Small loop performance?

I'm building a small case, and my main issue has been getting a decent cooling system installed. I was recently shown a friend's CoolIt system, and that got me thinking about going back to water. Unfortunately, most of my old WC gear won't fit, but I can re-use the Swiftech 655 pump, DD res, and San-Ace fans. That leaves me with finding a block, and seeing if a single 1x120mm rad would be enough to keep up with my current TRUE. I might be able to cram in a second 1x120 rad, but I won't know until I get the first one installed. So this leaves me with three questions.

1) How closely would a loop with an MCP655 pump, 1x120mm rad w/San-Ace fans, and a decent waterblock compare to a washer-modded TRUE with a San-Ace fan on it?
2) What is a good block for an LGA775 quad core?
3) Who makes the best 1x120mm rad?

Thanks,
Nick

If your going to try a single 120x1 rad and already run san ace fans, I suggest the Black Ice GTX series. It's high FPI and responds well to higher RPM fans. You put the sans on push pull on that rad, I think you'll be pleased and possibly able to turn the fans down lower than you have now. If your going for lower noise, I'd really look at a 120x2 rad with a lower FPI like the XSPC RX or the Black Ice SR-1.

You don't need the latest and greatest CPU block, but you should get one that will fit i7 etc for the future. The Swiftech XT is pretty good, easy to mount. I'll post up some links, look at Skinnees for the CPU block tests and look at Martins for the BI GTX rads.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6489396&postcount=3

Conumdrum said:

If your going to try a single 120x1 rad and already run san ace fans, I suggest the Black Ice GTX series. It's high FPI and responds well to higher RPM fans. You put the sans on push pull on that rad, I think you'll be pleased and possibly able to turn the fans down lower than you have now. If your going for lower noise, I'd really look at a 120x2 rad with a lower FPI like the XSPC RX or the Black Ice SR-1.

You don't need the latest and greatest CPU block, but you should get one that will fit i7 etc for the future. The Swiftech XT is pretty good, easy to mount. I'll post up some links, look at Skinnees for the CPU block tests and look at Martins for the BI GTX rads.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6489396&postcount=3

Click to expand...

I don't have much to add - that's a very solid, reasonable answer. A few people are going to recommend that you do nothing less than get yourself an enormous radiator and 16 fans to blast air over it at jet-engine velocity, but for a reasonable system with a decent OC, you don't need to go extreme. A 2x120mm rad would probably give you better performance with less noise, but you can get OK results from a single 1x120mm with enough air moving over the fins.

Thanks for the quick and thorough answers. I'll take a look at those items. I wish I could squeeze in a single 2x120 rad, but the case I'm working with only has 2 120mm fans in the front, and there is a large gap between them. I'm really hoping I can possibly squeeze in two single rads. I'd like to go for lower noise, but understand that lower noise and decent performance with a small rad don't always go hand in hand. At the very least, it should be quieter than my current system once I'm done with it.