oh, what HC and where?!?

I have more or less narrowed down my choice for HC in my hypothetical wc setup in the next month or so. ATM, I am trying to mod the case before I buy the rest of my computer parts. First off, I would like to know the length of a PSU including the bend required for cabling. I would also like to know the total lengths of the Bonneville and the 2-342. I pretty much have 3 options I am currently thinking of.
1. Get a Chevette, shroud both ways for push pull at front of case.
Good-Have Push and pull fans, cool fresh bottom of case intake air.
Bad- Antec P160 has 2 fairly restrictive bars in the front intake,limiting airflow, smaller HC, have to hack away HD bay.
2. Get Bonneville HC, shroud for pull out of top of case.
Good-Large HC
Bad- Most flow restriction, slighly warmer air, takes out 2-3 5.25 bays.
3. Get 2-342 HC, shroud for pull out of top of case
Good- Large HC, low restriction
Bad-probably need 90 elbows to fit, slightly warmer air, takes out 3 5.25 bays
Well, any suggestions are welcome. The first think I need to confirm is how much space I actually have to work with. I do not have any current plans to use more than one 5.25, so I have little regret for taking them up with a HC. I believe the larger HCs in the top will outweigh any location benefits the bottom front one could possibly have. Also, how much better, supposedly, is the 2-342 than the Bonneville; how much flow difference might I have if I use, say a MCW 60002, a Maze 4 GPU, 1/2 ID tubing, MCP 600, etc. (Would I get adequate flow rate for the system to run smoothly, even though it would not run optimally.) Thanks again for any input you might have.

I just got my Fedco 2-342 (GDI 399090 is the number you'll need to give at stores). It's a great HC, huge and almost zero restriction. The problem you'll find is that it has tanks on BOTH ends. Total it is 11 1/2" tall, 6 9/16" wide, and 2" deep without taking piping into account.

The piping may help you though. one of the pipes pretty much has a very gradual 90 degree turn in it. the other I forget. And the pipes are all copper, so you can't go wrong with more copper piping.

I reccomend stretching tubing over the pipes, and you can skip all the barbs and everything.

Where did you get yours? What autoparts store is the best for these, I have pep boys, checker, auto zone and napa all nearby.

autozone is where I got mine. it has a 90 day warranty there, but of course you void it if you cut the pipes.

as for which core:
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=304440

have you considered an external box for your H2O gear?
a properly built and setup external can give you the best temps and you can drop any worries about space as you build whatever size you need. Additionally, you can set up your pump, heatexchanger and res in the external box - that reduces the odds of any leaks happening next to your system hardware. If a leak happens somewhere in the H2O gear box, you don't really have that big of a problem - you find it and repair it without having to worry about it shorting out your gear.

as for other cores vs. the bonnville, there really isn't a comparison. the bonneville core has a massively unfair surface area advantage over most of them and it is easier to mod. As long as you can make it fit, it is the core to use. It is very inexpensive even after the full mods and it will eat any commercial rad's lunch performance-wise.

weapon said:

as for which core:

as for other cores vs. the bonnville, there really isn't a comparison. the bonneville core has a massively unfair surface area advantage over most of them and it is easier to mod. As long as you can make it fit, it is the core to use. It is very inexpensive even after the full mods and it will eat any commercial rad's lunch performance-wise.

Click to expand...

i suspect the 2-342 is a better bet, since it's single pass (and therefore less flow-resistant) - also 17.99 @ autozone

not sure how the surface area compares...

Or you can get this 77 Bonneville from WA2 here.
http://forums.pcper.com/showthread.php?t=304217

Get the dented rads, they'r eonly 26.99, with your choise of color and also brass barbs. They're 2 pass howeever, but I also had the 2-342 and it's a lot harder to route unless you're going external. He also ships very fast also.

Here's a picture of my rad from WA2.

pauldenton said:

i suspect the 2-342 is a better bet, since it's single pass (and therefore less flow-resistant) - also 17.99 @ autozone

not sure how the surface area compares...

Click to expand...

with a little luck, I should have an answer to this one soon - I picked up a 2-342 and I'm in process of building the shroud for it (fittings swapout already completed).



as for surface area, the 2-342 has a core that measures 9.5" x 6 1/8" x 2" or about 240mm x 155mm x 50mm where the '77 bonneville is 10-3/4" X 5-5/8" X 2" or about 275mm x 145mm x 50mm.

the b'ville core is a bit large...

weapon said:

as for surface area, the 2-342 has a core that measures 9.5" x 6 1/8" x 2" or about 240mm x 155mm x 50mm where the '77 bonneville is 10-3/4" X 5-5/8" X 2" or about 275mm x 145mm x 50mm.

the b'ville core is a bit large...

Click to expand...

just over 93% of the bonneville's area then... if the fin density is the same on both ..... care to do a fin count?

pauldenton said:

just over 93% of the bonneville's area then... if the fin density is the same on both ..... care to do a fin count?

Click to expand...

lol...I was almost bored enough to start counting fins (waiting for a quickly thrown together shroud for the 2-342 to dry...)

anyway, instead of counting fins, I just laid the 342 halfway over the b'ville and lined up the spacing - they line up almost perfectly vertically and horizontally - I'd guess that fin density is exactly the same between the cores or extremely close to it.

woah, thanks for posting sizes, helped narrow down my choices. The 2-342 is just barely too big, but is too big so looks like im goining bonneville, assuming that isnt too long, have to measure how long a typical PSU is...

@/2ct!< said:

woah, thanks for posting sizes, helped narrow down my choices. The 2-342 is just barely too big, but is too big so looks like im goining bonneville, assuming that isnt too long, have to measure how long a typical PSU is...

Click to expand...

before you get down to figuring out the final measurements for your case - the sizes I gave for both heatercores were for just the cores (the finned area) -- that did not include the tanks - with the tanks the 77 b'ville is 12-1/2" X 5-5/8 X 2"

WA2 sells bonneville HC? I thought he sold Caprice HCs.

i went to autozone today actually and picked up my 77 bonneville heatercore. from what i read you can cut the ends off where they start curving if you dont like the bends. but it looks like a nice radiator. lifetime warranty on it

waiting for a quickly thrown together shroud for the 2-342 to dry...

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Would that be the prototype for the Heatercore Sticky?

Looks like you got the 2-199 Tricknasty.

If you buy the GDI 399090 (2-342?) does it have to be modded to use for WC'ing? Or can you just put tubes / shroud / fans on it and good to go?

bump

Guderian said:

Would that be the prototype for the Heatercore Sticky?

Looks like you got the 2-199 Tricknasty.

Click to expand...

nope, that looks like fedco 2-302 ('77 boneville with a/c)

tricknasty said:

from what i read you can cut the ends off where they start curving if you dont like the bends. but it looks like a nice radiator. lifetime warranty on it

Click to expand...

That is exactly what I did. Didn't have to install barbs on it and your 1/2" ID tubing fits perfectly

God, I'm confused as hell now. So a 2-302 is a 77 Bonneville HC with AC? Why not just call it that then. Maybe a dumb question but- what exactly does "Fedco 2-302" mean?