Radiator Size Question

Hey guys i am once again looking for water cooling, i am planning on getting the Thermaltake Tsunami case and it has a fron 120mm intake fan and i was planning on using this as a starting point, my question is what would be the all around best, or THE BEST radiator for a 120mm fan? because i want to keep everything as much internal as possible

thanks for information in advace!

The hwlabs Black Ice Xtreme 2 is a good radiator, best to attach 2 fans to it, one for pushing and one for sucking.

The BIX 2 is a dual 120mm fan radiator. He would not be able to fit that in the front of his case. The only feasable place to fit that internally would be in the top squeezed between the 5.25" bays. He would have to mod his case by cutting 2 blowholes in the top for the fans. My impression is that he doesn't want to mod because he is getting a case with a 120mm fan in the front already.

I'm not sure of the dimensions, but it looks like you could fit a Chevette heater core or a D-tek JR-120 (same thing, but an inch shorter) in the front if you took out the hard drive rack. That would still require modding though. You would probably need to drill out rivets to remove the metal structure on the floor of the case that the HDD rack snaps onto. Then you could mount your hard drive in a 5.25" bay. If you have several hard drives this method isn't the best.

The other option is to cut a blowhole in the top of your case between the 5.25" bays and your power supply. That method works, but air in the water will go straight to the radiator if you don't bleed it completely beforehand. Also the top of the case isn't the best place for cool air intake.

To the subject of which radiator. I would get a heater core or a D-tek JR-120 (it's a painted heatercore with barbs pre-installed). Computer specific radiators are expensive, and in the case of the Black Ice series don't perform as well as a heatercore. The only real advantage comp specific rads have is that they are usually a bit smaller than a heatercore.

To the subject of which radiator. I would get a heater core or a D-tek JR-120 (it's a painted heatercore with barbs pre-installed). Computer specific radiators are expensive, and in the case of the Black Ice series don't perform as well as a heatercore. The only real advantage comp specific rads have is that they are usually a bit smaller than a heatercore.

Click to expand...

That's exactly what I was going to suggest. Heatercores are generally the way to go if you can make some room for one.

ok, thanks for the help guys, ill see what i can scrounge up, but you guys were saying i would have to make room for the heater core, if i went that way, how big are we talking? because some of the heater cores ive seen on computers it looks like they took the core off their car to cool it down, what i am trying to accomplish is a clean install, if it would be showing i was going to try and desguise it some how, one thing to mention while i was looking on newegg i found this: Click Here is this a good setup or too weak for my application? also if i have to move my raptor hdd i thought that wouldnt be so bad because i could try and suspend it in the 5.25" bay so it would actually be quieter thanks for all the help guys! keep the info coming.

also, if i planned to get that kit i was looking to replace the water block for the cpu and then get another block for my GPU, and one more thing.... do they make water blocks for NB's? thanks for the info again!

lol, i meant a Black Ice Xtreme , not the 2nd version, typo!

Do NOT get that Thermaltake kit. You can have a much better system if you DIY.

IMO the D-tek JR-120 isn't too ugly.

D-tek Link.
Pics of mine.

If you swear against using a heater core, the comp specific rads look nice. They just cost double that of a core.

You can get a NB block. Using one is kind of controversial though. Most boards can get the same performance out of a good HSF with a quiet fan on the NB, and that won't restrict your loop.

ok, i dont mind if i have to pay alittle more for a PC specific radiator because i will pay that extra to keep it clean, what coolant would be good for a setup? and i also read a post about the pump being on 24/7, is this required? and i have the blue alluminum fanless Zalman heatsink on my NB right now and for some reason my temps read like 8C for the nb so i think thats a bit off.... but i planned on keeping my slot fan but just lowering the speed really really low which actually blows a decent chunk of air over the NB which is good and it also adds a nice lighting affect to my whole setup.... is there anything else i should be looking at/for? thanks again guys.

i just looked at the dtek radiator and it looks pretty sweet i would probably get the blue, because my theam is blue,black and silver so that would look awesome and i would probably go rough and order that nice alluminum fan with it too...

I would suggest getting the 120 from D-Tek. It gives a little better temps 1~2° for me and is just marginally bigger to fit. Here is a shout of my rad setup with both a BIX and 120 installed.

http://webpages.charter.net/chew_toy/1/radsetup.jpg

I would suggest getting a 12volt pump. The MCP600/aqua extreme is what i chose and would recomend. It is quiet and has alot of power. Another good 12v pump is the Swiftech 650/DD pump.

what coolant would be good for a setup?

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If your loops has no aluminum whatsoever (copper topped blocks, etc) you should use distilled water with maybe 5% antifreeze. If you do have some aluminum, even anodized, it's best to go with 10-15% antifreeze. When choosing antifreeze, get the 5 year/10,000 mile red stuff. It costs a bit more, but the green kind has particles that will come out of solution and eventually clog your loop, grind away at components like your pump impeller, etc.

Good decision to go with the DTek JR120 core. Those are great performers.

would one d-tek radiator be able to cool my cpu and a nvidia 6800gt? i dont have the 6800 right now but i will be adding it soon.