I am ordering Swiftech waterblocks for my northbridge, CPU, and GPU. I was wondering the performance and safety pros and cons of 1/2" OD versus 1/2" ID connectors (Aka "Quick connect" vs "hose barbs").
Well it would depend on the size of the tubing. A 1/2" ID with a wall thickness of 1/8 has an O/D of 3/4 (1/8th being the reccomended wall thickness). A 1/2"" OD with 1/8" walll thickness has an ID of 1/4" which would be WAY TOO SMALL for aqaquete cooling. Now if you want to compare 3/4" quick connects vs. 1/2" barbs. that's another story. Personally I'd go with the barbs the whole way. My Swifty MCW327 waterblock has "quick" connect connectors, and I hate them. besides being expensive, the one thing they don't tell you is that they're quick connect, not quick disconnect too. I was looking at tubing and put a piece in to see if it was the right size. Well, it took the salesman holding the block and me pulling to get it disconnected.. To use them I was told to put a "stiffener" inside the tube this helps with the seal. Well if you look this also creates a restriction in the tube. It may not be a huge restiction but your still turning a 1/2"ID tube into a 3/8" or smaller tube at least at the end. Although they are water tight I'd think you'd be more likely to get a water leak with them as well. I'm thinking of removing the quick disconnects frommy Swifty and installing 1/2" barbs on it (would probably end up being cheaper than the cost of adapters Swiftech was charging for (and I couldn't find any similar at McMasters-Carr). With Barbs you can see the clamps on the tube and quickly see if there's a leak. If a quick disconnecter was to leak, you'd only see the evidence (water) of a leak but not exactly where it was coming from, whether or not it was because of a bad seal, or there was a hole in the tube etc. I'd go with the barbs the whole way. BUT that's only me. Plus barbs are cheaper. the disconnect issue might not seem like alot but wait until you need to remove a hose, you'll be cursing the day they were invented.
I think the ID of the swifted 1/2" OD tubing would be closer to 3/8" that 1/4" but in any case that is perfectly adequate tubing ID, in excess of that used in European kits which rarely go over 10mm OD. There are a few on the forums who have used the swiftech pushfit system and can comment from experience, but to suggest that swiftech are selling a product that in "inadquate" seems a bit strong. Theres more to this process than getting the biggest tubing you can find. Regarding pushfits, I can't recommend them highly enough as in my experience they do not leak at all provided you cut the tube cleanly (easy) and push it it all the way (also easy).
One point to remember is that Siwftech blocks are very good under HIGH flow. This is going to be quite tough to achieve if you are using narrow bore tubing. Personally, I would go with the barbs. 8-ball
Mongoose, I would also suggest getting an MCP600 with those blocks, if you haven't already got a pump. 8-ball
Alright, thanks for all the feedback everyone. I read some things on google about the different hoses but I wanted to talk to people that had actually used them. I'm now convinced to go with barbs.
