Opinion Needed

RJ · Jan 9, 2007

I have a new Perm-Cool Automotive Oil cooler.....It has 6 passes of 1/2 Id tube and Loose fins aprox the spacing of my BIX....the size is 12"l x 5 1/2" w x 3 1/2 thick and made out of all aluminum.. does anyone think that it can be used as a efficiant PC Radiator? Mounting two 120's on it.....I kinda want to upgrade to a larger 2 or 3 fan Radiator anyway thought I could save some money......hers a picture of it

Graystar · Jan 9, 2007

RJ said:
does anyone think that it can be used as a efficiant PC Radiator?

No. This design was passed by long ago. It doesn't come close to modern radiators.

The radiators we use have a very tough job. The temperature differences that they have to work with are relatively miniscule compared to most other radiator applications. With a high-end PC cooling setup you might have 2-3C difference between the water temperature and the ambient air temp. That’s not a lot.

To get the most out of that small temperature difference, modern radiators use rectangular tubing that is very narrow (only 1.2 mm) and very wide (19 mm) to increase the surface area of the tubing and to insure that as much water as possible touches the tube walls. 1/2" round tubing doesn’t have as much surface area, and because of the round shape more water goes through without touching the tube walls.

I would go with a top-quality heatpipe style heatsink before using that radiator.

RJ · Jan 9, 2007

well Im already water cooled ........It was just a thought I had but wasnt sure

da0s · Jan 10, 2007

Graystar said:
No. This design was passed by long ago. It doesn't come close to modern radiators.

The radiators we use have a very tough job. The temperature differences that they have to work with are relatively miniscule compared to most other radiator applications. With a high-end PC cooling setup you might have 2-3C difference between the water temperature and the ambient air temp. That’s not a lot.

To get the most out of that small temperature difference, modern radiators use rectangular tubing that is very narrow (only 1.2 mm) and very wide (19 mm) to increase the surface area of the tubing and to insure that as much water as possible touches the tube walls. 1/2" round tubing doesn’t have as much surface area, and because of the round shape more water goes through without touching the tube walls.

I would go with a top-quality heatpipe style heatsink before using that radiator.

I am in total agreement with this statement. Very well stated and detailed. This is the type of post that is not only informative but is backed up with facts.

My opinion...stick with what you have.

voigts · Jan 11, 2007

Not to mention that it is all aluminum. Al + copper=corrosion without a bunch of additives.

Opinion Needed

RJ

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Graystar

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RJ

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da0s

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voigts

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