I am trying to decide between two radiators for my first custom build and need advice. I will go with either the Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis 420GTS (30mm) in Push/Pull or the Nemesis 420GTX (55mm) in Pull only. I plan on running 140mm fans at 800-1200 rpm. What I've gathered is that the Push/Pull setup on a thinner radiator should have better performance at lower rpms and the thicker radiator in Pull should perform better at higher rpms. At what point (fan speed) would the larger radiator in pull be more beneficial than the thinner radiator in push/pull if at all?
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Slim Rad in Push/Pull v. Thicker Rad in Pull
- Thread starter Dubs
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2004
Idk what is better pretty sure dazmode on YouTube has done this comparison .
With the rad's and air flow it is more about the fins per inch that changes the fans than the depth of the rad.
With the rad's and air flow it is more about the fins per inch that changes the fans than the depth of the rad.
My personal take on this has no science behind it so please take it with a grain of salt until someone smarter and wiser comes along 
I would go with the thicker rad in a pull configuration. Here's my logic. Surface area is generally boss when it comes to water cooling. in a worse case scenario you can always create a power curve to ramp the fans up if temps begin to climb under very heavy load. In your other scenario you are stuck with the surface area that you have.
Also, just an FYI, static pressure should be your deciding factor when choosing fans for your rads, not rpm.
Hopefully you get more replies. It will be interesting to see others opinions on this.
I would go with the thicker rad in a pull configuration. Here's my logic. Surface area is generally boss when it comes to water cooling. in a worse case scenario you can always create a power curve to ramp the fans up if temps begin to climb under very heavy load. In your other scenario you are stuck with the surface area that you have.
Also, just an FYI, static pressure should be your deciding factor when choosing fans for your rads, not rpm.
Hopefully you get more replies. It will be interesting to see others opinions on this.
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2012
surface area is king also, fans are cheap and easy to change.
- Joined
- May 22, 2011
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- USA
I'd recommend going with 2 slimmer rads over 1 thick one, knowing the slimmer rads give more air pass through surface, room for fans, possibly add more rads, better case internal airflow, etc. I've seen some tests done somewhere where it showed you were better off going with more rad in general than less with more thickness. On top of that, you're going to need some good fans to push through that thick rad and even more if its higher FPI which will add more noise to the loop.
As for P/P, its usually the other way around. Thick rads could use P/P more than say a thinner rad.
As for P/P, its usually the other way around. Thick rads could use P/P more than say a thinner rad.
