Thermochilla PA 120.3 vs Black Ice Extreme 3

megadeath900 · Jul 31, 2007

I was planning on getting a thermochill pa 120.3 for my next build but someone just pointed me out the black ice extreme 3 for half the cost. They both are dual pass also. I was told they are almost the same, I would like to get a second opinion on this please. Is the Black Ice Extreme 3 just as good for really half the price?

genec57 · Jul 31, 2007

The Black Ice GTX is very comparable to the Thermochill and I find it to be just about the same price. The lesser BI radiators will not measure up to the Thermochill.
If you want great performance at a great savings Swiftech is the way to go.

JamesXP · Jul 31, 2007

BIX's need pretty powerful fans, Thermochill can live with lesser fans IIRC.

||Console|| · Jul 31, 2007

The Pa will get better temps with slower fans , the Extrem fins are tight and need some good fans but when you do it proforms very well .

dealmaster · Jul 31, 2007

||Console|| said:
The Pa will get better temps with slower fans , the Extrem fins are tight and need some good fans but when you do it proforms very well .

This is the stuff of legends. I salute you. This picture made me lose it.

Spawn-Inc · Jul 31, 2007

^^haha

how long does that bucket of ice last?

do you get any condensation?

i'm going to go with a MCR320.

||Console|| · Jul 31, 2007

The ice (depending on the temps in the room) lasts from 30min to a hour .
the funny thing is with no ice and a lower oc 3.2 @ 1.4v I can play Css or fear for hours and have no problems the bucket holds a load pretty well ,

meionm · Jul 31, 2007

||Console|| said:
The Pa will get better temps with slower fans , the Extrem fins are tight and need some good fans but when you do it proforms very well .

Tubing looks nasty

JamesXP · Jul 31, 2007

Looks can be deceiving.

megadeath900 · Jul 31, 2007

I plan to use late loons at the 5v mod. So I should go with the PA still, right?

||Console|| · Jul 31, 2007

I would

Otter · Jul 31, 2007

Yes, PA if you want the best. Or if you can stand 10-15% rise in your coolant to air differential, get the MCR.

megadeath900 · Jul 31, 2007

Otter said:
Yes, PA if you want the best. Or if you can stand 10-15% rise in your coolant to air differential, get the MCR.

Lower the better

Gunlance · Jul 31, 2007

I hate the high FPI on my BI GTX. Go thermochill, yours ears will thank you later.

Otter · Aug 1, 2007

megadeath900 said:
Lower the better

Keep in mind that the improvement for PA might be 1C or less. If your rad is moderately overloaded, you might get slightly over 2C. Price is really the only reason to go with the MCR instead of the PA, though.

darkcow · Aug 1, 2007

i suggest the MCR320 with yates @ 7v. best decision I've ever made :beer:

5v is going to far on the silence gig. 7v is pretty damn quiet, i can't hear them when i stand 6 inches away.

JustChill · Aug 1, 2007

what yate loons do you have dark?
And where the heck can you buy thermochill rads? everytime I go to buy one at petras or DD they are ALWAYS out of stock!!!!

megadeath900 · Aug 1, 2007

Otter said:
Keep in mind that the improvement for PA might be 1C or less. If your rad is moderately overloaded, you might get slightly over 2C. Price is really the only reason to go with the MCR instead of the PA, though.

I plan to have a D-tek on my Q6600 and a EK wb on my 2900xt. But I like it quiet so, I really should go with the black ice xtreme?

Otter · Aug 1, 2007

megadeath900 said:
I plan to have a D-tek on my Q6600 and a EK wb on my 2900xt. But I like it quiet so, I really should go with the black ice xtreme?

No. The BIX is optimized for louder fans.

The PA120.3 would be the first choice there, with the MCR320 a close and much cheaper second. The Coolingworks CoolRad-32T is probably about tied with the MCR.

I haven't seen any tests of the Black Ice GT Stealth yet, but it's probably in the same pack. I do wonder how fast those tightly packed fins will clog up with dust, though.

meionm · Aug 1, 2007

megadeath900 said:
I plan to have a D-tek on my Q6600 and a EK wb on my 2900xt. But I like it quiet so, I really should go with the black ice xtreme?

Bkack ice xtreme needs higher cfm fans to perform well. Higher cfm fans equal more noise.

Swfy mcr and thermochill pa radiators do better with fans with low cfm. Plus both of the radiators have fans slightly raised from the surface of the radiator.

Thermochilla PA 120.3 vs Black Ice Extreme 3

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