[pravius]

Planning a simple water loop for my CPU right now. Wondering how much better it is to have smaller tubing in the loop. Assuming it is more water pressure which ultimately will cool the water better with faster flow. But wanted to see if it was even worth it because it seems most things come with 1/2'' barbs as it is.

Summary of what I am Getting :

Apogee XT - Comes with 1/2'' barbs planning on putting 3/8's in and out
Koolance 360 RAD - 1/2'' in from pump 3/8'' out to CPU
Swiftech Pump - 1/2'' in and out.
Rad (Not sure which one yet) but planning on 3/8'' in from CPU 1/2'' out to pump.

So in short worth it to get all these additional barbs or just stay 1/2''?

Thanks!

 

[DuckieHo]

Smaller tubing means more restriction... which leads to LESS water pressure at the blocks.

You restrict the flow for more pressure only where you need it... not throughout.

i.e. A garden hose with an open end can only push water 1-2 feet. If you restrict the flow with a nozzle, you can get 15-20ft. If you use a smaller hose, you might get 10-15ft.

 

[sivyr]

If you have to go through additional work to get smaller tubing, don't bother. As DuckieHo said, smaller tubing yields higher flow restriction.

That being said, 3/8" tubing should be fine. It's harder to kink (when compared to larger ID tubing with the same wall thickness) which can be nice, but that's about the only benefit, I think. From what I know, the restriction at 3/8" isn't too bad. However, I wouldn't even consider putting 1/4" ID tubing anywhere in my loop.

 

[MrDeodorant]

I think the MCP355 comes with 3/8 inch barbs. The 655 comes with 1/2 barbs. Neither are removable without custom tops, and they'll perform about the same in an average loop.

There really isn't much difference between 3/8 and 1/2 tubing under normal circumstances, except that 3/8 bends more easily. A friend of mine switched to 3/8 on a whim, and his temperatures were unaffected.

 

[pravius]

Ultimately then... should I just stay 1/2'' considering most of my barbs are 1/2''? BTW + rep for the replies.. it helped me put things better into perspective.

 

[MrDeodorant]

Stay at 1/2 inch unless you're finding that some of your bends are too tight.

 

[urgrandpasdog]

Yeah, just stick with your 1/2", or you could switch to 7/16" which still uses 1/2" barbs.