TFC X-Changer 360
3x120mm Radiator
by skinnee - July 5, 2009




First and formost, I want to thank eRazorzEDGE for donating the TFC360 for testing and Kirk from murderMod for letting me take photos of the retail package TFC360. I was having some trouble rounding up a few radiators that the Liquid Community was looking for numbers on and eRazorzEDGE sent me a PM with an offer to borrow his TFC360 and I gladly accepted. Thanks again for loaning out your radiator, very appreciated! Kirk, how many BlueAqua bucks are left on my account or am I negative balance?

Intro


The TFC X-Changer 360 is the main triple in the line-up of radiators from TFC known as the X-Changer series. From the time I started the second round of triple radiator testing to the procrastinated review of the TFC 360, Feser released the Monsta and released photos through a sponsored tester on an upcoming slim line. Feser is not one to sit around, they certainly have forum marketing down as there is always a heated debate anytime Feser is getting ready to release a product. I just hope the product hype never trumps the product performance.

With that said, lets move on to the eye candy starting with product shots.

Radiator Characteristics


The current X-Changer line includes a 120 (Single), 240 (Double), 360 (Triple) and a 480 (Quad), we have the triple on the bench today. With the purchase of a X-Changer you get quite a bit, Feser takes a slightly different, but much appreciated approach by providing additional parts that you need for radiator installation included with purchase. From the picture above you see the X-Changer 360 and all the goodies that come along. The TFC360 always comes in at a higher price than the majority of competing triples, but the finish of the purchase product helps to cushion the blow to your project budget. TFC includes silicon fan pads to deaden vibrations from the fans mounted to the radiator. They also include a set of mount screws for 25mm fans as well as screws for mounting directly to your case panels, though I was surprised to find they were M3 and not 6-32 or M4 like all the other triples. One word of caution for anytime to mount fans to a radiator, always check screw depth through the tapped holes...puncturing a tube is not a fun adventure.

Paint quality on the TFC was not the best I have had my hands on, but I always like a good matte finish and the TFC has one of the better matte paint jobs available. Hiding behind that paint are all copper fins and tubes capped by brass end tanks. Feser kept with the industry standard G1/4 barb ports, use any fittings you like.

  • Black Finish (5µm)
  • Copper fins, brass end tanks
  • 2 row 2-pass design
  • G1/4 Barb ports
  • 12 Fins Per Inch (FPI)
  • 17mm Fan spacing, 15mm Fan spacing with January 09 Revision
  • M3 tapped screw holes
  • Dimensions: 411x123x62mm (LxWxH)



.


I was a bit shocked when I measured the FPI on this radiator, for some reason I always beleived the TFC radiators were the same FPI as the Thermochills. To my surprise the TFC 360 measured in at 12 FPI and not the Thermochill 10 FPI like I thought. Guess its always better to verify with your own eyes. A short lead into the next photo, TFC originally released the X-Changer 240 and 360 with 17mm fan spacing and not 15mm like all of the other popular radiators (excluding original Thermochill PA's, 25mm). However, since January of 2009, all TFC 240's and 360's have 15mm spacing. If your case requires 15mm fan spacing, verify the fan spacing before purchasing, most vendors and resellers will help you out here.
[  Page Two - Pressure Drop/Restriction  |  Page Three - Test Specification/Methodology  ]

[  Page Four - Thermal Test Results  |  Page Five - Conclusion  ]
 Page 1 of 5  Next