Best PC Radiator For Water Cooling

Taking a look at the best PC radiators to complete your liquid cooling loop

Shaun Conroy

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One of the least glamorous, however, vitally important components to your liquid cooling loop is the radiator. The PC radiator is responsible for dissipating heat from your water loop and is going to be mostly responsible, along with fans, for keeping your temps at an icy-cool low.

To find the best PC radiator, we can narrow this down by brand but you also need to think about what size radiator, in length and thickness, you go for. You need to assess whether you go for a higher fin density or more surface area while also making sure there is enough radiator to cool each of the components in your loop.

Let’s take a look.

Our Top Picks

The Best PC Radiator

Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis 360GTS

A Solid 280mm PC Radiator

Alphacool NexXxoS XT45

Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis 420GTX

The Best PC Radiator

Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis 360GTS

Alphacool NexXxoS XT45

Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis 420GTX

EKWB EK-CoolStream SE

Alphacool NexXxoS UT60

In-depth Review

The Best PC Radiator

Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis 360GTS

Editor's Rating

★★★★★ 4.7/5

Pros

Cons

The Hardware Labs Nemesis 360GTS is one of the best overall PC radiators on the market and a solid choice when you have limited space in a mid-tower system.

The build quality, as you would expect from HWLabs, is exceptional and you can count on this radiator to perform and remove the heat from your loop efficiently. The form factor is slim, however, this works wonders when in a push configuration.

The 360mm size means this is going to be able to fit in most mid-towers and up. The thickness, at just under 30mm, also makes this more versatile, giving builders a bit more clearance. The copper fin core has an FPI of 16 and is going to dissipate heat very effectively.

We have a great PC radiator here.

A Solid 280mm PC Radiator

Alphacool NexXxoS XT45

Editor's Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5

Pros

Cons

The Alphacool XT45 performs reasonably well overall, somewhat in the middle of the pack with the competition. Alphacool also brings a high level of quality to the table and with such a reasonable price, it is easy to see why this radiator is highly regarded.

While this may only be a 280mm radiator, the 45mm thickness gives you a lot more cooling potential for a smaller case. The core is copper, with the rest being comprised of steel and aluminum. The FPI is 12, which means you aren’t going to need a push/pull fan configuration to get this cooling effectively.

This radiator has some decent versatility too and that is owed to its five ports, giving you more options to create those hardline runs.

Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis 420GTX

Editor's Rating

★★★★★ 4.8/5

Pros

Cons

The thermal performance on the Nemesis 420GTX is excellent, with the power to fit three 140mm fans on either side and 16 FPI, this is going to be able to handle a lot of heat.

With a length of 420mm and a thickness of 54mm, this radiator has some of the biggest cooling potential on this list. The surface area is massive and with the right fan configuration, the copper fin core is going to effectively cool your liquid with ease.

This is a high-quality product and is ideal for those that would prefer to run low-speed fans and keep that noise down. The price may be fairly steep but the performance is definitely worth it.

The Best Large Surface Area PC Radiator

EKWB EK-CoolStream SE

Editor's Rating

★★★★★ 4.6/5

Pros

Cons

The EKWB EK-CoolStream SE may not have the same cooling performance as the radiators do from HWLabs or Alphacool but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still a great option. With a size of 480mm, you are going to need a decent-sized case to fit this monster in and if you can, you are getting a lot of surface area to cool your loop.

This is a slim radiator, 28mm thick in fact, and features an FPI of 22, which is one of the higher amounts in this round-up. All this together with an optimal fan configuration means you can effectively cool a full loop with this and still have overclocking headroom.

Another great product from EKWB, with an all copper core and some of the best build quality out there.

The Best PC Radiator For Mini-ITX Cases

Alphacool NexXxoS UT60

Editor's Rating

★★★★★ 4.4/5

Pros

Cons

AlphaCool is an excellent brand when it comes to radiators, often with high performance and a reasonable price tag to boot. This 140mm option follows suit and gives ITX builders a smaller radiator to try and cool their custom loop efficiently. Ideally, you would just want to be cooling your CPU with this but thanks to its thickness, you can just about get away with cooling your GPU too.

With its small size, this is going to be able to fit in quite a lot of cases, however, it is 60mm thick so make sure you check the clearance for that before buying. This radiator features five ports, giving you a bit more versatility when it comes to your tubing runs, which is perfect when dealing with tight spaces such as an ITX case.

Final Word

When looking for a PC radiator, you need to ensure you have enough surface area to efficiently cool the liquid in your custom loop. Whether you have the room for a lengthy rad or need to invest in a thicker one, the choice is yours but make sure you combine your desired radiator with an effective fan configuration so your new PC yields the performance it should!

WePC’s mission is to be the most trusted site in tech. Our editorial content is 100% independent and we put every product we review through a rigorous testing process before telling you exactly what we think. We won’t recommend anything we wouldn’t use ourselves. Read more

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Best GPU Water Block

Shaun Conroy

Best CPU Water Block

Shaun Conroy

Best PC Radiator For Water Cooling

Our Top Picks

Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis 360GTS

Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis 360GTS

Alphacool NexXxoS XT45

Alphacool NexXxoS XT45

Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis 420GTX

Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis 420GTX

The Best PC Radiator

Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis 360GTS

Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis 360GTS

Alphacool NexXxoS XT45

Alphacool NexXxoS XT45

Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis 420GTX

Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis 420GTX

EKWB EK-CoolStream SE

EKWB EK-CoolStream SE

Alphacool NexXxoS UT60

Alphacool NexXxoS UT60

In-depth Review

Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis 360GTS

Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis 360GTS

Alphacool NexXxoS XT45

Alphacool NexXxoS XT45

Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis 420GTX

Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis 420GTX

EKWB EK-CoolStream SE

EKWB EK-CoolStream SE

Alphacool NexXxoS UT60

Alphacool NexXxoS UT60

Final Word

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Best CPU Water Block

The Author Who Worked On This Article

Shaun Conroy

Best GPU Water Block

Best CPU Water Block

Best Water Cooling Kit

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