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 in 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, thus, a normalized percentage-based data set was created and plotted with the subject of this review at 100%.


There is not much differentiating the radiators presently tested, yet carving out the smallest of gaps is all the harder with radiators. The relatively worse thermal performance holds back the impressive coolant flow restriction, which ultimately was already in the middle of the pack to where the relative overall performance ends up on the lower side of average.

Performance per Dollar

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


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 do not get reflected directly, such as the build quality and color options, as well as any integrated lighting, as with some offerings from Alphacool, Thermaltake, etc. Regardless, we are clearly in for a surprise on the following page, where pricing will be discussed, including that the Bykski 30 mm RC radiator went from one of the worst relative performers to easily topping the value chart above!