Water Block performance chart?

[marmotjr]

My apologies if this had been covered/posted somehwere before, it did not turn up in my searches.

I was looking if anybody had done any research into comparing the multitude of CPU and Generic (ie non-conforming GPU and Chipset Blocks) water blocks that are on the market?

I was thinking maybe comparing their BTU/hr, and then you can get their BTU/hr/$ for finding the best valued water block. Maybe using a controlled environment, seeing how many calories (or whatever, been a while since high school chem) a given water block can remove from a given substance (ice cube?). Or maybe placing it on a uniformly warm/hot surface and seeing how fast the coolant's temperature rises, therefore indicating thermally conductivity of the block.

Anyways, any body got a chart that shows the multitude of blocks out there? If not, it'd be a cool article for THW.

 

[MadHacker]

Is this what you are looking for?

The Interactive Waterblock Test Results By: pHaestus

 

[tool_462]

I wish somebody would put out an updated one with more blocks available in the US.

 

[BGP_Spook]

The reason why no one has made another comprehensive waterblock comparison, and why Procooling has fallen on hard times, is because there is no longer any simple and completely objective way of testing waterblocks.

The move to soldered a IHS adds uncertainty to direct CPU testing which can not be handled without volumes aggregate data*. Other options, such as attempts to replicate CPU like thermal behavior with die sims, were found(ever since the introduction of the Apogee) to be inaccurate and misleading.

*If there were a hundred testers all using the same exacting methods as those by pHaestus and the same model hardware and software then the variability introduced by the IHS could be accounted for. This is problematic because it takes a week setup each run and a couple thousand dollars worth of hardware. Very few people have the time, money, and drive necessary to carry out one such test, let alone a hundred people all working together on it.

 

[tool_462]

Believe me, I know the restrictions and difficulties involved! I know it's a huge undertaking, but I think it will get done sometime in the near future.

If a certain project I am involved in, takes off well, it is something that could be done if we could get any discounted review samples. If "the project" goes well, we could at least get a pretty good selection of blocks just by using the two I have and a few that a friend has.

 

[marmotjr]

Hey, thanks for the replies guys.

I wasn't really thinking about an "in machine" type test. I was thinking maybe of something where the block as affixed to a source that the thermal drop over time can be gauged. Something like a 2" cubed block of aluminum or steel heated to say, 70c, and then measuring the temp drop in a controlled environment. And instead of having a radiator or chiller to disperse the heat, have a large (>5L) bucket of water at a specific temp that is constantly being introduced into the bucket. That way the bucket temp will remain constant. Like put the bucket under a tap and let water flow into it, monitoring the tap temp the whole time. That way you remove as many variables as possible to limit the results to just the water block.

Make the tests controlled and scientific, and you can probably find the 'thermal efficiency' of the block. I would be very willing to do it if I had the resources to acquire all the blocks out there.

 

[tool_462]

Yep, that is how quite a few sites compile HSF data. Instead of heating it to a certain temp, it is better to introduce a constant wattage of heat, such as a CPU would do.