Does a second radiator really help?

[racpuc]

If so by how much?

My cpu block is 1/2 but my radiator is 3/8. I was thinking of getting a Y splitter from 1/2 to two 3/8. I would then have the second split go to a gpu block then to a second radiator back to a merge of two 3/8 to a 1/2 before entering my pump.


what do you guys think?

[juliendogg]

Could help with your flow rates a bit. I doubt that you'll see much difference in temps though. Are your temps high now?


J.

[vonkaar]

Originally posted by racpuc
If so by how much?


Impossible to say without knowing all of the details on your system. Also impossible to figure without knowing the type of radiators you are considering. Still... it's usually a bad idea to run so many splits through your system. IMO, the most effective 2-radiator setups are run in series. Ask Cathar or Nikhsub1 how good their cooling is with this setup.

[rmonster]

Originally posted by vonkaar


Impossible to say without knowing all of the details on your system. Also impossible to figure without knowing the type of radiators you are considering. Still... it's usually a bad idea to run so many splits through your system. IMO, the most effective 2-radiator setups are run in series. Ask Cathar or Nikhsub1 how good their cooling is with this setup.

Very good point, I agree. I believe Nik's running in parallel, and Cathar's running in series, unless I'm mistaken.

Both have tested their setups with both methods and have chosen to run the one which works best for them... I had to test mine both ways before I found out which worked best for me as well, although I saw very little difference (maybe 1~2 degrees C) between the two.

[will_maltby]

Surely if you run two rads in series it's exactly the same as running 1 rad that's twice the size?

Think about it, for 2 rads in serial the water flows twice as far through more rad, and with a rad twice as big the water flows twice as far through the rad. It's the same!

Running in parallel reduces flow through the rads and I've found in the past that the theory of wanting to get the hottest water to both rads (though true theoretically) is insignificant in the real world.

When I had 2 rads, running in serial was significantly better, though back then I didn't exactly have the world's most powerful pump (eheim 1046).

[dagamore]

if with one rad your water temps are at ambient, then a second rad will not help at all, but if it is above ambent then a second rad will help, only testing on your setup will see if paralel and serial setup will work better for you, try it one way for a week, and then switch, and poof you will know.

[nikhsub1]

Originally posted by dagamore
if with one rad your water temps are at ambient, then a second rad will not help at all, but if it is above ambent then a second rad will help, only testing on your setup will see if paralel and serial setup will work better for you, try it one way for a week, and then switch, and poof you will know.
Exactly. Somethings of note however, parallel rads will increase overall system flowrate but will halve flow to each rad. Serial rads will decrease overall system flow rate as you are doubling the pressure drop of the rads. Cathar runs his in series and gets better results that way, I run mine parallel and get better results that way. There are lots of factors that come into play so test both ways. But yes, I lost 5C when going to dual cores from just one and I only cool the CPU.

[Cathar]

Series vs parallel is another one of those arguments that falls into the same category of "do I have my CPU block after the pump or after the radiator?" deals.

The differences are fairly minimal. If you have a grunty high-pressure head pump like I use then the system flow rate difference between series or parallel radiators is negligible (~0.1LPM). The water flowing faster through the radiators is better than the water flowing slower, so for me it works out well.

However, one will probably see a greater difference by taking the time to clean the dust out of the radiator every now and then. I know that my water temperatures climb by about 1C over the period of a month, after which I need to use the vacuum cleaner to suck out the dust so they perform at their peak again.

[cypher_138]

I just ordered a second HC from D-Tek to run dual rads myself. Since I'm using a MCP-600 pump I plan to run it parallel. I'm not sure if it would be powerful enough to run in series. I'll have to experiment to find out. As for the dust, I was amazed by how much was in my radiator when I cleaned it last week.