- Joined
- Jul 1, 2007
- Location
- Minneapolis, MN
Triple Radiator Performance Comparison
Swiftech MCR320, ThermoChill PA120.3, XSPC RX360
Intro
With testing a few different triple radiators, I felt it would be best to capture the performance data of them all and compare that data in one spot. Since my test methodology and process allows for the comparison of data between products, I might as well bring all of that information into one easy to view page. Even though this page might be all you feel needs to be shown for a comparison, the individual pages go into much greater detail about the individual products themselves and the experience I had with the product through testing. I have linked all of the individual reviews for you on this page as well as the navigation pane to the left. Be sure to scroll all the way to the end of the page for a my conclusion on all of the radiators as well as a spreadsheet tool that calculates the Water Out temperature for you. Enjoy!
The Round-Up
Included in this round-up are the three triple radiators I have tested thus far, I am sure there will be more triples added to the charts as time goes on. For now, we have the Swiftech MCR320-QP, ThermoChill PA120.3 and XSPC RX360. Here are links to the individual reviews and test reports, also available via the menu on the left side of the page.
Swiftech MCR320
ThermoChill PA120.3
XSPC RX360
Pressure and Flow Results
When building your loop there should be a list of things that come to mind, flow and pressure should be near the top of that list. Pressure drop is the measurement of inlet pressure minus outlet pressure, or the pressure lost of flow through the radiator.
- Pressure: Dwyer Series 490-3 Digital Hydronic Manometer - Accuracy 0.5% of Scale, Range 0-50.00 PSI, Resolution 0.01 PSI
- Flow Rate: King Instruments 7520 0-5GPM, 10" Scale - Accuracy 2% of scale. Flow Rate controlled by a brass gate valve with 1/2" NPT 5/8" Barbs
- Water: Outlet from the wash basin tap in my mud room
Here are the combined pressure drop numbers for our round-up. I have included kPa and mH2O using Liters per Hour for our European metric system friends. After all there is such a large number of readers who use metric over imperial units, they should have data in their common format too.
Pressure Drop Data Tables
PSI Drop per GPM of flow
kPa drop per LPH of flow
mH2O Drop per LPH of flow
From the charts, you can see the PA120.3 series is still the lowest pressure drop radiator available, with the RX360 coming in extremely close. The MCR320 although having higher pressure drop than the PA120.3 and RX360 is still low compared to cpu or other blocks. Don't let the curve fool you into reading it wrong, pressure drop on radiators is lower than any other device in your loop.
Thermal Testing Methodology/Specification
For explanation of my Thermal Testing methods, equipment specifications and other factors involved in radiator thermal testing please see the "Thermal Testing Methodology / Specification" in any one of the triple radiator reviews linked at the top of this page.
One section I do want to reiterate here is calculating heat load for your loop and the tools I use when estimating the heat capacity of a proposed loop.
For information on calculating heat load for your loop here are two resources I have used in the past. Another method I have used in the past is to Google search TDP for a specific component, that should also help in estimating the heat load that will be in the loop for a specific component. The primary one for me is linked below, they take a lot of the google searching out of the equation and break everything down to just the numbers you need.
- Extreme OuterVision PSU Calculator: Note the calculation starts with 38w, remember to remove that in your estimate
Please remember, calculating the power consumption and using that as heat load is not exact and is only an estimate. This estimate will be higher than actual heat load applied as you do transfer some heat to the air circulating in your case around the components. How much difference I cannot begin to speculate, but I just want to state that it is only an estimate and not an exact specification.