DangerDen/BlackIce X-Flow (Single Pass) vs. Double Pass

It was my understanding that single-pass radiators will not perform as well, as the water does not have as much surface area or time to dispense a large amount of heat. Yet, right on the DangerDen website (seen here), they state that single-pass 'X-Flow' radiators have "the ultimate performance". Plus, they're priced exactly the same as double-pass radiators. Is this just a marketing gimmik, or is there some advantage to them?

I was under the impression that they actually cooled better than double pass. There are a ton of threads on it, but I don't remember the actual answer. I know that water stays in either rad the same amount (Cathar had a good analogy for it, involing a car and a race track; it might have been Thorilian though).

I'd take whichever of the radiators give your system a shorter loop. They can't perform too much better than the other.

Cathar is definatly the one to ask about this i think, since i belive he had a part in designing the pa160 radiator if im not mistaken, which pioneered the xflow concept on a pc system.

Xflow is more for a very high flow system, like 2+ Lpm of flow. you are not losing any contact time since instead of the rad being split into two with water going in two directions, you are using all the tubes to let the water travel in the same direction.
so you are effectivly doubling the heat transfer in a smaller space without the restriction of the water having to change direction. Water gets into the rad and dumps its heat a lot more efficiantly.
Ive seen it mentioned numerous times that water does not heat up a tramendous amount in a water cooling loop. so if you are pushing litres/minute of flow, your water will only increase a fraction of a degree. the xflow radiator can remove that heat in only one pass because the water travels through more tubes, staying in contact with more surface area while not losing as much energy to a Uturn at one side of the radiator.

Feel free to call me a idiot though. this is my understanding of it. there is math of course. ill leave that to the experts.

Solid, i think that it was thorilian that came up with the analogy. Like how it goes around the track in the same amount time or something to that affect.

I remember the race car anology. The intent of the original post was to try and dispel certain myths that exist around radiator performance, including:

It was my understanding that single-pass radiators will not perform as well, as the water does not have as much surface area or time to dispense a large amount of heat.

Click to expand...

Myths endure due to human nature tendency to focus on a single variable at a time, in this case time spent in the rad.

Single pass rads exhibit lower flow resistance then their dual pass cousins. This in turn will lead to higher flows. With higher flows, a unit volume circulates around the loop quicker which equates to less time spent in the rad, but at the same time achieves more passes through the rad. Hence the racing anology, if a car goes twice as fast on a race course it will spend half as much time through any point in the race circuit, but will get there twice as often was how it went.

I think the issue of single versus dual pass gains increasing importance when applying larger, thinner designs, for example the new BI GTS series in triple format. In this instance, I see XFLOW as preferable. No point having a huge radiating surface if the flow through the blocks is too low for good heat extraction performance. However with single rad formats I think this is less of a consideration, and I would focus on which one provides the most efficient tube routing.

the black ice x-flow series is a hunk of crap IMO, and I have heard the same from others as well

its just the same body as a double pass BIX, but with different tanks attached at the ends

the radiator was never designed to be a single pass rad, and it will never perform as well as a legit, properly designed single-pass radiator would (eg: thermochill PA160)



the main benifit from a single-pass radiator is the fact that they are less restrictive in terms of flow due to the fact that the water just goes in a straight path through from end to end, rather than going straight, doing a 180, and then going straight again

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=456189
That thread explains the differences between single pass the dual pass.

I picked up one of the new XFLOW GTS models last week. Compared to my older BIX and BIP2 rads the fin density is visibly higher, but the rad still looks remarkably open for airflow since they are so thin. I like that they have maintained a thin profile with the design, although it is thicker then the old Pro series. Certainly the finish quality is improved LOL.

It will be going in a new build I'm working on. I havent been able to find anything in the way of comparative testing yet, so going on faith a bit. I think it looks promising though.