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Cooling Best AMD XP water block with low flow?

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by fingers, 16 Aug 2004.

  1. fingers

    fingers What's a Dremel?

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    Whats the best AMD XP water block to use in a low flow rate system?

    Like the look of the Danger Den blocks but would rather performace over looks?

    Cheers all
     
  2. Tim S

    Tim S OG

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    the NexXxoS HP Pro is one I can personally recommend, there'll be a review of one on the front page later this week ;)

    The NexXxoS XP, which is the replacement for the HP Pro is said to be even better. Both are from AlphaCool and can be purchased at Wizard Designs
     
  3. fingers

    fingers What's a Dremel?

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    nice!

    Cheers bigz, thats a nice looking block too :thumb: only thing that suxs is that I've got an XP but I could be getting an A64 in the next 3 months and ill have to upgrade the block. But I guess thats life :rolleyes:

    Price aint to bad bad thou which does help some :cooldude:

    Anybody have any others I should concider or is this the block for me?
     
  4. coolmiester

    coolmiester Coolermaster Legend

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    Why does it have to be a low flow block???

    What other components you got or considering???
     
  5. fingers

    fingers What's a Dremel?

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    Getting washed away?

    The system at present (I keep changing my mind cos I'm very new to the whole water-cooling thing being a devotie of silent air-cooling for years!) is going to be ...

    :: C-Systems CSP-X2 pumps
    :: External Res (15Ltr)
    :: SILENTStar Dual HDD cooler (?last if the system looks like it can handle it)
    :: CPU Block
    :: GFX Block (looking at the white water blocks at the mo but will post for opinions when I find out if I'm getting a new card or not.
    :: Clearflex 1/2" ID tubing

    So far I have the res and the tubing, waiting on the pumps and still debating on the blocks :)

    The res will be about 2feet from the case and water will be passed back into the res about 1-2feet up from the ground (which is the level the tubes will be entering and leaving the case.

    I want to play with some ideas for the actual cooling of the water hence at the moment no Rad thou this maybe added to the loop at a later date.

    I figure with this I need to reduce resistance where ever possible, please correct me if I'm wrong :) cheers
     
  6. coolmiester

    coolmiester Coolermaster Legend

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    Hmmmm......the C-System pump is definitely considered to be more of a high flow pump especially when running in dual configuration.........take a look at this review

    One way in getting round swapping the complete block when you upgrade and seeing as you are going to be running 1/2" hose would be to go for a high flow block that will fit an XP but also gives the option to be converted to A64 mounting when needed.

    A good example would be the D-Tek White Water (which would obviously work well with the D-Tek GFX that you are thinking about)

    /.......this is it before and after with the A64 mounting plate attached

    [​IMG][​IMG]

    or alternatively a Danger Den TDX which can also be converted into an A64 by changing the Lucite top as the bases is identical.

    [​IMG][​IMG]


    Couple more ideas there anyway and both offer looks and performance :thumb:
     
  7. pauldenton

    pauldenton What's a Dremel?

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    sadly you'll have to put some work in to get a whitewater that looks that good.....

    swiftech mcw6002 perform very well at low flow
    http://www.procooling.com/reviews/html/swiftech_mcw6002-a_waterblock_.php
    not so attractive as the others though i think....

    edited to correct erroneous claim of both scktA and A64 compatability on same block... :blush:
     
    Last edited: 17 Aug 2004
  8. fingers

    fingers What's a Dremel?

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    pump, pump, pumping

    Yeah thats a dam nice review, I will be running dual but I was still under the impression due to the settup it would be fairly restrictive and so would need to use low flow blocks?? Am I wrong with this??

    Gotta love the TDX blocks btw!!
     
  9. Tim S

    Tim S OG

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    you can run with high-flow blocks, and flow won't be affected too much providing that you use blocks that are designed to run with around the same flow rate. The TDX is renowned for liking a very high flow-rate and it doesn't outperform the DTek White Water, which can be run at a lower flow rate of around 1.25-1.5GPM.

    However, the White Water is a 3 barb design, which may prove to be more of an achilles heel than a benefit, in my opinion. Things will be awful messy with 1/2" ID hose and two White Water's. I remember looking at MDK's dual RBX loop, while it looked alright, it just came across as messy to me; just too much "noise".

    8mm OD pushfits coupled with a NexXxoS HP Pro/XP should offer you a great performing block along with the lack of "mess" or "noise" for want of a better word. I added 3 blocks in addition to a NexXxoS HP Pro and water temperatures were kept under control. You'll find out more about the NexXxoS HP Pro later this week if you're prepared to sit tight. I'd love to say more about the block right now, but that'd make my review pointless.

    With the NexXxoS HP Pro, you can just order a new top, I'm sure Pug would be able to source one if he can source the HP Pro -> XP conversion kit :)

    I'm a fan of 8mm hose simply because it's considerably tidier and easier to work with - the performance from an 8mm loop has never hindered my overclocking adventures.
     
  10. fivecheebs

    fivecheebs Dont panic!

