Liquid Flow Restriction

To make things simpler, I have decided to use a CORSAIR Hydro XD5 pump/reservoir combo unit rather than a discrete pump and reservoir. The pump is powered by a direct SATA connection to a CORSAIR HX750 PSU and controlled by an Aquacomputer Aquaero 6 XT. There is a previously calibrated in-line flow meter and Dwyer 490 Series 1 wet-wet manometer to measure the pressure drop of the component being tested—in this case that of each radiator. Every component is connected to the manometer by the way of 13/16 mm tubing, compression fittings, and two T-fittings.


Amazing job! I more or less expected this to be an extremely low restriction radiator given the core composition we saw on the previous page. The 42-way parallel coolant split with ~1.5 mm thick tubes makes the Bykski 60 mm RC series radiator effectively add no pressure drop relative to just about any water block on the market, and it is a far throw off from the pressure drop of the Black Ice Nemesis GTS/LS and more equivalent Black Ice Nemesis GTX/LX radiators. It is the Black Ice SR2 with a very similar core geometry that bests the Bykski radiator, but only just and within error margins, too. Likewise, the Alphacool UT60 with an equally similar core geometry is effectively the same in this regard, thus making a case for the triple-row radiators if prioritizing coolant flow restriction.