- Joined
- Oct 1, 2005
Can anyone tell me the pros and cons of each?
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Heater Core vs. Radiator
- Thread starter Herr Rogers
- Start date
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2005
- Location
- Austin, Tx
Radiator:
pros
*looks nice
*guaranteed performance
*no modding involved
*screw holes already there
cons
*cost more
*some people like to say they got car parts in their comp
heat core:
pros
*cheap
*can tell all the chicks you put a car part in your computer
cons
*might not work the same as a radiator
*have to modd it all up
*way 2 much modding
*take more time to mod it than to just get a job and make the extra few bucks for the radiator
pros
*looks nice
*guaranteed performance
*no modding involved
*screw holes already there
cons
*cost more
*some people like to say they got car parts in their comp
heat core:
pros
*cheap
*can tell all the chicks you put a car part in your computer
cons
*might not work the same as a radiator
*have to modd it all up
*way 2 much modding
*take more time to mod it than to just get a job and make the extra few bucks for the radiator
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2003
- Location
- South of Boston
lol
heatercores are bigger, more cooling capacity (and also more air resistance). the only modding required is cutting off the excess copper tubing, and pushing rods through the fins so you can mount stuff to them and/or mount them to stuff.
radiators are purdy, have barbs, and don't require modding.
heatercores are bigger, more cooling capacity (and also more air resistance). the only modding required is cutting off the excess copper tubing, and pushing rods through the fins so you can mount stuff to them and/or mount them to stuff.
radiators are purdy, have barbs, and don't require modding.
- Joined
- May 6, 2003
- Location
- Buried in UPS packages
I just recently switched from a single 120mm heater core with one 12V 120mm fan on it to a black ice extreme with two 7V 120mm fans and mainly noticed a difference in sound. I used a single 120mm ~90cfm on my heatercore with one of the shrouods like shown here and used two 120mm ~90cfm fans with cool shrouds on my BIX and the temps were pretty much equal. My temps were a little better with my BIX but the main difference was the noise. Granted my BIX fans were at 7V but two of them had less sounds than my singel on the heater core.
Not to mention the size, a BIX fits much better with small mods in cases.
Not to mention the size, a BIX fits much better with small mods in cases.
- Joined
- Mar 18, 2002
- Location
- Omaha, somewhere in middle america
Isn't the dtek pro core actually a heatercore with barbs pre-installed?
So not much difference at all, in some cases.
So not much difference at all, in some cases.
- Joined
- May 29, 2002
- Location
- Japan/Daytona Beach
yes its a jr120
( what i use in a lot of builds)
( what i use in a lot of builds)
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2005
- Location
- Austin, Tx
i dont like the idea of adding barbs and stuff having to cut of the origional 1inch copper connectors on some of the heatcores and then chaing them out for 1/2inch ones
some people are low on powertools i dotn even have a drill at home cant find my screwdriver half the time
heatcore working better? maby in your opinion as far as i see theres no tests done to prove it and if your thinking because its used to cool a car that its better than no it has air going at it 60 or 70 miles a hour when in a car
some people are low on powertools i dotn even have a drill at home cant find my screwdriver half the time
heatcore working better? maby in your opinion as far as i see theres no tests done to prove it and if your thinking because its used to cool a car that its better than no it has air going at it 60 or 70 miles a hour when in a car
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2004
Did I not ask the question correctly 
lol
Any way, I am glad to see a thread that adresses some of my questions. One of my cons to modding my own heatercore would be that there is too much work involved(mainly the parts that require heating/cutting the barbs). I would not be opposed to buying a premodded core though.
lolAny way, I am glad to see a thread that adresses some of my questions. One of my cons to modding my own heatercore would be that there is too much work involved(mainly the parts that require heating/cutting the barbs). I would not be opposed to buying a premodded core though.
- Joined
- May 6, 2003
- Location
- Buried in UPS packages
Besides the modding it was also the price up until recently when the BI series dropped in price. Now it costs close to the same (at least for me).
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2005
- Location
- Austin, Tx
whell since i gots a bix2 in my system i think ill just get a sparkplug so i can say i got car parts in my computer
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2005
- Location
- Batavia, IL
bri1 said:
"*way 2 much modding"
-This is subjective. The 2-199 (Boneville H/C w/o A/C) just needs the beads cut off the hose ends to make it work.
