Radiator fans-intake vs exhaust

[Cs342]

I currently have a 240mm radiator mounted at the top of my CM 690 II Advanced. There are 2 Cooler Master 120mm LED fans on top of the rad (I also have 2 Yate Loons lying around - would those be better?). Since hot air rises it would make sense to use the rad fans as exhaust, but since they are on top of the rad and not under it, using them as intake is what I've been doing. Should I use the rad fans as intake or exhaust?

 

[Lutfij]

purely based on specs+pics: really bad block design and its also ugly - no offense.

is it for free? or you have it lying around? honestly take a look at he blocks i mentioned.

* out of assumption, you have an LGA 775 rig right? get the raystorm block - ships with the 775 retention+backplate

 

[Cs342]

1155 mate, core i7-2600k

 

[Lutfij]

i said this cos the link you provided mentions support upto LGA 775. anyways, i still hold on to horrible block design theory of the SC-C11.

 

[Cs342]

I can't seem to find reviews on it anyway... I only bought it because it was the only block available locally. Here are my pump and radiator:
http://www.syscooling.com/products/Water_Pumps/2011/0920/31.html
http://www.syscooling.com/products/Radiators/2011/0919/20.html

I hope THOSE don't need to be upgraded

 

[Lutfij]

:/ can you return it and get a proper kit...?

* you still didn't mention what your temps are...?

 

[Motopsychojdn]

I'd say that will hold until you can afford to upgrade the block, even swapping it out for a more modern unit isn't going to improve your temps by more than 1-2'c at best if at all,
the solution here is getting maximum cool air through that rad, that will be your best plan of attack
the block will be fine for now, address the issue that affects your temps the most first
**Edit, you posted pump and rad whilst I was posting hehe,

Moto

 

[Lutfij]

^ or that will work too

 

[Cs342]

so opinions on pump and rad pls??

 

[Motopsychojdn]

I would upgrade the pump tbh, but if the budget won't allow right now then dwai, as long as you are not kinking the tubes and are getting good flow it will be ok,
rads are rads by and large, even between the top performers theres very little difference,
if building a new loop is on the cards then plan it from the ground up, I would hold with the current loop as is rather than upgrading one part at a time every six months,
Moto

 

[Cs342]

I was under the impression that all pumps over 500L/H are equal according to most guides

 

[Motopsychojdn]

build quality will vary from manf to manf, it may have been 600Lph with a 4 metre head from the factory, but how quickly a pump degrades depends on the quality of seals used, bearings etc, you can find some older pumps that just won't quit and some of the earlier Xspc pumps were, problematic shall we say hehe
same as any other game really you get what you pay for, and unfortunately some places are more subject to availability issues than others
I'm off for a while now though man,climbing time hehe I'll check back later
Moto

 

[Cs342]

al right thanks! wow looks like my entire loop is crap...

 

[Lutfij]

:/ well i didn't want to break it to you. Kinda hate to burst soap bubbles of other people enthusiastically looking into new stuff. Can you ask for a refund? or maybe sell it to someone else?

 

[Cs342]

well as i said earlier, i am intending, some time next week, to replace tubing to UV 1/2 inch (primochill LRT), and also swap my reservoir (any recommendations on a cheap res? are res pump combos any good? XSPC X20 750 Dual Bay for example?). what i would like to know is whether or not changing the waterblock and radiator (it will still be a 240mm rad for sure since that's all my case and most others can fit) will make a huge (eg 10 degrees Celcius) difference in CPU temps.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Changing the rad is the most effective of the two options,
waterblocks don't offer more than a couple of degrees difference, but a better rad with good air through it can make a huge difference, despite 'my rads are rads' comment earlier, I should have mentioned the importance of having good flow as the defining factor between.
My Xspc dualbay res is fine, can't hear the pump although I know some people have had issues, I believe they were resolved by Xspc
What are your current temps like? and whats your ambient temp too, you can't get below ambient as a rule, not without some serious mentality
Moto

 

[Lutfij]

and some blocks of ice looming over a peltier unit

 

[Motopsychojdn]

I was referring to 4Ryan6's mental set up hehe
Moto

 

[rubix_1011]

I've never seen those components you listed above...kind of like finding an otherwise extinct animal that you never knew existed.

The pump almost looks like a Thermaltake brand of some sort, but not exactly at the same time. That radiator looks like one of the very first DangerDen 240 rads I had a long time ago, but I can tell it isn't. I'm curious if there are links/retailers that you have the ability to buy from...maybe we can compare some gear for you.

First rule of watercooling- not all gear is created equal. A radiator still might be a radiator, but you can't expect the same results from every one.

 

[Lutfij]

kind of like finding an otherwise extinct animal that you never knew existed.

this day is just getting funnier by the threads.

in other news, saint19 wants to become Bruce Wayne and get a 21 multimotor eyefinity setup

First rule of watercooling- not all gear is created equal. A radiator still might be a radiator, but you can't expect the same results from every one.

noted - since the innards are what makes these things tick or should i say click into performing like a Ferrari.

@ OP - i didn't mention this earlier but there is no cross-sectional diagram of any sort to compare the cpu block with any of today's or yester-years blocks to give you a sound advice.

* rubix - took the Tt "idea" out of my mouth ... and they weren't any good either.

 

[Cs342]

So I should change the radiator instead of the reservoir... and stick with my current water block?? Also, I really need to get a res that is silent because my current res is really annoying... are you absolutely sure the XSPC dual bay pump res combo does not make any noise?

 

[Motopsychojdn]

changing the res won't affect temps,
Resses only make noise when water moves air so if there is very little to no air in there, it can't make much noise
my Pc is about ten inches away and I would estimate the noise (fans on low) at less than 10Db
you could actually leave a res out of the loop altogether, but your bleeding has to be spot on if you do that,
I would try moving the fans a bit before spending any money,
try the fans directly on top of the case blowing upwards, then the rad on top of them, and finally two fans on top of the rad,
I think you'll see a temp difference without buying new parts but my preference of purchase order would be:
Pump (maybe pump/res combo as you suggested)
better fans
rad
waterblock
tubing
but as stated, I'd play around with what you do have first to get the best from those parts,
Moto

 

[Cs342]

My top priority right not is actually tubing and res because i want UV lighting and my res right now has a spinning wheel that is driving me crazy from the noise. Obviously I want to improve CPU temps as well since it's idling at around 25-30 degrees Celcius, which tbh I have seen people achieve that with air cooling, and goes to 60 degrees under full load Prime 95 at stock speeds. That's why right now I'm getting a Logisys dual cathode UV kit, Primochill LRT UV Blue tubing with UV blue barb fittings and UV blue clamps (all 1/2 inch) and im thinking of getting a res pump combo but am concerned about noise

 

[Motopsychojdn]

I know about the tubing being a priority for you,
I can video my rig for you and throw it on gluetube, might take a while to sort though,
and its on a desire Z camera, I don't own a real video camera
Moto

 

[Cs342]

i know your pump res combo doesnt make any noise, but im worried mine will , just take a look at this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSswZIbY9G4

 

[Lutfij]

@ cs - no offense but why don't you save yourself the worry, time and effort and get something that'll give you peace of mind and a worth while setup.

revert back to the stock cooler, rid yourself of this cheap no name watercooler. :/ and get a good kit like the "great-for-starters" XSPC raystorm RX kit