Hardware Labs SR2 280 Multi-Port Radiator Review

1. Introduction2. Technical Specifications3. Flow Rate Testing4. Thermal Testing5. Data Analysis6. Summary7. View All

Introduction

Hardware Labs SR2 280 MP Radiator Review

Welcome to another Extreme Rigs 280mm radiator review. Today we’ll be looking at the Black Ice SR2 280 MP (Multi-Port) from Hardware Labs. It is one of 8 models available in the SR2 MP range of radiators that fall under HWLabs’ Black Ice^® banner.

The SR2 280 MP is a 60mm thick radiator and is one of four radiators in our test group that are over 50mm thick. The SR2 and now the SR2 MP range are the successor’s to HWLab’s massively popular SR1 series which for many years had the reputation of being the best radiator with low speed fans. For the SR2 series release HWLabs have tweaked the cooling core so that it now has great all round performance, while still being excellent with low speeds fans. We saw evidence of this in our review of the SR2 360 MP where it placed 2nd in the overall performance rankings and received an ER Gold Award. We are excited to see if this 280mm version performs similarly. We have high expectations and suspect that it won’t let us down.  After all we’ve already seen it perform well in our reviews for the SR2 140 MP and SR2 420 MP.

In this review of the SR2 280 MP we’ll take a close look at it’s construction & quality, analyze the performance data by comparing it’s results against other 280mm radiators and then conclude with a summary.

Firstly a big thanks to Hardware Labs for providing the review sample of the SR2 280 MP. Since we commenced our radiator testing their commitment to our independent tests has been exemplary. Extreme Rigs couldn’t publish the reviews we do without the continued support offered by our sponsors.

Before we start we would again like to say thanks to Noctua for providing the NF-A14 Industrial PPC-2000 IP67 PWM 140mm fans. We use these fans for all our 140mm based radiator thermal performance testing because they have great static pressure which is required to get the best performance from even densest of radiator cores and of course, their proven reliability.

What’s in the Box?

The SR2 280 MP sample arrived in full retail packaging. Existing packaging from the SR2 280 has been used, as the “MP MuiltiPort” labeling is a sticker which has been strategically placed on the front of the retail sleeve. We can confirm that the extra ports are the only difference between the initial release and the MP revision, so we expect to see the packaging updated in the future.

On the back of the retail sleeve a detailed technical drawing is provided along with a list of features. Because the sleeve is from the original single port SR2 280, there is no reference to the Multi-Port features anywhere to be found.  Nor are the extra ports shown on the technical drawing.

After removing the outer retail sleeve we find a sturdy cardboard box with a Black Ice^® seal.

The seal advises to check screw lengths if using screws other than those provided, which we’ll discuss in more detail shortly.

Opening the box, we see the familiar packing layout which HWLabs use for all their radiators. The packaging is strong and secure, but it we feel it lacks a bubble wrap sleeve to avoid possible scuffing/scratches on the paint during transport.

On the right hand side the supplied accessories are placed under a lift up flap.

The package consists of the following:

1 x SR2 280 Multi-Port Radiator
8 x M4 x 28mm screws.
8 x M4 x 5mm screws.
4 x G 1/4 port plugs.

As only 8 screws of each length are provided, you will need to provide an extra set of “longer” screws if you intend to install a Push/Pull fan assembly.

The shorter screws measure in at ~5mm and only have 1 possible use with SR2 MP radiators, that being to attach mounting brackets for reservoirs or pumps directly to the radiator.

Normally one might also be able to use the short screws to attach the radiator to a case panel or mounting bracket. BUT that is not possible with the SR2 MPs because when port plugs are fitted they protrude out past the casing by about 4mm rendering the 5mm screws useless for radiator installation.

The longer screws are 28mm long. and these are “almost” the perfect length for mounting a 25mm thick fan directly to the radiator.

However in almost all instances the 28mm screws are not long enough to mount a fan between radiator and case panel. If using a mounting bracket, or placing fans between the case panel and radiator, you will need to provide your own M4 screws of suitable length. In most instances M4 x 30mm screws will be suitable.

