tomshardware new watercooling article

[resago]

". It's important that the radiator be installed in the upper part of the case, since heat rises."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, yeah, put the radiator where it can absorb the most heat from your case!! :rolleyes:

[gmat]

At least the hardware he's got is quite good (apart from the rad which is quite average).
That's an improvement over previous WC articles (Senfu then Koolance)...

[resago]

but there's more

"Before this step, though, some thermal paste should be spread on the CPU die. You should not use silver paste because the copper contact plate is very flat"

[tourist]

Originally posted by resago
but there's more

"Before this step, though, some thermal paste should be spread on the CPU die. You should not use silver paste because the copper contact plate is very flat"

O M G!!! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

[Organized_Chaos]

I like this one.


Distilled water is used as the cooling liquid so that, in the event of leakage, a short circuit doesn't occur in the PC case.

[WebMasta33]

So basically he wants...

--A radiator air trap.
--To ignore the fact that it's a fluid, flowing through tubing, and think that heat can go against the flow of the fluid, there by breaking the laws of thermal dynamics.
--Ignore the fact that waterblocks and heatsinks are both made out of metal, which has flaws.
--To let us know that a 3/8" copper pipe, aluminum fin radiator is the "best radiator on the market"


--And last but not least... To probably have us submerge our computers in distilled water, because... it's all good...

*sigh* I atleast thought his hardwear reviews were -halfway- decent... pfft, not any longer.

[chazz469]

Well, not having read the article, he does have some good reviews. But no one, NO ONE is infallible. Maybe he's just a little out of his league and istrying to get into a world that he doesn't necessarily know that much about. :shrug:

[Brad]

just moving this to the review section ;)

btw, I completely agree with your comments, the article was one of the worst I've seen yet. I have to admit he did use an Eheim pump though. The hdd cooler looked like crap though, it only touched the sides of the drive. Also I haven't bought up points other people have.

"The result is that the computer ends up with at least eight fans that typically show signs of technical faultiness after only a few months of use"

8? Most of the high end machines I build at work have: GPU, PSU, CPU, Case fan. Thats it. Where did he get 8 from? Also, most of them last for years and years.

"For our PC system, we've used the most effective water cooling that's currently available on the market, which has mostly been developed by Innovatek."

how does he know it's the most effective on the market. maybe he should check out och/cpufx. I'm sure he'll find their coloured barbs make it perform 5C below ambient!

"All components are connected with plastic tubing so that no leakage occurs. "

so hose barbs have nothing to do with it? no fastening at all of the hoses?

"The best radiator currently available, which can be used in any PC case. "

I can name multiple cases that rad won't fit in. And I'm not even going to start on the best part of that.

"There are special elbow components to ensure that there's no loss of pressure to the system due to clamping or kinking. "

but what about the fact that the elbows themselves limit flow?

"If you've got a complete PC system already, you have to take it apart before installing a water cooling system. Components such as the graphics card, hard disk and motherboard need to be removed from the case"

why should I remove the hdd?

"turn the pump on, then pour the distilled water into the header tank until the entire system is filled with water"

so I should run the pump dry for a bit before I put the water in?

"Granted, we've presented a rather elite solution " (it costs US$365, maybe it's the best because it's the most expensive)

pretty crappy solution if you ask me

[Hallis]

you know you loved it brad,, i am going to read the article right now,, but from what i've heard so far i'm sure i'll at least get a few little laughs out of it.

[gmat]

Slamming Tom is allright, i never read his texts, i just go straight to the figures and/or the photos. (his numbers are quite accurate and thorough indeed).
When he test a CPU or a GPU he does it the right way, testing it against all situations and all other brands. Why not doing this for WC material ? Something's weird here.
Besides in Germany one can find at least 3 very high quality watercooling HW stores. Why citing only Innovatek ?

But slamming is fun to a point :)
Let's see:
Originally posted by Brad
The hdd cooler looked like crap though, it only touched the sides of the drive.

Sorry Brad, but this is the most effective way of cooling HDDs. Actually the sides are the hottest part. Why ? Because the engine and hot parts are mounted on the *lower* half. The *upper* half is only a cap, and is insulated (to reduce noise) from the lower half.. That means 90% or so of the heat goes to the lower half. Some ppl even cooled down HDDs passively using side-mounted "heatsinks"... (actually alu profiled rails).
So innovatek HD block is very good. The only thing that annoys me is it's made out of alu (you can slam it for this :) )


8? Most of the high end machines I build at work have: GPU, PSU, CPU, Case fan. Thats it. Where did he get 8 from? Also, most of them last for years and years.

GPU, PSU, CPU, Case inlet, Case outlet, NB, HDD -> 7 (thats what i had in my previous setup). Maybe the 8th is a side-mounted fan.


how does he know it's the most effective on the market. maybe he should check out
The innovatek CPU block (the big one) has consistently beat all other WBs in round-ups. Pretty good but alumium :(
I doubt the rad and GPU/NB block are as good though.


pretty crappy solution if you ask me
Apart from the rad (and again it's *average*, not outright bad) i think you're overstating. The global solution is *just good*. It has areas for improvement (placement, etc...), and one of the best CPU blocks and pump combos.

So allright Tom's f**ked up this one again, not comparing the product to concurrents or testing the real efficiency of the system against anything...
Looks more like a commercial for Innovatek...

[Hallis]

Originally posted by gmat
Looks more like a commercial for Innovatek... [/B]


Who di you think supplied all the free hardware for testing? :cool:

[bigben2k]

I think gmat's got it right. Tom's reviews and articles have some value, in that the tests are consistent, and there is an effort made in collecting good technical info. Otherwise, it's clear to me anyways, that the articles themselves leave much to be desired.

Their account of that computer show in Taiwan was very interesting reading: you get to find out a lot about the style and motivation of the people that write there. They're good at gathering the technical info, but poor at analyzing it. Their analysis however, does give me enough clues to know what to look for, as I analyze the data myself.

[Hallis]

Originally posted by bigben2k
I think gmat's got it right. Tom's reviews and articles have some value, in that the tests are consistent, and there is an effort made in collecting good technical info. Otherwise, it's clear to me anyways, that the articles themselves leave much to be desired.

Their account of that computer show in Taiwan was very interesting reading: you get to find out a lot about the style and motivation of the people that write there. They're good at gathering the technical info, but poor at analyzing it. Their analysis however, does give me enough clues to know what to look for, as I analyze the data myself.

We just have to reverse-engineer the data into something usefull and understandable that people can relate to and understand.

[iceheart]

BTW brad eheim pumps don't mind running dry, at least the warranty paper I got with mine says so :)

[bigben2k]

Originally posted by Hallis
We just have to reverse-engineer the data into something usefull and understandable that people can relate to and understand.
Exactly!

[Gnozo]

Muahaha....I'm still laughing at that video :D

Naa...I think that it might give some ideas to "newbs" who want's to go watercooling, but it might need a few adjustments :cool:

[Brad]

the video was funny too, pity it took so long to download hehe.