Is PA120.1 enough?
 

I am currently cooling an AMD 2X 4400 with a PA120.1 Auaextreme 50Z and swiftech Apogee-- it seems to work ok. I'm upgrading to Xeon 3060 ( same as Conroe E6600) and I was wondering if this would be enough to cool that CPU as they get hot ( up to 230W I belive) when overclocked- most forums I have asked on recommend going to PA.120.2 or 3. Thanks for any light you can shed.

Re: Is PA120.1 enough?
 

The RAD is enough. PA120.3 is overkill and ridicilous but you install it if you want.
PA120.2 is a decent improvement but still not neccessary.

The E6600 overclocked consumes and produces as much or less wattage as AMD x2 4400 at stock settings. Consumption for X2 at stock settings is at 210-225 watt range, higher for overclocked by another 20-25watts. If the rad is enough for your current setup is should be fine for the E6600, just throw another fan or a higher CFM fan on it if possible.

Best way of being sure is installing the the new cpu with the WCing loop and finding out yourself. Better than relying on people's advice who might not even have a 120mm rad, same cpu, or a WCing setup.

Re: Is PA120.1 enough?
 

Yea I agree with rice. The dual or triple rad recommendations are often overrated; usually a single rad will suffice.

Re: Is PA120.1 enough?
 

Thanks chaps; can the same be said If I wanted to add a GPU cooler as well or would I be pushing the limit?

Re: Is PA120.1 enough?
 

I'm currently cooling a 6400 with a nvidia 7600GT and the single radiator fan is at 8v. So you should be fine if you add a gpu block, if anything you'll need to increase your fan speeds. If you want as quiet as possible then here's where a dual rad might help, you might be able to run the fans at < 7v with the extra block. But I'd definately give it a try with the single rad first.

Re: Is PA120.1 enough?
 

depends on the vid card you plan to upgrade. 7600gt doesn't run that hot.

you can use the 120mm rad but try adding another fan or a faster cfm one.

You can always add another 120mm RAD and it dosn't add that much restriction and performs close to dual 120mm rad.

Re: Is PA120.1 enough?
 

Yeah, itll be enough. But make sure you have very high CFM as the PA series scale up very nice. Over 80CFM should be enough.

Re: Is PA120.1 enough?
 

Update: All the bits on are on the floor and I'm ready to go but I'm still pensive as I've bought an 8800GTX and an EK water block. to add to the loop! The case is an Xclio Aplus 380 with 250mm fans on front and side, I also have memory and antec spot coolers. I've got a swiftech RADBox should I be thinking PA 120.2 or will I still be okay. Cheers

Re: Is PA120.1 enough?
 

If you are planing on water cooling that 8800GTX along with your CPU then I would go with the PA 120.2(or .3?).

You would still be able to cool the 8800 GTX and a CPU with a PA 120.1 but you would probably be disappointed with the temperatures.

Re: Is PA120.1 enough?
 

http://www.thermochill.com/PATesting/index.php#PA1201
Understood :) I had some advice from the electic on xtremesystem, he said I need to dissapate more heat. I'm after good performance I will not mess around with my latest build..... this is a design of my older dual Xeon case is it a good design and should I repeat it? I kinda prefer it to putting a PA 120.2 on the back another PA 120.3 on top perhaps: I may invest in another 8800GTX in the future:) Aesthetically for me it is okay but I'm sure the cooling experts here may find an alternative design more efficient. Many thanks for your help chaps

Re: Is PA120.1 enough?
 

it must be virtually impossible to get ALL the air out of that Radiator mounted like that with the inlets at the bottem !

you'll also want those fans sucking the air up otherwise you'll be fighting convection .

Re: Is PA120.1 enough?
 

Just tipping the case will get the air out.

With a 3x120 rad and an airflow of just 100CFM the air will be traveling something like 2-3mph.
Convection will be inconsequential at that speed.

I would loose those fan grills and filters, add a shroud, and have the fans sucking through the rad though.

Re: Is PA120.1 enough?
 

So basically you agree with me .