Performance Summary

With radiators, thermal performance is the most important metric. Liquid flow restriction is one contributor to a loop's overall flow rate, which is also affected by the pump and other used components, and I would, as such, recommend choosing a pump of a head pressure equal to or greater than the combined liquid-flow restriction of your individual components (in series) at the target flow rate. It also is incorporated into the design of the radiator core, which in turn influences thermal performance as well, so in an indirect way, it is already represented by the latter. In order to quantify relative performance for a radiator thus, it makes sense to consider the thermal performance metrics only, and a normalized percentage-based data set was thus created and plotted with the subject of this review at 100%.


Not much differentiates the radiators presently tested, yet carving out the smallest of gaps is all the harder with radiators. The comparatively worse thermal performance coupled with the average coolant flow restriction results in an overall performance that is well on the lower side of average and has the NexXxos ST25 360 share the same spot with a few other radiators in the 20–30 mm thickness class.

Performance per Dollar

When available, prices are taken from the manufacturer's web shop at the time of each product's review, with all numbers reported in US dollars. For products not available directly, the most obvious retail source was chosen. For products no longer available, the last available reasonable price point was taken.


The value proposition of radiators is more directly tied to pure quantifiable performance than with water blocks, fans, and reservoirs. But even here remain a few things that are not reflected directly, such as the build quality and color options, as well as any integrated lighting with some offerings from Alphacool, Thermaltake, etc. The NexXxos ST25 clearly is not one of those lit up radiators, which pricing reflects as it makes a huge jump from being a comparatively worse performer to one of the better value offerings in the chart above.