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Silver... worth it?

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I know this shouldn't be posted here, but the heatsink section gets no traffic. I just found out that DD started making silver waterblocks, saw one <A HREF="http://www.bigfootcomputers.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=6140&Category_Code=510.7" target="_new">here</A> Prices in Canadian, i know it's outrageous, but just curious, how much better is silver compare to copper for cooling?

I mean sure it conducts better, but it's a hell lot harder to get rid of the heat isn't it?

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It's a better conductor, but not as good as gold! If you're going to splurge, what the heck! :lol:


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Reply to Cybercraig

Umm... Are you sure gold's a better thermal conductor? I think silver's better than gold as a thermal conductor.

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Reply to scottchen

Silver>Copper>Gold>Aluminium>Wood

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Asus A7N8X-X<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by coylter on 06/29/04 11:46 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

Reply to coylter

No, I'm not positive about heat but I know it's a better electrical conductor. I would check, but who the heck would ever want a gold heatsink? WHOOPS, I forgot about Bill Gates! :lol:


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Reply to Cybercraig

Thx, lol wood, let's make a wood waterblock.

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Reply to scottchen

No, gold is a worse conductor of electricity than Copper, which is worse than Silver. Gold is used on contacts because it doesn't oxidize, Copper is a great conductor but Copper Oxide isn't (neither is Silver Oxide).

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Reply to Crashman

HAHA! no i know MY conductors!! MUHAHAHA!

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Reply to scottchen

silver has almost half ther thermal resistance of alluminum...so yeah its a better conductor of heat.

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Reply to Tavelkyosoba

Thermal conductivity is different from electrical conductivity. The thermal conductivity of silver and copper are effectively the same, at 1.01 for silver, and .99 for copper. Water on the other hand is much worse at .0014, while air is a terrible thermal conductor at only .000057.
I believe thermal conductivity is based on the energy in calories transfered per square cm of contact.
It's been a while so forgive me if I'm less than 100%.
What is true though is that the silver blocks are not worth a lot more than copper blocks, they just sound cooler.

Reply to endyen

So, Silver is better then Cooper, but not noticeably better. right??

Reply to Mr_Nuke

Speak of the devil, today's article on external water cooling solutions has a gold plated waterblock. Getting closer. ;)

Reply to etp777

That's enough crowing, smarty pants! :lol:


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Reply to Cybercraig

I think i'm gonna order one up and try it out.

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Reply to scottchen

Gold water block are gimmick, i'd rather get a wood one :P

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Reply to coylter

Oh well, it's only money. Lap it, but carefully. Silver is very soft, and flexable.

Reply to endyen

Screw you man! LOL! I ain't doing any physical modifications to it, i'm returning it in a month if i buy it. F*ck i'm not actually gonna spend 200 dollars on a single CPU block. If it works well, then i'll buy a silver block and make it myself.

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Reply to scottchen

Well then, just make sure it's flat and smooth.
Dont know how easy it would be to make one. I would want a poured silver block, over stainless tubing, to prevent oxidation from blocking up the flow.
Just go play!

Reply to endyen

I'm pretty sure DD did a good job at making flat bases, like they normally do on all their waterblocks.

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Reply to scottchen

If you want to make one yourself, better make it from cooper, it's much easier to work with.

Sorry I can't provide you with any links, but it's quite simple:
Look on your mobo and mark the holes that make a square that contains the socket.
Get a cooper block that is big enough to be fixed using the holes and small enough not to touch anything else.
---------|S|-|S|-|S|-|S|-|S|-|S|--------
|0000000|S|0|S|0|S|0|S|0|S|0|S|0000000|
|-SSSSS-| |-| |-| |--| |-| |-| |-H000000|
|-SSSSS-| |-| |-| |--| |-| |-| |-H000000|
|0000000| |O| |O| |O| |O| |O| |0000000|
|0000000| |O| |O| |O| |O| |O| |0000000|
|0000000| |O| |O| |O| |O| |O| |0000000|
|00000H-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |-SSSSS----
|00000H-------------------------SSSSS--
|00000000000000000000000000000000000|
|------------------------------------

Sorry it's not even, but it's the best I can do.
The o's represent the undrilled parts of the cooperblock.

Imagine this is a cooper block, and those lines insinde are actually holes. Also, you will have to drill 2 extra holes' wich cannot be seen. They will come from the top of the waterblock just as deep needed to make contact with the other hole(the places are marked with 2 H's each) There you will solder the pipes that lead to the hose connectors.

As for the side holes, you will have to fill them somehow, soldering a round cooper piece in each(I've marked the placeswith S). Be carefull not to block the water track

In the end put it on the mobo and mark the 4 places(on the cooper block) wich will be the 4 holes for fixing the watercooler. DRILL.<b>MAKE SURE NO WATER LEAKS!!!</b>

Fix the screws on the back of the mobo turn the mobo, put something on the screw so that the waterbloch will not push too hard on the CPU and fix the waterblock in place.

About the diameters: the horizontal holes(as seen in my schematic) should be at lesat the inner diameter of the hose. The vertical holes can be as small as half the diameter of the horizontal ones. The top holes must be exactly the outer diameter of the pipe, and the inner diameter of the pipe should be the inner diameter of the hose(for optimal waterflow).

If anything's confusing(sorry), just ask, I'll check back.

Reply to Mr_Nuke

Thx...

But I already bought a DD RBX, for very very cheap off of Ebay. I just wanna try out that silver TDX see if silver's really worth it.

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Reply to scottchen

The current that flows through a material is proportional to the voltage across the material. In the substances tested you double the voltage (V), the current (A) also doubled. If you reduce the voltage by half, the current dropped by half. The resistance of the material remains the same whether the voltage and current increased or decreased. This relationship is called Ohm’s Law.

However when dealing with Thermal Cooling Copper's dissipative quality's are better then Silver simply because they can dissipate over a broader range of temperatures that Gold and Silver cannot.


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Reply to SoDNighthawk

Thanks for the info. I guess anything but copper really makes no sense at this point. The silver is just for Lan-Party show.

"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds. Now, let's eat!

Reply to Cybercraig

lol are you people f-ing nuts....just buy the next cpu up and forget about ocing, lol....

lol buy a cpu that is $40 cheaper and then buy a machine shop to make a water block, lol :> )

You guys are a-ok--just gofin'


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Reply to Zeekfu

Screw you man! LOL! I ain't doing any physical modifications to it, i'm returning it in a month if i buy it. F*ck i'm not actually gonna spend 200 dollars on a single CPU block. If it works well, then i'll buy a silver block and make it myself.

--------------------
stop sending stuff back that ain't broke scott that is why stuff is so danged expensive.....

<font color=black>yippie ki ya, m..........<font color=black>

Reply to Zeekfu

Well, I just wanted to help, but it's an exccelent and cheasp solution. Did I tell you that the watercooling system I'm going to build will have this sort of elements?

Reply to Mr_Nuke
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