Thick or Thin Radiators???

Iver Hicarte · Jun 12, 2016

So whenever I look to buy a radiator I always see thin or thick radiators, so which radiator is better the thick one or the thin one??? Can the width affect cooling performance or not. So on and so fourth...

THANKS IN ADVANCE!

redgarl · Jun 12, 2016

Basically more heat dissipation the bigger the radiador... but you don't which alloy is used and so on. Copper is better than aluminium, but copper also corrode over the time.

Mr Kagouris · Jun 12, 2016

Thicker is better, but also requires more case space and better fans. Getting a thicker radiator won't largely affect your temperatures but it will affect how much heat you can actually dissipate (mostly translates to higher overclocks rather than more components). Also keep in mind heat dissipation isn't linear. A radiator twice as thick can't dissipate twice the heat.

rubix_1011 · Jun 12, 2016

If you choose a radiator, you also need to be aware of the FPI fin density and the thickness so you can match fans accordingly. Simply choosing a fan with high CFM rating isn't going to be the solution - you also need fans with good static pressure in order to move air through a radiator. Radiator tubes and fins create air restriction and the better able a fan is to handle moving air through a section of radiator in which it is promoting a more pressure laden zone is beneficial.

toolmaker_03 · Jun 12, 2016

well, i have thin 360mm radiators and i have monstra 360mm radiators, and rubix as well as Mr Kagouris have good points, with my thin radiators i can get away with only needing 3 fans on the radiator with shrouds, with my monstra radiators i need 6 fans with shrouds, but there is also a big difference in the flow rates of each type of radiator the thinner the radiator the lower the flow rate through it will be. my 35mm thick radiators will only pass 4LPM at best, but my monstra 80mm thick radiator can pass 7LPM through it. so the thicker the radiator the lower the restriction that the radiator will place on the system.

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2767231/serial-loop-parallel-loop.html

here is a little test i did with my own system, to show how flow rate directly affects how well the hardware on my system is able to preform.

Mr Kagouris · Jun 13, 2016

You can always go with the in-between option and get both higher heat dissipation and lower flow restriction without needing more than one side of good static pressure fans (e.g. EK Vardars or Noctua NF-F12).

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Thick or Thin Radiators???

Iver Hicarte

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Mr Kagouris

redgarl

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Mr Kagouris

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rubix_1011

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toolmaker_03

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Mr Kagouris

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