What is the best performing 360mm radiator?

[GordonFreemanInTheFlesh]

Hi everyone.
I am looking for the absolute best performing(up to-30mm thick) 360mm radiator?
No matter the price.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07FNW1...ubtag=460031112-311-&tag=best_reviews_uk_3-21

Pretty tough with 30mm limit. This is pretty good though

Or take your pick-
https://www.pc-diagnostics.com/best-360mm-radiators/

 

[ir_cow]

HardwareLabs is my top pick for a goos RAD. Lot of other brands are good as well. Just depends on your fan setup. Do you want super quite, or loud. Fin density is a factor to consider.

 

[kapone32]

Alphacool Nexxos 30mm are pretty good. They have a nice flow rate

I actually tried a Corsair 360 $99 shipped. It is good. All rads essentially are similar but The quality of your pump/res is much more important.

 

[thesmokingman]

I am looking for the absolute best performing(up to-30mm thick

As mentioned above that limits you to HWL.

 

[maxfly]

HWL is my suggestion as well.

 

[phanbuey]

HWL or Corsair (HWL is their manufacturer).

 

[maxfly]

HWL or Corsair (HWL is their manufacturer).

Yep, Corsair rads are rebadged HWL L-series rads that can be had far cheaper. The markup is usually around $30 or $40 for a 360 at ppcs. So don't fall for the Corsair badge before you price check.

Black Ice Nemesis L-Series 360 Stealth Radiator

Black Ice Nemesis L-Series 360 Stealth Radiator NLS360-F2PB

www.performance-pcs.com

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Don't forget the HWL Slim GTS has slightly high restriction compared to some other slim rads.

 

[looniam]

all 20-30mm thick rads:

to be fair EK isn't represented but from experiences of ~8 years of thermalbench/extreme rigs reviews - they never had gotten a top spot though i have a EKPE 280 which is fine but not there.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

all 20-30mm thick rads:

to be fair EK isn't represented but from experiences of ~8 years of thermalbench/extreme rigs reviews - they never had gotten a top spot though i have a EKPE 280 which is fine but not there.

I'm using a ek xe 360, which i think is pretty good, and a 360 PE.

The XSPC slim 360 are pretty good, but most recommend HWL still. Go with performance, not perceived quality.

 

[tabascosauz]

Hi everyone.
I am looking for the absolute best performing(up to-30mm thick) 360mm radiator?
No matter the price.

Since performance and 30mm is the only metric, then 360GTS is the one for you. At a quick glance, push-pull doesn't change that recommendation either, at least below 1300rpm (above which speed you should probably reevaluate your priorities anyways with a 30mm thin rad).

Pretty outstanding where the GTS as a 30mm rad stacks up to the SR-2, a 60mm niche low speed rad. And without needing push-pull.

The Xtremerigs roundup is a few years old but the choices haven't really changed since then so it's good data.

 

[looniam]

I'm using a ek xe 360, which i think is pretty good, and a 360 PE.

The XSPC slim 360 are pretty good, but most recommend HWL still. Go with performance, not perceived quality.

EK phat boys do better: cira~2016

not sure how they stack up anymore -EK doesn't seem to sample reviews like they use to.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

EK phat boys do better: cira~2016

not sure how they stack up anymore -EK doesn't seem to sample reviews like they use to.

That's why i picked the XE, would have two, but can't fit one in the top.

 

[Lei]

@Arbër
longer the better, never go thick. That's my mantra.
A potato chopped in half cools down faster than a thick one.

I like AlphaCool because the fins are not painted, that helps dispose the heat better. looking from the right angle, Alphacools look like grilled corns.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

@Arbër
longer the better, never go thick. That's my mantra.
A potato chopped in half cools down faster than a thick one.

I like AlphaCool because the fins are not painted, that helps dispose the heat better. looking from the right angle, Alphacools look like grilled corns.

So why do the fat radiators cool better than thin ones then?

Also he said a 360mm so we should stick to that and pick the best 360 for his needs.

 

[Lei]

@Tigger
they don't cool better if you go longer instead of adding thickness. fat only is better if length remains same.
true, we stick to 360mm, but many benchmarks posted in thread were for thicker ones. also OP said upto 30mm, is there anything thinner than that?

@Arbër
Does a 420mm fit? Just in case, it is still shorter than a quad for 12mm fans.

 

[GordonFreemanInTheFlesh]

HardwareLabs is my top pick for a goos RAD. Lot of other brands are good as well. Just depends on your fan setup. Do you want super quite, or loud. Fin density is a factor to consider.

I will be using Nidec Gentle Typhoons

@Tigger
they don't cool better if you go longer instead of adding thickness. fat only is better if length remains same.
true, we stick to 360mm, but many benchmarks posted in thread were for thicker ones. also OP said upto 30mm, is there anything thinner than that?

@Arbër
Does a 420mm fit? Just in case, it is still shorter than a quad for 12mm fans.

Sadly not but I was planning on running a 240mm for my cpu and a 360mm for my gpu, I'think I will go with Alphacool since I am the most familiar with their products.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07FNW1...ubtag=460031112-311-&tag=best_reviews_uk_3-21

Pretty tough with 30mm limit. This is pretty good though

Or take your pick-
https://www.pc-diagnostics.com/best-360mm-radiators/

I was looking at this for a couple of days now, thank you!
I made my pick for the XSPC 360mm ultrathin.