Honestly, I have only used heatercores in my computers. I have a Chevette core in my computer right now, and It looks just as nice as the any other rad. you can buy IMHO.
Look up weapon shrouds on the forum. His heatercores look way better than any aftermarket offering that I've seen, his work is amazing.
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2003
- Location
- New Hampshire, USA.
I only use HC's now. They cost half of one of those WCing radiators, and it takes five minutes to hack off the copper tubing. I just don't find the point in paying for a nice paint job. I'd rather spend the extra $20 on something else. I'm glad the prices finally came down on those BI's, else a HC would have cost 1/4 of a rad...
Keep in mind that heater cores are a type of radiator that serve a particular function in a car. Generally, HC's have more volume than an equivalent-sized rad, and less restriction (so I would say that generally, HC's will cool better - at a cost of more noise from fans). I'm sure that there are some products out there that are marked as "radiators" that are the same volume/restriction as a typical heater core (which I would call the same thing, then), in which case we're returning to the whole cost thing.
I'm not sure what bri1 is talking about. There are plenty of HC's that are guarenteed performers. Caprice, Bonneville, and Chevette HC's all come to mind for great cooling.
Also bri1, radiators are the part that has the air going through it at 70 miles an hour. HC's have a squirrel-cage blower attached to them in the car.
Keep in mind that heater cores are a type of radiator that serve a particular function in a car. Generally, HC's have more volume than an equivalent-sized rad, and less restriction (so I would say that generally, HC's will cool better - at a cost of more noise from fans). I'm sure that there are some products out there that are marked as "radiators" that are the same volume/restriction as a typical heater core (which I would call the same thing, then), in which case we're returning to the whole cost thing.
I'm not sure what bri1 is talking about. There are plenty of HC's that are guarenteed performers. Caprice, Bonneville, and Chevette HC's all come to mind for great cooling.
Also bri1, radiators are the part that has the air going through it at 70 miles an hour. HC's have a squirrel-cage blower attached to them in the car.
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2005
- Location
- Austin, Tx
Xymurgy said:
my bad i dont know that much about cars
whell i dont like the design seeing how some of them have huge pipes and bix or bip have verry thin flat tubes
what i mean by dont guarantee performance is bix has been tested for w/c and is known for good w/c but i havent seen any tests with old car heatcores not saying they dont do as good of a job but it feels safer buying something thats made for whatyour using it and + i dont have anything to cut it with so id have to buy tools
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2005
- Location
- Batavia, IL
bri1 said:
Just because you personally can't do 2 straight cuts on a realatively soft metal doesn't make them not a viable option for the rest of the people on here. I remember 6 years ago when I got started in W/C, pretty much everything was DIY. Saving myself up to $50 by making 2 cuts and making a shroud of out sheetmetal (or whatever you want, you don't NEED a shroud) is worth it to me.
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2005
- Location
- Austin, Tx
umm as far as i sell not every hc requires that little moding and as of now it wouldent be saving you that much
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2005
- Location
- Batavia, IL
bri1 said:
It matters...I got my H/C for $15, the metal for the shroud was $6. The BIP 3 is around $75, and it is a popular radiator. The H/C that I have is very thick and is enough for a o/ced a64 and SLi setup.
I agree, not every H/C is that easy to mod, but for the most part it's pretty easy. If you can setup a watercooling system by yourself, chances are you have the skills to make a minor change to a radiator.
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2004
- Location
- Columbus, Ohio
bri1 said:
you can get heatcores from junkyards for like $15, it saves you alot
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2003
- Location
- New Hampshire, USA.
bri1 said:
What other modding do you see done?
And burning $20 just to have someone paint a radiator isn't my idea of a good use of $20.
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2005
- Location
- Illinois Tech, Chicago
The whole argument about having more noise from a hc due to more airflow restriction is total bs. It all depends on what core you buy. I personally had one (due to an accident it started leaking badly, and I threw it in the scrap bin) that was about 1" deep with well-spaced fins, and it performed great with even a 25mm thick fan. If, however, you were to use a 2" thick core with dense fins, then you would need a louder and higher pressure fan to achieve good airflow. You just have to shop around a little.