This leaves us with a rather unusual situation where the radiator can not be installed using the supplied hardware. The 28mm screw are too short and the 5mm screws are unusable because of the ports.

We have discussed this with HWLabs previously and in the end we agreed to disagree that the screw sets are the appropriate/incorrect length to be able to mount the SR2 MP radiators.

In the following photos 2 different 30mm screws have been used to fix a 25mm thick fan in position with a supplied 28mm screw beside it. There is ~1.5mm clearance when using the 30mm screw to attach the fan, so we argue that 30mm screws would be the ideal length to supply with the SR2 MP radiators. If 30mm screws were supplied purchasers would have the choice to fit a fan between their case panel or directly mounted to the radiator without having to purchase any additional screws. Even better would be to include 2 sets of 30mm screws to accommodate installation of a push/pull fan assembly.

 

HWLabs also provides some spare port plugs, aka stop fittings. 4 x extra port plugs come with the Multi-Port version of the SR2 280. These are in addition to 6 that are pre-installed into 6 of the 8 the ports of the radiator which is fantastic because the radiator is ready for flushing straight from the box. This means it comes with a total of 10 stop fittings, which is great, if somewhat overkill. To keep the costs down these are not made of brass but instead are POM, aka Delrin or in other words they are plastic.

If you look closely you will notice that the stop plugs have a hex-head machined into the outer surface.
HWLabs recommends only using fingers to tighten down the port plugs. However given that using an allen key is an optional method of tightening/loosening these plugs we tried using them. Unfortunately the recessed key holes begin rounding off after a couple of uses.

Ultimately end users will decide whether or not they choose to replace these factory fitted Delrin plugs with plated/painted brass ones. I suspect that most users will be happy to keep the stock plugs in place as they certainly are convincing and do look good. I think HWLabs made a good decision to include all the port plugs (not so sure about the 4 extra) and so the cost saving benefit of using the plastic material is justified.

NOTE: It has come to our attention that the o-rings installed on the stop plugs are quite soft and can be inadvertently “nicked” when tightening up the stop plugs potentially causing a slow coolant leak. Therefore we suggest that users who wish to use the supplied stop fittings consider replacing the O-Rings prior to use.

HOWEVER: For our Restriction Testing, the supplied stop fittings were used and no leaks were encountered with flow rates up to 3 times that of a typical operating system. Additionally the supplied plugs were used in the thermal test chamber, and again we had no leaks.

 

Onwards to technical specifications!

Technical Specifications

 

Technical Specifications as listed by HWLabs:

• 140 mm x 2 fan Xtreme+ form factor 3-row radiator
• 312mm x 153mm x 60mm (L x W x H)
• 9 FPI 45 Micron Copper Fins
• Optimized for sub-800 rpm ultra-stealth fans
• Supercruise^™ optimizations for scalable performance with higher speed fans
• 50% more tubing area than the Black Ice^® SR1-280
• Increased internal coolant flow rates optimized for multi-stage cooling configurations
• Standard G 1/4″ inlet/outlet fittings
• Standard M4 mounting threads
• Compatible with Black Ice^® GTX^® 280 and Black Ice^® SR1^® 280 radiators
• Custom Black Carbon^™ high quality finish
• Fully ROHS Compliant
• 100% Made from conflict-free materials
• Industry standard Black Ice^® quality
• Lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects

Dimensions Measured on the Radiator Tested:

Most HWLabs radiators are wider than other manufacturers and the SR2 280 MP is no different. Having a width of ~152.5mm it is ~7.5mm wider than most other competitors.

However please note that if the side ports are not being used, an extra 4mm for each side port must be added to the overall width to account for the stop fittings. This would make the overall width ~160mm and makes it the widest radiator of the test group.  This may cause interference in some installation situations, so it is advisable to check your available space before committing to purchase this radiator.

Radiator Core Dimensions:

The SR2 280 MP has a dual pass U-Flow core which is made up of 1.6mm flat style tubes in 3 layers which are 14 tubes wide. The fin arrangement is made of single louvered fins with a 9 FPI count. Three layers of quite wide tubes should equate to very low restriction. Just how this will effect cooling performance remains to be seen, but with a thick core and low fin count, we’re expecting to see some excellent results with medium speed fans

The following picture is a reference which shows a typical U-Flow coolant flow path, where the coolant travels up all the tubes on one side (left in pic) of the rad and then returns down the other side. U-Flow is most easily recognized when the port end has 2 separate tanks such as the SR2 280 MP has.

