I still think it just came down to them getting it wrong this time and not posting those results because the editor thinks that's what we want to read.

Indeed, eth0s could be right about magazines in general (but I don't think he is, since in the end you just shoot yourself in the foot by not being honest), but in this case noone gains from this sort of statement.

They're probably new to testing extensive cooling equipment and have to get their feet wet! I wonder how many times that joke has been pulled in here?!

[penguins]

They're only stuck 7 - 8 years in the past. they should add water wetter.

[Sideroxylon]

The author of the Maximum PC article has posted some responses. It's worth looking at...Build It: Three Water-Cooling Techniques Detailed and Constructedd

[Manicdan]

They're only stuck 7 - 8 years in the past. they should add water wetter.

lol that stuff brings back memories

The author of the Maximum PC article has posted some responses. It's worth looking at...Build It: Three Water-Cooling Techniques Detailed and Constructedd

what a funny review, nothing about it makes sense...

• why spend 150$ on quick disconnects?
• MCP655 is 105? where at, id love to pay 30$ over other sites.
• how did they find a 7c difference between top blocks? our experts see like 1-2c difference.
• a 10c increase on 2/3" tubing means they messed up somewhere else
• dont double on on rads, lol, sure lets quadfire on a single H70, cause one is more than enough, nomatter how thick or wide.
• special coolants sure might not improve temps, but they serve other purposes too that obviously mean nothing.
• wheres the fan noise comparison? cause thats a MAJOR reason people go for WC

[Sideroxylon]

In his comments he's actually stating almost a 15c swing in temps when using 1/2" over 3/8" tubing.

[StAndrew]

The author of the Maximum PC article has posted some responses. It's worth looking at...Build It: Three Water-Cooling Techniques Detailed and Constructedd

I cant stand Maximum PC... A bunch of amateurs.

[QuadDamage]

Yeah Maximum PC is like FM forums these days. They would prolly use this crappy article as a proof to their ridiculous claims that bigger tubing is indeed a lot better. Like a LOT better.

edit : oh yeah i even used a 5/16" i think tubing that came with a Zalman Res-X unit and the difference in temps in my loop (i7/GTX480/chipset/480mm rad area) was minimal at best.

[brammers]

In his comments he's actually stating almost a 15c swing in temps when using 1/2" over 3/8" tubing.

I hate to say it, but I just got my GTX580 to drop 25C by going back to 7/16 from 3/8 tubing.

I'm not saying they are good reviewers ... but even a broken clock is right twice a day.

J

[StAndrew]

^ theres no way the tube size made that much difference. Somthing else was the problem.

[brammers]

I swear the only things that changed were the tubing size and the fittings to go with it.

J

[Manicdan]

what were the before/after temps and whats all in the loop?

i wonder if you went from .1gpm to like .3gpm, both low numbers but you might have been too restrictive to start

[brammers]

More details here (I don't want to thread hijack)...

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=267645

[SlowSVT]

Going to a larger tube size is not likely to lower temps unless the tubing was too small to begin with and impedes the volume of water circulating within the loop. The larger tube size should decrease the resistance the pump must overcome. I used 1/2" ID tube throughout my system. I don't think you can go wrong here by going BIG!

[Waterlogged]

The author of the Maximum PC article has posted some responses. It's worth looking at...Build It: Three Water-Cooling Techniques Detailed and Constructedd

I see only 1 thing they got right.

5. F%@& Fluid

If you buy expensive fluid expecting it to be the elixir of the gods for your water-cooling setup, you’ll be disappointed. In our tests, $2 distilled water worked just as well as the most expensive water-cooling fluid we could find—$50 a bottle.

otherwise...I need to a larger version of Biker's avatar

[Manicdan]

More details here (I don't want to thread hijack)...

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=267645

i briefly read over it, interesting experience there. and i dont think your hijacking this thread, since its all about how 3/8" is negligible, but yet you have a valid case where it was an issue.

your simple issue probably provides us more information than that 3 page review

i would think that when you have that many components you would want a flow meter of some kind (are there cheap options that give you a useful quantity of speed? and not that little thing that just spins and you cant tell how fast)

and did someone do a test about spread out pumps so the order would be
something > something > pump > something > something > pump >
vs
something > something > something > something > pump > pump >
and how much flow is changed?

[shazza]

*sigh* ... I don't think there is any way to win this one ...

[MagisD]

I wana see them go liquid nitrogen, that way I can try out my new popcorn maker.

Sent from my X10a using Tapatalk

[eth0s]

The author of the Maximum PC article has posted some responses. It's worth looking at...Build It: Three Water-Cooling Techniques Detailed and Constructedd

@ Sideroxylon: Well, at least we can agree that Maximum PC suxx.

@ everybody: As for the actual debate of 3/8" v. 1/2" tubing, IMHO bigger tubing is always going to be better for cooling performance. But some people need to use 3/8" for tighter bends. Or b/c they like the way it looks, which are both valid reasons to use it.

@ brammers: maybe you got such great results, b/c you switched to 1/2" fittings. Those 3/8" fittings themselves could easily have been the most restrictive points in your loop, other than your CPU block. Getting rid of those 3/8" fittings maybe gave you a huge increase in flow rate. But I don't know, maybe it was something else, like re-seating the block(s), getting rid of accumulated dust, a change in air flow, or maybe it was a combination of things, in addition to the bigger tubing and fittings. (lower ambients always help too!)

[brammers]

@ brammers: maybe you got such great results, b/c you switched to 1/2" fittings. Those 3/8" fittings themselves could easily have been the most restrictive points in your loop, other than your CPU block. Getting rid of those 3/8" fittings maybe gave you a huge increase in flow rate. But I don't know, maybe it was something else, like re-seating the block(s), getting rid of accumulated dust, a change in air flow, or maybe it was a combination of things, in addition to the bigger tubing and fittings. (lower ambients always help too!)

Agreed on the fittings. All else remained the same. I suspect you'd see a lot less difference if you put 3/8 tube over 1/2 barbs and compared it to 1/2 (or 7/16) over 1/2 barbs.

For the record, I'm not doubting Vapor's superb comparison on tubing sizes. Just saying what I found.

J

[Sideroxylon]

@ Sideroxylon: Well, at least we can agree that Maximum PC suxx. )

Sorry, but I don't agree with you on that. I was actually bummed when I read this article. I enjoy the mag and have based many of my past purchases on their reviews.

In this case they just flat out got many things wrong. They need to stick with hardware reviews and stay away from cooling. It's apparent that their knowledge and testing abilities/methodologies are sorely lacking.

[shazza]

welllll, after thinking about it, I posted a comment on the article. Martin210 came along later and posted a great comment.

I'm not at all suggesting we join forces to post comments (in fact, I think that is expressly against XS forum rules) ... but, if anyone does add a comment, please take a constructive approach.

I don't hate Maximum PC because of this article (it's not the first one on Water Cooling that hasn't been quite right). They do have good info on other stuff. I truly believe it's a matter of inexperience in cooling, and not malicious intent to misinform.

[tw33ter]

Cathar tested this about 4 years ago...


http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=147767

[brammers]

Cathar tested this about 4 years ago...


http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=147767

My bad, thought it was Vapor.