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    If you want to go somewhere in the middle you can have a NexXxoS XP (or HP pro for that matter) on a 10mm OD loop like Pug sells with the alphacool xtreme kit

    Here is a v blurry photo, top view, of my NexXos XP. [edit] Big file BTW, not resized anything yet[/edit]
     
  11. coolmiester

    coolmiester Coolermaster Legend

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    Remember......given that you are already using 1/2" Clearflex and are considering using the D-Tek VGA Block you would need to use some kind of reducer to take your 1/2" hose down to 3/8" if you were to go with either the NexXxoS HP Pro or XP (that's not to say they aren't a great block which i would imagine bigz will confirm in his up and coming review)

    The D-Tek White Water is a little more forgiving in terms of hindered flow over the Danger Den TDX but as you have 2x C-System pumps on the way you will have plenty flow to run either even when you take into account the SILENT Star Dual HDD cooler.

    I take it you would be replacing the standard barbs on the SILENT Star Dual HDD cooler to 1/2" hose tails which would keep the full system running 1/2" through out??

    I think bigz may have miss read you as i'm not sure why he posted about M_D_K's Dual RBX set up??

    For sure a 3 barb block takes a little more consideration when setting up but i wouldn't agree they look "messy" or "noisy" or hard to set-up for that matter.......

    I think the whole "small bore" - "big bore" scenario is purely down to personal choice and should be left that way!

    a true 1/2" set-up with CPU Temp at 32c
    [​IMG]
     
  12. Da_Rude_Baboon

    Da_Rude_Baboon What the?

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    Are the channels inside the HDD cooler 1/2 inch? Otherwise wont the restriction still be there regardless of the barb size?
     
  13. coolmiester

    coolmiester Coolermaster Legend

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    I doubt the channels will be 1/2" on the SILENT Star Dual HDD cooler but as they use 1/4" BSP (G 1/4) threaded holes i would assume that the channelling is a good size and would not restrict the 2x C-System pumps too much.

    The inner diameter on a 1/2" hose tail barb is around 10mm so by a 1/2" set-up i refer to a 1/2" ID hose set-up!
     
  14. coolmiester

    coolmiester Coolermaster Legend

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    I've not been able to find anything out on the channelling inside a SILENT Star Dual HDD cooler but having thought about ........if its anything like the EVO HD Cooler then its going to hinder the flow quite a bit.

    I'll dig one out a bit later and run a few flow tests as i would reckon this would in fact be the Achilles heel in a 1/2" set up

    Is a Hard Drive cooler totally necessary??
     
  15. Tim S

    Tim S OG

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    I was under the impression that the system was going to be a dualie setup? I musta taken the wrong medication this morning :worried:

    yes!
     
  16. coolmiester

    coolmiester Coolermaster Legend

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    Simple Flow Test

    Got time to do a bit of simple flow testing today and thought i'd share the findings as must admit i was quite surprised what i found.

    I used an Eheim 1250 which is rated at 20 LPM (Litres Per Minute) according to their spec sheet

    So first of all i ran the 1250 by itself with around 4ft of hose (2ft going in 2ft out) to see how it compared.
    1250 = 13 LPM
    I presume it looses 7 LPM just by simply adding 4ft of hose???

    Then added a Danger Den TDX
    1250 + TDX (nozzle1) = 6.6 LPM

    By this stage i was quite intrigued so i added a Maze4 GPU
    1250 + TDX + Maze GPU = 5.5 LPM

    Swapped the Maze4 GPU for a Maze4 Chipset
    1250 + TDX + Maze4 Chipset = 5.7 LPM

    Then altogether
    1250 + TDX + Maze4 GPU + Maze4 Chipset = 5 LPM

    I knew the EVO 1 Hard Drive cooler was a flow killer but hadn't realised how bad it actually was......
    1250 + TDX + EVO1 = 2.5 LPM

    I was on a roll now:)

    1250 + RBX (nozzle1) = 5.5 LPM

    1250 + White Water = 6 LPM

    1250 + Maze4 (copper top) = 8.8 LPM

    1250 + Maze3 = 6.9 LPM

    Yeah i got a bit carried away!

    [​IMG]

    [disclaimer] I don't profess to being any kind of expert in this field or for that matter having the equipment as they might on other forums but these are my findings from a simple exercise that replicates set-ups used by many people on a day to day basis using a stop watch and a 5ltr container. [/disclaimer]
     
  17. Risky

    Risky Modder

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    Nice work there. Ther intersting point is that the flow rates din't vary vastly with the different combinations other than the HDD cooler.
     
  18. fingers

    fingers What's a Dremel?

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    loop-d-loop

    Hey coolmiester, cheers for the info, its really helped to clear a few things up, you rock! :rock:

    Reading your figures has however raised a little concern, the C-Systems pump only pushes 99GPH (in series which is how I will be running it to overcome the restriction of the large loop) and 80GPH over 10foot of tubing not including blocks etc.

    Thats a fair amount less than the 1250, less than half, so will that make a major difference to performance? At a guess I'll be running around 2 / 3LPM by the end of the loop!! :rolleyes:
     
  19. Risky

    Risky Modder

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    there are two figures to look at for a pump. The max flow rate and the max head. The head value gives and Idea of how much restriction a pump can deal with.

    I'm not to sure of the details but the Ehiem pumps are designed to achive large flow rates at lower head levels wheras the c-systems (and some of the other 12V pumps now appearing) will not pump the same volume but can manage a greater head.

    What this means is that in a restrictive system - which is any watercooling setup, the pumps will not give anything like their max vol/h so that figure is a touch irrelevant.
     
    Last edited: 19 Aug 2004
  20. Da_Rude_Baboon

    Da_Rude_Baboon What the?

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    Nice one Coolmeister! :hip:

    Might not be scientific but it gives real world results which are easier to digest then tables of figures and flow curves. :duh:
     
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