 

The single louvered fins are spaced extremely evenly between the 1.6mm tubes and the 9 FPI count matches HWLabs’ specs.

Finish and Features

The matte black finish on the review sample was excellent. There was one area of minor concern, which was more to do with one of the ports than the paint finish. Some excess material from fitting the port was left on the casing which was then painted over, nothing to get overly concerned about but noticeable none the less. Fan mounting holes are all positioned correctly.

The side, front and rear ports are recessed into the tanks which is a great effort at keeping the overall width and thickness as low as possible, but when port plugs are fitted the overall dimensions are increased. The 2 end ports are not recessed.

The SR2 MP series is also available in a satin white finish which has a black core.
At the time of writing a Special Edition is also available which has a white core and white housing.

The following images are courtesy of Performance PCs and show the 3 different finish options that the SR2 280 MP is currently available in. I suspect that the images might be renders supplied by HWLabs as no threads appear to be cut on the ports, and HWLabs do not paint the the inside of the ports as in the images.

Screw protection plates are fitted under every fan attachment hole of the SR2 280 MP.

The center fan spacing measures 15.5mm as per the the tech drawing.

The first technical drawing showed us a fan spacing of 124.5mm which is just about perfect for a 140mm fan which has a center spacing of ~125mm.

Fan spacing distances both across the radiator and lengthwise were all as good as could be hoped for.

Speaking of fans, let’s take a look at the SR2 280 MP with a few different fans attached.

The SR2 280 MP is equipped with 8 ports in total, 4 each inlet and outlet to choose from and HWLabs describe the port tanks as a manifold system.

Ports are fitted to every possible side of the port end tanks.

We love Multi-Port radiators for the increased freedom offer when planning/building the loop. Just some of the benefits might include less 90° fittings used, shorter tubing runs, fitting temperature sensors and/or fill port/drain tap depending on the installation orientation.

Unfortunately no ancillary port is fitted to the return end.

Depending on the installation orientation, ancillary ports often come in handy for fitting drain tap/fill ports or placement of temperature sensors. So while the tank end has the maximum count of available ports, we would like to see an ancillary fitted in a future revision.

As noted previously when the side facing ports are not used the port plugs protrude from the width of the casing.

The same applies for any of the ports which have plugs fitted.

Here a Bitspower jumbo sized 1/2″ x 3/4″ compression fitting which is 25.5mm wide is installed with a fan attached. This took a little manipulation to get the fitting in when the fan was already attached. Therefore we would advise that 25mm wide fittings are the largest that could be used when fans are installed on the same side.

Care has been taken to avoid paint getting onto the thread of the ports. It’s small details like this which make for carefree integration into your loop and avoiding any unnecessary maintenance issues.

So here we have a 60mm thick radiator with a low FPI count that is sporting a massive total of 8 port options. Screw protection plates are installed but we have compatibility issues with the supplied screws. Overall the build quality and matte black paint finish was excellent but one review sample did have one minor blemish. So far so good.

 

Let’s see how it performs…

Flow Rate Testing

The Data

As all the testing was performed with the exact same equipment (except the 140mm Noctua Industrial fans replace the 120mm GT fans), using the exact same methods as was used in the 360mm round-up we have decided to keep this review uncluttered by keeping our testing methodology, test set-ups and equipment used in a single location. 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 is generally agreed that radiators are one of, if not the least restrictive components in the water cooling loop. There are some exceptions however, so this must still be verified through testing:

The above photo is for referencing the restriction test bench. The SR2 280 MP is not loaded so please disregard the data in the picture as it does not relate to the its test results.

Here is the raw data at the tested flow rates, displaying the measured Differential Pressure across the radiator as flow rate was increased.
The table numbers indicate that the SR2 280 MP might be a very low restriction radiator and the 3 layers of 1.6mm thick tubes would offer a logical explanation, but let’s not make any assumptions just yet. Numbers in isolation can only tell half the story. By plotting against other components it more easily shows the whole story.

