yes, you can use a car radiator in your water loop.
yes, you can use a car radiator in your water loop.
USAFRet:
jvinsnes shared some thoughts on the situation. The pump seems capable of handling the entire loop, but they only have this radiator and are hesitant to invest more. The aluminum radiator usually costs around 600 USD, yet they received it for free from their dad. Their CPU is experiencing thermal throttling at 100°C, and they're hoping to overclock with this setup. They're unsure about the current cooling setup and whether they're overclocking or not.
They describe the CPU as an old-school workstation processor without overclock protection (OC). It uses a small heatsink with two fans that move when the case is opened. They're considering upgrading their current PC, using their gaming laptop (Alienware M17XR3), or exploring other options, but they're leaning towards water cooling on a low budget. They linked a post for reference: https://imageshack.us/i/pnzDbe6Jj
They also mention that if the stock fans aren't reaching 100°C, there might be an issue with installation, thermal paste, or something else. They're open to using a car radiator but note it won't provide significant performance gains compared to a standard PC cooler. They haven't yet identified the exact CPU model and are still trying to boot it due to missing hardware.
i just found out the fans aren't even rotating
... lol. sorry, i didn't mention the cpu name, but i really don't know. all the numbers and stuff are gone, and i can't boot it (hdd is missing right now) to check
and that's why it's getting too hot. not because of a big radiator either.
USAFRet:
jvinsnes shared that the fans aren't spinning at all.
... sorry, I didn’t mention the CPU name, but I’m really unsure. All the numbers are gone and I can’t boot it (HDD missing right now) to check.
This is why it’s getting too hot—not because of a big radiator.
I get the idea now, but I’ll still set up water cooling with my car’s radiator and maybe upgrade the system.
Just in case, I bought all the parts on eBay for about 11 USD, probably to update this thread later once I have everything. It was really cheap!
jvinsnes :
USAFRet :
I just found out the fans aren’t even spinning properly.
... haha, sorry I didn’t mention the CPU name, but I’m really not sure. All the numbers are gone and I can’t boot it (no HDD right now) to check.
That’s why it’s getting too hot—not because of a big radiator.
I get it now, but I’ll still set up water cooling with my car’s radiator and maybe upgrade the system a bit.
If you’re curious, I spent about 11 USD on Ebay for all the parts for the loop. Maybe I’ll post an update once I get everything after I receive the components—it was really cheap.
Sure.
As before... this is just a hobby project. Don’t expect miracles.
And for your current lack of hard drive to see the actual parts (CPU), a Linux USB or CD would work fine.
I really missed quite a bit. Actually, all the water cooling car builds I assisted with have been hobby projects. Most turned out well, but from what I observed in other posts, there are some things to watch out for... things like pump strength, using all aluminum, cooling capacity, etc. Regarding pump strength, people who have done this before I’ve helped use dual pumps in series. One builder installed a pump on each side of the rad, while another chose a more standard pump configuration. If I recall correctly, the person with pumps on both sides got better cooling results; though the rigs weren’t exactly the same and the water blocks differed, a direct comparison might not be perfect. The main takeaway is that for larger or longer rads, a dual pump setup could still be a good option.