[Blog] Single vs. Dual Triple 120mm Radiator

wez — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:28:05 +0000

My goal was to better understand the impact of adding a second 360 radiator, which in theory doubles the heat dissipation capability of your loop. But what does it bring to the table in terms of overclockability on the AM3 platform?
Read on for a lightweight comparison between running one and two 360-sized radiators in a single loop, cooling a quad core AMD Phenom II CPU………….

TEST SETUP

Liquid Cooling components

Radiator(s): 1-2x Alphacool Nexxxos Xtreme III rev. 2
CPU block: EK-Supreme Acetal
Pump: Swiftech MCP655-B
Reservoir: Magicool 400mm POM tube
Tubing: Masterkleer 12,7/15,9mm
Fittings: 13/16mm compression
Radiator fans: 120 x 120×25mm push/pull 7.9v
Coolant: Pure distilled water
Loop order: Pump -> Radiator(s) -> CPU -> Reservoir

PC hardware & software

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA790FXT-UD5P (BIOS f3m)
CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 965 BE (rev. C3)
RAM: 2×2GB OCZ Platinum (1600MHz 7-7-7 1.9v)
GPU: 2x XFX ATI HD 5770 1Gb (rev. 1)
PSU: Chieftec CFT 1200G-DF 1200W
Software: Windows 7 Ultimate 32bit
CPU-Z v1.53
Prime95 v25.9
HCI MemTest v4.0
Core Temp v0.99.5

MAX stable OC
single radiator

Below are a CPU-Z screenshot of the highest achievable OC using a single 3×120 radiator. Prime95 blend test was used for load and stability testing.

4116MHz CPU (1,55v) & 2940MHz CPU-NB (1,50v)

I finally settled for a CPU frequency of 4116MHz, together with a CPU-NB running at 2940MHz. With a load temperature of 51C°, there is no headroom left to push things further.
And as expected the dual radiator setup had no problems at all with this heat load.

MAX stable OC
dual radiator

CPU-Z screenshot of highest achievable OC using dual 3×120 radiators connected in serial. Stability where once again confirmed with the help of Prime95.

4158MHz CPU (1,55v) & 2970MHz CPU-NB (1,50v)

With two radiators connected in serial, it was possible to push the frequencies even further. Managed to squeeze out 4158MHZ for the CPU and 2970MHz on the CPU-NB.
With temperatures shooting over 52C° before crashing, the single radiator setup just couldn’t to handle this kind of heat load.

QUICK FINAL THOUGHTS

Moving from a single to dual radiator setup allowed for a small but respectable increase in frequency. To be precise, an extra 42MHz on the CPU and 30MHz on the CPU-NB. Not too shabby at all in my opinion! ….

TechREACTION » 3×120mm radiator

[Blog] Single vs. Dual Triple 120mm Radiator