We use a HeatKiller 3.0 CPU block as the reference in this next plot for two reasons. Firstly there is little chance of the plot being cluttered by curves overlapping and secondly it gives a reference point against a fairly common loop component of average restriction.

As with all previous radiator restriction plots, we have limited the maximum flow rate displayed to 2.0 GPM as we suspect there are very 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 SR2 280 MP is a very low restriction loop component when compared to a CPU block of average restriction, but what about other radiators?

The next three plots show the restriction level at three different flow rates compared to the other 280mm radiator that have been tested. We consider the chosen GPM rates to represent systems which have low, medium and high flow rates.

The SR2 280 MP has a low restriction level, 2nd only to the Monsta which has 4 layers of tubes.

A zoomed in plot showing a flow rate zone where most systems are likely to be operating at.

Let’s now take a look at where the SR2 280 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 at 1.0 gpm, the SR2 280 MP still fits our criteria as a low restriction radiator.

Some readers may find the following plot interesting or useful. It shows restriction levels at 1.0 gpm for many current model radiators from Hardware Labs including the SR2 280 MP (0.13 PSI).

Next onwards to Thermal Performance!

Thermal Testing

The Thermal Data
A total of 6 tests were conducted at 1.0 GPM with fan speeds of 750 rpm, 1300 rpm and 1850 rpm being run in ‘Push Only’ and ‘Push/Pull’. All inclusive this testing takes between 40 – 50 hours of logging time (plus processing the data) to get the results that are presented.

Below is the final data results gathered from at least 5 data logging runs at the flow rate and fan rpm combination. The most stable 15 minute period from each logging run was used and then averaged with the other runs to obtain the data for the table below. A total of 16 temperature sensors are used in the thermal test chamber (8 air in, 2 air out, 3 water in, 3 water out). Each sensor takes a reading every second and is logged via a CrystalFontz unit.

The data in the table below is the averaged results of the logging runs which has then been used to create all the plots and tables there-after.

The performance metric of critical importance is the delta between the warm coolant temperature in and the cool ambient air temperature going into the radiator. Given that the system is well insulated and in equilibrium and we know the heat input to the system then we can also calculate a very important number. That number is the amount of power required to raise the coolant temperature by set amount. That amount is typically 1C or 10C. The latter is a more useful reference point.

Let’s take a look at the Delta T results from the tests. Note that the extrapolation of the curve is much more sensitive to error than in the tested range.

I was not too concerned about the actual delta numbers but instead the trend pattern. As we should expect, the deltas come down significantly as the fan speed is increased.

Delta T results (as above) are not always helpful when thinking about how many radiators you would need to cool your system. Instead it’s more useful to know the metric of W/Delta C. This metric is plotted below. It tells us how many Watts are dissipated by the radiator when the coolant rises 10C above ambient temperatures. (W/10 Delta T):

There is an average difference of ~16% between Push Only and Push Pull at the same fan speeds with a spread from  ~14% at 750rpm to ~18% at 1850 rpm. As the percentages are not significantly different with increasing fan speeds, it perhaps indicates that the SR2 280 MP is capable of good all round performance. Perhaps of more significance is the rising variance with faster fan speeds which often suggests a bias towards higher speed fans. This would make sense given the thick core, despite the low FPI count.

This same data can now be plotted on a chart so that an end user can interpolate their own fan speed. Note again that the extrapolation of the curve is much more sensitive to error than in between the tested range.

The Push/Pull data curve is still reasonably straight indicating plenty more performance up it’s sleeve while the Push Only has started to curve over. This perhaps indicates a bias towards a Push/Pull fan assembly.

 

Now let’s analyze that data some more…

Data Analysis

This first table shows the SR2 280 Mp’s Watts/10 Delta Temp numbers in a quick glance chart format.

Using this data we can effectively show percentage gains/losses relative to a reference point. It’s an interesting way to show gains/losses while changing a variable.

So, let’s focus on 1300 RPM as our reference and see how much gain or loss in performance we get by changing fan speed.

