Watercooling: How many radiators can pump support?

Solution


2 things important in a pump--flow rate and head

flow rate is pretty obvious--simple example would be how much water could be moved from one tank to another in a given period of time--usually expressed as litres or gallons per hour

more important is head--as your loop has restrictions that slow down flow--blocks,fittings,radiators etc

think of flow as pushing water fast--but head as how hard it can push it

kind of like the pump you linked is able to push the water hard enough that in a narrow tube...

helios411

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Apr 28, 2015
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Cool, though im not sure what you mean by 13 feet head. I'm planning to use this case : http://www.thermaltake.com.au/products-model.aspx?id=C_00002563 with two 360mm radiators on top, do you think its worth adding more radiators in the other mounting positions? I need to watercool two 290x and 1 cpu.
 


Your link is just the D5 pump drive motor not the entire pump assembly, and make sure you get the variable speed model of the pump, the link below is my favorite D5 model, Swiftechs MCP655.

http://www.performance-pcs.com/swiftech-mcp655-series-12-vdc-d5-water-pumps-with-speed-control.html

I've run a Black Ice GTX 360 and a GTX 240 in the same loop cooling 2 GPUs with full coverage water blocks running a variable speed D5 as linked above, with zero problems handling the radiators.

That same pump is still running strong after 2 1/2 years too! :)


 


2 things important in a pump--flow rate and head

flow rate is pretty obvious--simple example would be how much water could be moved from one tank to another in a given period of time--usually expressed as litres or gallons per hour

more important is head--as your loop has restrictions that slow down flow--blocks,fittings,radiators etc

think of flow as pushing water fast--but head as how hard it can push it

kind of like the pump you linked is able to push the water hard enough that in a narrow tube the pump could push it 13 feet vertically

hope that makes it a bit clearer

 
Solution