 

[cvaldes]

So why do the fat radiators cool better than thin ones then?

More surface area on the fins, the same way that tall heatsinks cool better than short heatsinks.

Note that this isn't linear scaling. A 60mm thick radiator won't provide twice as much cooling as a 30mm thick radiator.

I think EKWB has an analysis (with graphs) somewhere on their website that illustrates relative cooling performance between radiators of various thicknesses.

Depending on OP's cooling requirements it might not make that much difference which 360mm radiator one buys (assuming it comes from a decent manufacturer). Looking at the benchmark graph posted earlier, the various 30mm thick radiators are probably within 3% variance of cooling performance, not enough to make a noticeable difference.

I would focus more on radiator fan performance with a particular interest in quiet operation.

Sadly not but I was planning on running a 240mm for my cpu and a 360mm for my gpu, I'think I will go with Alphacool since I am the most familiar with their products.

I am currently using a PrimoChill 240mm EximoSM (40mm thick) radiator to cool my Ryzen 5900X (105W TDP); I previously used an XSPC TX360 ultrathin radiator but I made some case configuration changes that required me to ditch the top-mounted radiator. The 240mm radiator provides more than enough cooling capacity for this CPU.

I'm using an Alphacool NexXxos ST30 radiator for my RTX 3080 Ti (with Alphacool Eisblock Aurora Acryl GPX-N waterblock) and it provides more than enough cooling capacity for this graphics card. The GPU radiator fans max out at 930 rpm based on my fan curves so it's still very quiet.

 

[GordonFreemanInTheFlesh]

More surface area on the fins, the same way that tall heatsinks cool better than short heatsinks.

Note that this isn't linear scaling. A 60mm thick radiator won't provide twice as much cooling as a 30mm thick radiator.

I think EKWB has an analysis (with graphs) somewhere on their website that illustrates relative cooling performance between radiators of various thicknesses.

Depending on OP's cooling requirements it might not make that much difference which 360mm radiator one buys (assuming it comes from a decent manufacturer). Looking at the benchmark graph posted earlier, the various 30mm thick radiators are probably within 3% variance of cooling performance, not enough to make a noticeable difference.

I would focus more on radiator fan performance with a particular interest in quiet operation.


I am currently using a PrimoChill 240mm EximoSM (40mm thick) radiator to cool my Ryzen 5900X (105W TDP); I previously used an XSPC TX360 ultrathin radiator but I made some case configuration changes that required me to ditch the top-mounted radiator. The 240mm radiator provides more than enough cooling capacity for this CPU.

I'm using an Alphacool NexXxos ST30 radiator for my RTX 3080 Ti (with Alphacool Eisblock Aurora Acryl GPX-N waterblock) and it provides more than enough cooling capacity for this graphics card. The GPU radiator fans max out at 930 rpm based on my fan curves so it's still very quiet.

What was your experience with the XSPC 360mm ultra thin?
Any negative impressions?
Do they need to be cleaned more often, I don't have any pets so my house is relatively clean.
What fans were you using?

 

[cvaldes]

What was your experience with the XSPC 360mm ultra thin?
Any negative impressions?
Do they need to be cleaned more often, I don't have any pets so my house is relatively clean.
What fans were you using?

My experience with the XSPC 360mm ultrathin was all positive. I still own it even though it is currently not being used; I expect to put in another build someday.

I never cleaned it during the six months it lived in the case. When I replaced it with the 240mm radiator it wasn't very dusty. I don't have pets either and my place doesn't have carpet. It was top mounted and exhausted outside the case so the air had already been partly filtered.

I used Noctua NF-F12 PWM fans with the XSPC radiator. I use the same fans with the Primochill radiator that replaced it as well as the Alphacool NexXxos ST30 360mm radiator for my GPU (the build in my System Specs). This is my go-to fan for radiators.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

I was using a EK 280 SE(i think) and a EK 360 PE, when i switched cases i switched out the 280 for a EK 360 XE, thought why not the XE if it fits. Imo got with whatever 360 fits.

 

[eidairaman1]

So why do the fat radiators cool better than thin ones then?

Also he said a 360mm so we should stick to that and pick the best 360 for his needs.

More surface area to dissipate heat. It's like comparing the Scythe Ashura Heatsink to the Scythe Mugen Max Heatsink, both are 140mm coolers but the Max is deeper when looked at from the side panel in a case (top down).

I got the Ashura as an experiment and it impressed me in 2016 when I got 5.0 GHz stable 24/7 lol.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Depends what you want to do really
Rads like hwl gts series is really for silent cooling low rpm fans in other words

On the other hand hwl gtx is for high performance cooling on high rpm fans max oc cooling.

 

[eidairaman1]

Hi,
Depends what you want to do really
Rads like hwl gts series is really for silent cooling low rpm fans in other words

On the other hand hwl gtx is for high performance cooling on high rpm fans max oc cooling.

I have manual control over my case fans, the gpu and gpu are auto controlled, under normal operating conditions I don't hear anything inspite of them running constantly. I just up them when gaming.