From these results we see a large drop in performance of from 1300 rpm to 750 rpm, more so in Push/Pull. The excellent increases from 1300 rpm to 1850 rpm were the 2nd best gains of the entire group and indicates some strong performance results were achieved using high speed fans.

So from the data above we’re getting a good idea of how the SR2 280 MP radiator performs relative to itself. But there is a large selection of 280mm radiator models to choose from, so let’s put the it’s results into some comparison charts.

Push Only Data vs Competition

In general, thicker radiators perform better than thinner radiators of the same size (fan capacity) but a lot also has to do with how each core has been designed / tuned; number of tubes, thickness of tubes, fin array etc.  If it were thickness alone we should expect the SR2 280 MP to always be at the top of the rankings and our testing would be totally unnecessary.

Focusing on the Push Only results for now, let’s see how the SR2 280 MP’s performance compares to the competition.

Let’s start with 750 RPM.

First data point and it’s straight to the top for the SR2 280 MP. It’s almost a surprising result given how thick it is. Apart from the low FPI I believe the thick tube design and resulting flow through each tube is working in it’s favor here. Whatever the reason, there seems no doubt that the SR2 is capable of continuing the legacy of it’s predecessor for fantastic performance with low fan speeds.

Now let’s look at 1300 rpm:

Taking out equal second place, this is another fantastic result for the SR2 280 MP. The four thick radiators of the test group now occupy the top four spots.

Now 1850 rpm Push Only:

At 1850 rpm the SR2 280 MP again takes 2nd place and is ~6% ahead behind it’s stable mate. What an impressive turn out for HWLabs, taking 1st and 2nd place in each of the Push Only tests we conducted and the SR2 280 MP featured in all 3 of those results. NICE!

Let’s find out how the SR2 280 MP performs with Push/Pull fans.

Push/Pull Data vs. Competition

Firstly the 750 rpm:

While the thick and dense Nemesis GTX placed first it was a bunch of thinner rads which knocked the SR2 280 MP down a few rungs at this data point. Impressively 4 out of the top 5 positions are held by various HWLabs models and all with ~6% of each other.

Let’s move to 1300 rpm:

At this data point the Nemesis GTX continues it’s streak of 1st places and now has a clear performance advantage over the SR2 280 MP which moves back up to reclaim 2nd place.

Now 1850 rpm:

At 1850 rpm Push/Pull the SR2 280 MP has a another 2nd place result and is well clear of the 3rd place radiator. I think it’s a safe call by now to say the SR2 280 MP is capable of excellent performance with high speed fans as well as low speed.

Let’s now combine the Push Only and Push/Pull results of our 1.0 GPM flow rate tests into one plot for each fan speed. Sometimes these combined plots show up some points of interest.  This time however the low and medium speed plots did not show up anything interesting so we have “spoilered” them so readers who enjoy these plots can still see the data.

In the 1850 rpm combined we see perhaps the only interesting result concerning the SR2 280 MP. It was one of 5 radiators which had a better Push Only result than the slim ST30’s Push/Pull result.
We’ll leave you to do some maths and figure out the difference in thickness and which has better value Vs. performance when factoring the price difference of the radiators and cost of your selected fans.

Another view of the same data, this time plotted as curves and some extrapolation added.
Be warned these plots can be hard to read given that many results are similar at the same data points.

Again the Push Only data first:

This perhaps best shows just how close the results are, particularly with low speed fans.

Because the data curves in plot above are almost blurred into one another, we have split it into two separate plots; 750 rpm to 1300 rpm and 1300 rpm to 1850rpm and zoomed in on those fan speed zones.

Now the Push/Pull results are plotted, again followed by split and zoomed versions.

Average Performance Factors

For every radiator tested we create APF “Average Performance Factor” charts from both the Push Only and Push/Pull results. We also make a combined plot of the average called the “Master Performance Factor”. The radiator with the best cooling ability (W/10ΔT) at each rpm is awarded a score of 100 and every other radiators W/10ΔT result is scored as percentage of the top performer.

This way of looking at the comparison takes away any advantages that a radiator may have at higher or lower fan speeds and looks at an overall average. While this appears fair it does tend to favor those radiators that are all-rounders and those radiators which do very well at high RPM. Most users should be more focused on their specific use case.

