Liquid Flow Restriction

I used a Swiftech MCP50X pump with a FrozenQ 400mL cylindrical reservoir. The pump was powered by a direct SATA connection to an EVGA 1300G2 PSU and was controlled by an Aquacomputer Aquaero 6 XT. There was a previously calibrated in-line flow meter and a 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 was connected to the manometer by the way of 1/2" x 3/4" tubing, compression fittings, and two T-fittings.



The Black Ice Nemesis GTR 360 is in the middle of the pack here, and this is due to two things working in conjunction. Firstly, the number of coolant tubes in parallel is 16 per pass as a result of the shorter fins and the dual-core design. This reduces the pressure drop, as compared to other radiators with a single core or fewer tubes in parallel. Secondly, the tube's thickness is 1.2 mm on average, which is characteristic of the Black Ice GTS/GTX/GTR series and lower than any other. This leads to an increased pressure drop relative to radiators with thicker flat and round tubes, which makes the pressure drop with the Nemesis GTR lower than with the Nemesis GTX and Nemesis GTS, but higher than with other dual- or triple-row core radiators.


Compared to an average CPU waterblock from 2016, we see that the Nemesis GTR 360 is not really a high-restriction component. Add more of these and choose higher restriction waterblocks and you might have to resort to using a pump with more head pressure.