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Introduction

It was over an year ago that I got my hands on a prototype radiator from Hardware Labs, then named the Black Ice Nemesis GTR. Fast forward almost 16 months, and we are here with the actual release of said radiators with the same name. Time for a small history lesson- Hardware Labs had released the Gen Two Extreme and Gen Two Stealth (GTX and GTS, if you will) with high fin density and ultra thin fins optimized for high airflow and high performance at the expense of noise. Then people realized they would rather watercool their PC to minimize noise while also having good performance, and thus came the Nemesis GTX and Nemesis GTS. Both were low airflow optimized with good scaling, however the older GTX still outperformed these at higher fan speeds. Now with cases getting smaller, the onus on performance/space is increasing again. EK has the Coolstream XE that works well at such applications, and of course that meant Hardware Labs had to bring out something themselves. So here we are back in the present taking a look at the Nemesis GTR series:

Yes, that is the entire Nemesis GTR series as it is now. Today we take a look at the Nemesis GTR 480, and thanks again to Hardware Labs for providing the test samples.

Let’s begin with a look at the specs from the product page:

Increased internal coolant flow rates

15% more tubing area in the same Black Ice® NEMESIS® 480GTX® radiator

Quad 120mm fan Xtreme form factor dual-core radiator

518mm x 133mm x 54.7mm (L x W x H)

Noise optimized for 1000 RPM fans

New Enhanced Supercruise™ optimizations for scalable performance for higher RPM fans

16 FPI 25 Micron 4th Generation Radical Geometry Copper Fins

15% more tubing area in the same Black Ice® NEMESIS® 480GTX® form factor

Standard G 1/4″ inlet/outlet fittings

Standard M4 mounting threads

Compatible with Black Ice® Xtreme, Black Ice® GTX®, NEMESIS® GTX® radiators

Fully ROHS Compliant

Made using water soluble flux

100% sourced from conflict-free materials

Industry standard Black Ice® quality

Custom Black Carbon high quality finish

Lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects There is also a useful technical drawing under the “Dimensions” tab in the product page that will help measure out compatibility of the radiator for your specific case and components around. That helps confirm that the Nemesis GTR is occupying the same volume and space as the Nemesis GTX- down to the height/thickness even. This does mean the Nemesis GTR 480 is wider than most other 480 mm radiators, and on the longer side of average as well. At 54 mm thick, it belongs in the 60 mm thickness class of radiators but only just. Of interest here is the claim of 15% more tubing area in the same space as the Nemesis GTX (that’s what I think they mean, anyway). This means one of three things- thinner fins than the already thin tubes in the Nemesis GTX allowing for more tubes, shorter fins than the splitter fins in the Nemesis GTX thus also allowing more tubes, or coiled tubes instead of straight tubes increasing tube area. The first would increase liquid flow restriction which goes against the the first claim of increased internal coolant flow rates, and the second is a radical design that does not really fit in with rectangular form factor radiators despite the advertisement of “4th generation Radical fins” above. As such, I am going with the second thing- thinner fin stacks. So let’s take a look at the radiator now on the next page.