Here are the SR2 280 MP’s percentage scores at each data point:

What a fantastic set of results this is for the SR2 280 MP. When we see all comparison results over 90% it is a sure sign that the radiator has very good all round performance. It was in fact the only radiator in the test group which achieved all it’s comparison results over 90%.  Bear in mind that without the Nemesis GTX to compare to, the SR2 would have had a lot more 100% results in that table!

The percentage numbers in the table above offer another way of looking at the SR2 280 MP’s results. But for our scoring system we need a way to reduce the categories while retaining the data. To do this we average the results for each fan assembly type giving us Averaged Performance Factors. We calculate this for Push Only, Push/Pull and finally an average of everything.

Firstly – the Push Only APF:

With an 96.7 % Averaged Push Only result the SR2 280 MP places equal 1st (after test error margin is factored in) with it’s Nemesis GTX stablemate. The 1st place and 2nd places in Push Only at all fans speeds demonstrates great performance.

Now the Push/Pull APF:

Nothing was able to beat the Nemesis 280 GTX with a Push/Pull fan assembly. The SR2 280 MP took 2nd place by a clear margin or the next ranking radiator.

Finally we created the Master Performance Factor which is calculated from the averaged results of all the Push Only and Push/Pull thermal tests, at all fan speeds.

The MPF score of 95.1 lands the SR2 280 MP in second place and is clear evidence that it is able to perform extremely well with any fan assembly and speed setting.

 

Space Efficiency

The SR2 280 MP’s space efficiency vs. performance ranking is not likely to be very good as thinner radiators almost always produce better results here than their thicker counterparts. We have used the Average Performance Factor results from the charts above to compile two plots which shows us how it compares to the other rads in terms of performance Vs. space taken.

First up is Radiator Thickness Vs. APF

Here the combined APF scores were divided by the radiator thickness only, with the highest (most space efficient) issued a score of 100. Each of the other radiators results was converted to a percentage of the most space efficient radiator’s score.

The order has ended almost in order of thinnest to thickest and as anticipated the SR2 280 MP did not fair so well in this assessment.

Next we took the APF results for Push/Pull and divided it by the total thickness including the fans and applied the same scoring system. For the Push Only we used the Push Only Vs Push/Pull comparative results and applied the same scoring system when compared against the Push/Pull. This plot is likely the most useful of the 2 plots for space efficiency.

The results here again are almost in order of thickness and as expected the SR2 280 MP did not score very well.

Value Factor

While our APF’s are still fresh in mind, let’s now look at some Performance vs Price results to show which of the 280mm radiators might offer the best bang for your buck. Each radiator’s combined APF scores were divided by the radiator cost and again we applied our scoring system of percentage Vs. the best performer of the category.

The SR2 280 MP’s Value Factor turns out to be very low. This tells us that it does not offer outstanding value for the performance potential it offers. It is the most expensive of the test group which did not help it’s ranking. In reality the difference is not great, but when visualizing with percentages as we have done, the differences appear large.

Generally value and space efficiency metrics usually correlate – thicker radiators do contain more material afterall and so are usually also more expensive. Once we factor thickness in, we realize that all the radiators that are better value are actually thinner.

 

Next Up – Summary!

Summary

Thermal Performance

Thermal Performance scores are derived from the relevant Performance Factor scores. We set this scale with 75% and below as the 0 mark, with each 2.5% increase in relative performance adding 0.5 to the awarded performance score.

Note: Our test group of 10 radiators range in thickness from 29.5mm to 84.5mm with core density ranging from 9 FPI to 21 FPI. This greatly differing array of samples means that the better performing thicker radiators (generally speaking) will actually make the thinner radiators scores appear worse. This is an unavoidable side effect of the scoring system and we again advise readers to focus on radiators which are suitable for the specific case scenario. Depending on the amount of variance in the results, this could end up with misleading scores based on the comparative performance.

Push Only Thermal Performance

• 4.5/5
  

The SR2 280 MP’s Push Only APF result of 96.7 was equal 1st place and translated into a performance score of 4.5/5.
It had top 2 finishes in each of the three fan speed tests and ranked 1st at the 750 rpm data point.

