Liquid Flow Restriction

I use a Swiftech MCP50X pump with a FrozenQ 400mL cylindrical reservoir. The pump is powered by a direct SATA connection to an EVGA 1300G2 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 1/2" x 3/4" tubing, compression fittings, and two T-fittings.


I do not have a lot of thin radiators in this test database currently, and most of the radiators I have tested are in the 480 and 560 mm sizes on Thermal Bench. Extrapolating results based on everything tested so far, the XSPC TX360 comes in more restrictive than average compared to all the radiators for the same fan size, which is not a surprise given it just has thirteen tubes in a single row that are also smaller in diameter than average compared to a large number of radiators that have dual or even triple rows of tubes for way more tubes in parallel. Compared specifically against thinner, single-row radiators, things look better since most of those either go with twelve tubes or use even thinner tubes (Black Ice Nemesis GTS, for example). For even more context, the XSPC TX360 is less than half as restrictive as an average 2018 CPU water block, so it is nowhere near the most restrictive element in a watercooling loop.