[SOLVED] Would a single slim radiator be sufficient for 1 Cpu and 2 Gpu’s

Oct 18, 2019
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I will be using 1 slim radiator from EK, the Ryzen 9 3900X, and 2 Asus GeForce RTX 2070 Super 8gb’s . Components will all be going into the Lian Li PC-O7S
 
Solution
You might want to check the watercooling sticky (linked below in my signature line) as well as other resouces on the web. JayzTwoCents covers a lot of the material that I have discussed on the forums here for many years, and I agree with nearly all watercooling concepts he discusses.
Depends on how big the device is.


Per EK the rule is 120mm per component. So in your case you would want at minimum a 360mm radiator. And that does not take into account overclocking. If overclocking you would want to have additional room, again per EX about 120mm for that.
 
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rubix_1011

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The only real rule is knowing the TDP able to be dissipated by the radiator at x-CFM airflow and y-coolant flow and evaluating that with your loop component thermal load at peak (100% utilization) but as a factor of 80-85% (watts in energy consumed and watts in heat produced are the same value, but is never a perfect utilization).

It is a bit safer to estimate 1.5x a 120mm radiator per component, assuming we're speaking 30mm thick heat exchangers. If we're speaking 45mm or even 60mm, then that easily drops to 1.0 or even closer to 0.75.

Ryzen 9 TDP (factory clock): 105w
Nvidia 1070 Super: 215w (x2) = 430w

So, you are looking at an overall max potential of 535 watts that could be generated at full CPU and 2x GPU loads, which rarely happens. 85% of that max 535 is 455w (535 x 0.85 = 454.75)

Given that it is very unlikely that you'll have all 3 components running at full capacity for any duration of time, I still wouldn't account for thermal dissipation from a slim 360 radiator. A 45mm thick 360 would be where I would begin...and good fans.
 
The only real rule is knowing the TDP able to be dissipated by the radiator at x-CFM airflow and y-coolant flow and evaluating that with your loop component thermal load at peak (100% utilization) but as a factor of 80-85% (watts in energy consumed and watts in heat produced are the same value, but is never a perfect utilization).

It is a bit safer to estimate 1.5x a 120mm radiator per component, assuming we're speaking 30mm thick heat exchangers. If we're speaking 45mm or even 60mm, then that easily drops to 1.0 or even closer to 0.75.

Ryzen 9 TDP (factory clock): 105w
Nvidia 1070 Super: 215w (x2) = 430w

So, you are looking at an overall max potential of 535 watts that could be generated at full CPU and 2x GPU loads, which rarely happens. 85% of that max 535 is 455w (535 x 0.85 = 454.75)

Given that it is very unlikely that you'll have all 3 components running at full capacity for any duration of time, I still wouldn't account for thermal dissipation from a slim 360 radiator. A 45mm thick 360 would be where I would begin...and good fans.

Agreed.

If it was me though I would put the CPU on its own radiator with a different one for the GPUs. But so long as you use a good and thick radiator with good SP rated fans you could do it on a single radiator.
 

rubix_1011

Contributing Writer
Moderator
I'm actually a bit surprised on that EK article...it is less specific than I would expect from them.

Maybe one day I'll update my radiator estimation worksheet to include CPU and GPUs and their TDPs so you can just choose from a drop down, but I originally wanted people to do their homework.
 
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Oct 18, 2019
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I'm actually a bit surprised on that EK article...it is less specific than I would expect from them.

Maybe one day I'll update my radiator estimation worksheet to include CPU and GPUs and their TDPs so you can just choose from a drop down, but I originally wanted people to do their homework.
So as for that i would need a extra rad man i like the look of the O7S guess ill run a single gpu appreciate the help!
 

rubix_1011

Contributing Writer
Moderator
So, are these components you haven't yet purchased? If you are still looking to buy, you might re-think the dual 2070's and go with a single 2080 Super or Ti instead. I'm not here to tell you how to spend your money but I'm running a normal 2080 and a 9700k on an EK watercooling loop and my system does very, very well.
 
Oct 18, 2019
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0
10
So, are these components you haven't yet purchased? If you are still looking to buy, you might re-think the dual 2070's and go with a single 2080 Super or Ti instead. I'm not here to tell you how to spend your money but I'm running a normal 2080 and a 9700k on an EK watercooling loop and my system does very, very well.
Yea its going to be a brand new build haven’t purchased anything yet, was thinking sli would look good aesthetically and also perform well but i know the lian li pc-o7s isn’t that big but its my favorite case on the market saw a guy with sli but he Didnt give good info on the build temps weren't high overclocking but was wanting to make sure before i started spending money, and his thread was from 2015 i believe.
 

rubix_1011

Contributing Writer
Moderator
2x GPUs does look really good, but it depends on your intended use and overall budget. In this instance, it also impacts your cooling solution decision as well.

It wouldn't be a huge detriment for your to use a slim (30mm) radiator if you wanted to do so....it isn't going to result in a meltdown of components. It would just be that for the cost spent on the overall build, the load temps wouldn't be quite as good as if you had a little more radiator space. This would also potentially provide the opportunity to question the performance and need for watercooling if your expectations were not fully met.

I'm here to help you with those expectations and provide the info to assist you in making informed decisions.

Watercooling is a lot of fun, but it's more work than some people realize at first.

It is very rewarding, though.
 
Oct 18, 2019
5
0
10
2x GPUs does look really good, but it depends on your intended use and overall budget. In this instance, it also impacts your cooling solution decision as well.

It wouldn't be a huge detriment for your to use a slim (30mm) radiator if you wanted to do so....it isn't going to result in a meltdown of components. It would just be that for the cost spent on the overall build, the load temps wouldn't be quite as good as if you had a little more radiator space. This would also potentially provide the opportunity to question the performance and need for watercooling if your expectations were not fully met.

I'm here to help you with those expectations and provide the info to assist you in making informed decisions.

Watercooling is a lot of fun, but it's more work than some people realize at first.

It is very rewarding, though.
Yea for sure i’m all for it got the time to do it built my first computer with just watching a couple youtube videos but its old now had it for 4 years now time for a upgrade i wanna go all out, only reason i say i need to use a slim is bc I've seen people say a thick rad wont fit in top if the case i dont wanna put a bunch of holes and mod the case $300 case little nervous about it i also dont want to put a rad outside the case that doesnt appeal to me lol. Might just think about running a single 2080 still up for debate. Thanks for the help its going to be my first time water cooling so trying to soak up as much info as possible.
 
I'm actually a bit surprised on that EK article...it is less specific than I would expect from them.

Maybe one day I'll update my radiator estimation worksheet to include CPU and GPUs and their TDPs so you can just choose from a drop down, but I originally wanted people to do their homework.

I guess thats why Corsair went with a configuration tool when they finally released the Hydro X. Something that takes into account parts and cooling needs.

Did a quick test config and it gives a 360 and 120 radiator. Of course this only works so long as the information is kept up to date and only for their products but something like that would be nice.
 

rubix_1011

Contributing Writer
Moderator
You might want to check the watercooling sticky (linked below in my signature line) as well as other resouces on the web. JayzTwoCents covers a lot of the material that I have discussed on the forums here for many years, and I agree with nearly all watercooling concepts he discusses.
 
Solution