Transmission cooler versus Heater Core

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xBabyJesus

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Sep 28, 2004
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Hey Guys, I'm upgrading my watercooling to support new hardware. My legacy gear includes a smaller 200ish gph pump, Maze1 waterblock, and an aluminum transmission cooler similiar to this

with dual 120x25mm fans and a rheobus. This was plenty of cooling for a Tbird 1ghz @ 1.4, but I don't think it'll handle a new Athon64.

Anyway, I'm going to a new Swiftech block and probably a bigger 12v pump, but I'm wondering if I need to step it up in the radiator department. Anybody have experience with the Transmission coolers versus a heater core?

-John
 
Well, from the looks of that transmission cooler, it seems a heatercore has more fins than it...so i would do it...its only like $30 bucks, too...im getting a 120mm heatercore from d-tek, and its $30...its a waste to get those blackice radiators...but yeah, to answer your question, i would go with a heatercore.

but anyone, correct me if i am wrong...btw, what is that transmission cooler made out of?
 
well, do u have fans on it? if you don't, a heatercore will surely help...

i dunno, i guess its up to you...copper is good at bringing in heat, and aluminum is good at moving it away from the copper...i think what you have is okay if you have a fan...if not, you could mod it and put a fan on it...

but its pretty much up to you...
 
A heatercore will provide a substantial increase in heat dissipation than the oil cooler, simply by its design. It is less restrictive than the radiator and offers much more surface area, so your new setup will definetely benefit from a heatercore.
Just to compare the difference in design between a radiator and a heatercore:
1. Radiator
---------
_____|
|_____
_____|

2. Heatercore
------------
_|_|_|_|_|
 
You can always try it and see if it does the job. Its a hassle if you need to change it out after youve run it tho. I have seen peoples using tranny TYPE coolers but Im not sure of thats what they were made for or not. There are a large number of different tranny coolers around so Im sure some would be better than others.
 
Alex41290 said:
well, do u have fans on it? if you don't, a heatercore will surely help...

i dunno, i guess its up to you...copper is good at bringing in heat, and aluminum is good at moving it away from the copper...i think what you have is okay if you have a fan...if not, you could mod it and put a fan on it...

but its pretty much up to you...
Click to expand...

"with dual 120x25mm fans and a rheobus."

So yea, it has fans on it. I was getting between 32-35c idle depending on fan speed, and <40c load with the T-bird. How much more heat are the A64's putting out?

-John
 
"These new processors output up to 80w of heat. . ." quoted from "OCModShop"...i do know the T-Bird has low heat output, so your (obviously) not gonna get as good of an OC (percentage wise)...but sorry about the fan thing...i wasn't reading clearly...
 
Rezistor said:
A heatercore will provide a substantial increase in heat dissipation than the oil cooler, simply by its design. It is less restrictive than the radiator and offers much more surface area, so your new setup will definetely benefit from a heatercore.
Just to compare the difference in design between a radiator and a heatercore:
1. Radiator
---------
_____|
|_____
_____|

2. Heatercore
------------
_|_|_|_|_|
Click to expand...

Just wanted to explain a little more on this... The heater core is designed for water, and the transmission cooler is designed for oil flowing at a slower rate. The transmission cooler, while it will work, and is sold under brand names on several sites, has a less restrictive path for a more viscious fluid (oil), and will allow the water to flow through too quickly for the maximum heat transfer (for a higher end cooling setup, that is).
 
PsycoGeek said:
Just wanted to explain a little more on this... The heater core is designed for water, and the transmission cooler is designed for oil flowing at a slower rate. The transmission cooler, while it will work, and is sold under brand names on several sites, has a less restrictive path for a more viscious fluid (oil), and will allow the water to flow through too quickly for the maximum heat transfer (for a higher end cooling setup, that is).
Click to expand...


There's no such thing as "too quickly" because heat transfer is increased by fluif flowrate. The problem with transmission coolers is the straight-pipe design that they employ. There is much less surface area for heat to transfer from the water to, and they also usually lack any turbulence-inducing surface features.
 
zer0signal667 said:
There's no such thing as "too quickly" because heat transfer is increased by fluif flowrate. The problem with transmission coolers is the straight-pipe design that they employ. There is much less surface area for heat to transfer from the water to, and they also usually lack any turbulence-inducing surface features.
Click to expand...

Good point...
 
Thanks guys, you confirmed what I had suspected...

So what do we think about size requirements for a heater-core? Single 120mm big enough, or better go with the duals? I had to externalize the powersupply on my old case to make room for the rad, which is only gonna get worse with a thicker heater core. I'm thinking full tower to solve that problem, but they want $180-200 for anything decent locally.

-J
 
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