[SOLVED] Radiator and fan size cooling difference

[Thangnawk]

hi guys....
I will be doing a new itx project with a 360 radiator and a cpu pump block,because of the convenience with water filling, i was thinking of the Alphacool 14252 NexXxos XT45 Industry HPC Series 360mm Radiator and the Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM (120mm) fan,but,radiator is 46mm and the fan is 25mm and exceeds the size i was trying to build by a little margin,so,every mm counts
What will give me the best option,difference and performance if i change the radiator to a 30mm Alphacool 14158 NexXxoS ST30 Full Copper 360mm Radiator or the fan to a slim 15mm Noctua NF-A12x15 PWM, i,e a 30mm rad.+25mm fan or 46mm rad.+15mm fan or 46mm rad.+25mm fan configuration????

 

[rubix_1011]

Depending on setup, running a 15mm slim fan on the 46mm rad as pull only (not push), or running the slim 30mm rad and normal 25mm fan in either push or pull.

However, the Nexxos ST30 radiator is 30mm thick, not 46mm (which is why it is named the ST30). The XT45 is 45mm thick.

 

[geofelt]

What are all the parts of your build?
A small ITX case is not likely to fit a 360 radiator easily.

 

[Thangnawk]

Depending on setup, running a 15mm slim fan on the 46mm rad as pull only (not push), or running the slim 30mm rad and normal 25mm fan in either push or pull.

However, the Nexxos ST30 radiator is 30mm thick, not 46mm (which is why it is named the ST30). The XT45 is 45mm thick.
[/QUOT

Depending on setup, running a 15mm slim fan on the 46mm rad as pull only (not push), or running the slim 30mm rad and normal 25mm fan in either push or pull.

However, the Nexxos ST30 radiator is 30mm thick, not 46mm (which is why it is named the ST30). The XT45 is 45mm thick.

Thanks for the reply
Sorry with the 45 mm radiator model,its the Alphacool 14252 NexXxos XT45 Industry HPC Series 360mm Radiator
I am not really sure,i was thinking of doing it on a push configuration,the 25 mm fan pushing the 30 mm radiator or the 15 mm fan pushing the 45 mm radiator
Or if, the pull configuration is better i may go for it,since this is my first time with custom water cooling i don't have any experience

 

[Thangnawk]

What are all the parts of your build?
A small ITX case is not likely to fit a 360 radiator easily.

Thanks for your reply as well
It will be a DIY itx case and i will be installing all the top hardware,an OC 95w above cpu say an i9 9900k and a 250w tdp above gpu like the rtx 2080 ti ,if any dual gpu with a water block comes in the future,i will be using it as well,,whatever give me the best performance for gaming

 

[geofelt]

Tell me more about your DIY case.
Is it ITX for portability or some other reason.
Whatever, the key to all cooling is getting sufficient fresh air into the coolers. Ultimately, liquid cooling is air cooling.
The main difference is where the heat exchange takes place.
If this is a unlimited budget build, consider buying a binned and delidded 9900KF processor.
https://siliconlottery.com/collections/all/products/9900kf51g

 

[Thangnawk]

Tell me more about your DIY case.
Is it ITX for portability or some other reason.
Whatever, the key to all cooling is getting sufficient fresh air into the coolers. Ultimately, liquid cooling is air cooling.
The main difference is where the heat exchange takes place.
If this is a unlimited budget build, consider buying a binned and delidded 9900KF processor.
https://siliconlottery.com/collections/all/products/9900kf51g

Its more like Dr Zaber sentry 2.0 with a 360 mm radiator mounted vertically above the gpu and a cpu water pump block,there will be plenty of air flow though,am just confuse with the size of the radiator and fan to choose from,plus,this is my first time with custom water cooling

 

[Karadjgne]

I'd say it'd have to depend on the fans used. Generally lower than @1200rpm gets better results in pull, which has the side-benefit of unimpeded airflow at the fan exhaust, and fans in push do better above @ 1500rpm.

You also have to think about cleaning, since fans in push will create a definite 'donut' shaped ring of dust behind the fan, stuck to the rad fins. If the fans aren't readily accessible, you'll be pulling the pc apart for good cleanings. In pull, it's often far easier to remove just the fans and blow out the rad.

Then there's modularity. You can get any fan in 120mm x 25mm, plain or colored, rgb or led, high sp or high cfm or balanced. With the slim 11-15mm fans, you are stuck with limited choices. Not an easy replacement if changing cfm, silence, sp etc if you aren't happy with looks or performance or noise. For me, a slim fan is kinda an absolute last resort.

It's a 360mm rad. That's 350w+ capacity. On a 250w 5.0GHz OC all core i9 9900k.
And that's for AIO wattage, those AlphaCools are somewhat higher rated, closer to 400w. Either way, you have plenty of room thermally, the question being just what can and can't you live with. You'll get higher cfm, higher sp from a 25mm fan than a 15mm fan, with less noise, even if loosing 25-50w top end capacity on the rad.

Personally, I'd go with the ST30 and 25mm standard size fan over higher top end XT45 capacity rad and slim 15mm fans.