HWLabs SR2 140 Multi-Port Radiator Review

The Data

All the testing was performed with the exact same equipment as the 360mm radiator roundup.  The only exception is the use of the 140mm Noctua Industrial fans replace the 120mm GT fans.  We used the exact same methods as in the 360mm round-up.  To see exactly how the tests were carried out, details of the test set ups and equipment used, please head over to the RRU Test Setup page.

Restriction Test

It’s generally agreed that radiators are some of the least restrictive components in the water cooling loop. There are some exceptions, so this must still be verified through testing:

The above photo of the restriction test bench is for reference. The SR2 140 MP is not loaded so please disregard any data from the picture.

Here is the raw data at the tested flow rates.  Flow rate was increased and the differential pressure was measured:
The table numbers show that the SR2 140 MP is quite a low restriction radiator. However numbers in isolation can only tell half the story. By plotting against other components it more easily shows the whole story.

We have decided to use a HeatKiller 3.0 CPU block as the reference in this next plot for two reasons. Firstly there is no chance of the plot being cluttered by curves overlapping. Secondly it gives a reference point against a common loop component of average restriction.

We have limited the maximum flow rate displayed to 2.0 GPM as we suspect there are few systems that operate above 2.0 GPM. For more information on how to read a restriction plot check out our guide.

This plot indicates the Nemesis 140 GTS is an extremely low restriction loop component. What about compared to other radiators?

The next three plots show the restriction level at three different flow rates compared to the other 140mm radiators tested. We consider the chosen GPM rates to represent systems which have low, medium and high flow rates.

These 3 plots show us that the SR2 140 MP is actually a very low restriction radiator when compared to some other 140mm models.

To give a bit more perspective on the restrictiveness, lets now take a look at where the SR2 140 MP fits in relation to all the radiators we have tested. For this plot, only results for 1.0 GPM have been used for the comparison.

When put into context with all the radiators, we rate the SR2 140 MP as a radiator with a very low restriction level.

Before we move on, let’s isolate the current HWLabs radiators from the rest and see how they line up at 1.0 GPM. We have separated the SR2, Nemesis GTX and Nemesis GTS series by color coding and it show us nicely how each series restriction level scales as the size increases.

Essentially all the radiators scale up in restriction as they grow in length.  However the SR2 models are always extremely low, while the GTX is in the middle and the GTS is quite high indeed.

Onwards to Thermal Performance!