Single Large rad or Should I use 2 Rads?

I am just about to go and order a swiftech Apogee waterblock for my P4 @ 4ghz and I already have a swiftech mcw50 gpu block for my 6800gt. I also need a radiator.

The problem is I really want to have everything fit inside of my Aspire X-dreamer midtower case.

Will I lose performance if i were to go with 2 single 120mm Swiftech Quiet power radiators instead of just 1 single dual quiet power 120mm rad? I also have a Swiftech mcw600 waterpump. I mean I can easily fit 2 smaller radiators inside my case in series. Would this cause too much pressure drop? or higher temps?

If I have to, I will install a dual 120 rad externally at the back of the case using Swiftech's rad install kit. But I don't like the looks of this setup. Thanks for any input.

Get a better radiator, like a BlackIce Extreme II 120mm, or better yet, a Thermochill 120mm radiator and you'll be fine. If you want better cooling you'd have to mod your case or use an ugly exterior radiator, which I suspect you'd rather avoid.

consumer9000 said:

Get a better radiator, like a BlackIce Extreme II 120mm, or better yet, a Thermochill 120mm radiator and you'll be fine. If you want better cooling you'd have to mod your case or use an ugly exterior radiator, which I suspect you'd rather avoid.

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why exactly are you saying that the xtreme series is better?

Yes I really was going to get the black ice radiator but I live in Canada and the shop I am ordering from has been out of them for a while. They do however have the swiftech ones in stock in dual and single. Are the black ice extreme 2's really better?

thumper2002 said:

Yes I really was going to get the black ice radiator but I live in Canada and the shop I am ordering from has been out of them for a while. They do however have the swiftech ones in stock in dual and single. Are the black ice extreme 2's really better?

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no, they aren't better at all: they are worse in most situations. that's why i asked, since consumer9000 should know that himself.

the black ice xtreme only performs better than the pro if you have 100 CFM or greater fans on there, which are loud as hell. since most people want to use more like 50 CFM fans, the pro rad does better in most situations.

you know that the onlie stock tracking for bigfoot hasn't been working properly for a long time now, right? if you place an order, they'll bring it in. i'm just guessing what shop you deal with........but you could e-mail them and ask if you want to make sure.

Where do you plan on putting your rad? I have an X-Dreamer as well and the rad is holding me back.

Right now there is 2 80mm fans in the rear of the case. I want to cut these out with a dremel. Then I want to rivit a small aluminum plate in there with a 120mm cutout so that I can mount the fan and rad inside the case.

For the second rad, I want to do a 120mm cutout above the cd rom bays and put the rad and fan in there. There already is an 80mm blowhole up there but I have a dd fillport which I want to mount there with some plexi.

I am still undecided as to wether I really want to use 2 radiators yet. I may just try out one single 120mm rad in the rear of the case for now and then see what kind of temps i get with the apogee on 4ghz p4 and mcw50 on 6800gt.