Push/Pull Thermal Performance

• 4/5
  

The SR2 280 MP’s 93.4% APF Push/Pull result was the second highest result and translated into a thermal performance score of 4 out of 5. It’s ranking was down a bit on the low speed test, but placed second in both the medium and high fan speed tests.

The Nemesis 280 GTX which scored a perfect 100 in this category pushed all the other rad’s scores down.
Imagine for a second the results without the Nemesis GTX – the SR2 280 MP would have placed 1st and ended up with a performance score of 5/5.

Overall Thermal Performance

• 4.5/5
  

The Master Performance score of 95.1 generates an overall performance score of 4.5/5. It’s a fantastic result for a low fin count radiator to achieve such great overall performance.

Performance is not the be all and end all factor in making a purchase decision, though for many it is high on the selection criteria.

Because of it’s thickness the SR2 280 MP ranked accordingly when radiator only and radiator + fan thickness was considered. In our Value Vs. Performance metric the SR2 280 MP didn’t do so well, primarily because thinner radiators always get better results in this comparison. Being the most expensive radiator of the group did not help to improve it’s ranking either.

 

Features & Quality – 4.5/5

The SR2 280 MP has Hardware Labs legendary Black Ice^® DNA built in. The build quality was almost perfect, although there was one minor imperfection on a port installation. The matte black paint finish is excellent and is also offered in a satin white finish.

Apart from it’s physical size, the amount of G 1/4 ports which are fitted is the stand out physical feature of the SR2 280 MP. 4 ports are fitted to each tank which is the maximum possible. Having 8 ports in total to select from will assist in cleaner tubing runs and perhaps even hidden tubing when setting out your loop. Depending on the installation orientation a fill port or drain tap can be easily incorporated as well as temperature sensors. Unfortunately HWlabs radiators (including the SR2 MP series) are not fitted with an ancillary port, but we have hopes this will be added in future revisions.

Tube protection plates are fitted under the M4 threaded mounting holes, however the provided screw lengths were not able to be used to mount the radiator.

The SR2 280 MP has a 9 FPI louvered fin array spaced very evenly between it’s 3 layers of 1.6mm tubes. With such a low FPI count less dedicated cleaning needs be set aside to keep performance at peak levels. It has a low restriction level meaning 3 or even 4 SR2 MP series radiators can be installed into a loop without getting overly concerned about reducing the flow rate by too much.

Summary – 4.5/5

The SR2 280 MP proved to be an excellent all round performer and finished 2nd place overall in our thermal tests.  It’s best comparison result was with Push Only fans, finishing in 1st place after taking 1st position with low speed fans and was 2nd in the both medium and high speeds fan tests. With Push/Pull fans the SR2 280 MP was no slouch either, finishing in 2nd place overall behind the high speed optimized Nemesis GTX.

The number of port options is undoubtedly the main draw-card for the SR2 MP series. Having 8 ports to select from is the most currently available. Now we just need to see the ancillary port added on the far end to complete the set. While the ports are recessed, be aware that when stop plugs are fitted they will protrude from the housing, so please take consideration for the extra width/thickness into account.

For potential buyers, be prepared to purchase some M4 x 30mm screws, as you’ll likely be frustrated that the screws sets provided can not be used to actually install the radiator.

That super minor issue aside the SR2 280 MP radiator is an awesome radiator. Because it is 60mm thick it won’t fit in every case, but if you can fit it, you will not be disappointed. It quickly became our favorite radiator for cases that accommodate a thick 280mm radiator because of it’s awesome all round performance, fantastic build quality and finish and of course all those port options.

It is the most expensive radiator of the 10 in our test group, but as the old saying goes in this case at least “you get what you pay for“. Sure we have some very minor niggles but the overall quality, features and excellent performance far overshadow them.

The SR2 280 MP earns another ER Gold for the Hardware Labs team.

 

 

Where to buy:

 

 

 

• Performance PCs : Black Carbon $113 (USD) + shipping
• Performance PCs : Satin White $113 (USD) + shipping
• Performance PCs : Ltd Edition White Fins on White $113 (USD) + shipping