new to watercooling and want some opinions

Xantac

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Oct 27, 2012
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Well first off I'm venturing into watercooling with the release of the 900d. I'll have to get it part by part do to funds but I would like a quite system. Im kind of dead set on using NF-F12 noctuas . One question I'm looking at the thick rads from xspc and ekwb , curious about fin per inch and how it effects noise and cooling efficiency.

Also I have a rampage IV extreme and was wondering if anyone has experience with any of the full board waterblocks.

Intending to eventually have 2 thick rads 480's , 1 loop for board/cpu , other loop on gpus
 
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Lower FPI means that there's lower restriction to airflow. At low RPMs, this really matters because if the FPI is too high, it can really kill airflow, thus reducing cooling effectiveness. Thickness also matters to a lesser degree. There are cases where a 45mm thick radiator will outperform a 60mm thick radiator of the same FPI (Martin's test of the XT45 and UT60), but this usually only occurs at or below 600 RPM. Above that, the thicker radiator will perform better. At high RPM, the reverse becomes true, and the low surface area becomes detrimental to cooling performance. This usually only happens at 1500-1800 RPM in push or pull only, or 1200-1500 RPM in push/pull.

I highly recommend the Alphacool UT60 radiators. They're perfect for your proposed system.

Full board waterblocks are mostly there for aesthetic purposes, due to the stock heatsinks being more than sufficient.

Also, AVOID EK. They have proven themselves lately to be unreliable and subpar, and I have yet to see any indication that they've improved themselves.
 
The Swiftech Radbox mounts directly to the rear fan port.

Have you looked into other cases that can support a 480mm radiator? I have the Azza Genesis 9000, and it can support a 480mm radiator on the top and a 280mm radiator on the bottom. It's quite a unique and nice looking case too, it's not the brushed aluminum of the Corsair cases, but a Tron-like styling.
 
ended up with a 700d and an h100i to get me by while I wait on the 900d release , and gather water cooling gear. Have a koolance cpu-370 block, a 655 pump so far. I cant find the koolance RIVE motherboard block though its a shame
 
So Im stuck between the RX 480's and the Alphacools UT60's
anyone have a preference over the other?
 
depends on what kind of fans you'll be running, but usually the full copper radiators (UT60) outperform the XSPC RXxxx radiators but it isn't a huge difference between the two
 
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