O/Cers review the Hydrocool Hydro-Stream Waterblock - HS5

[cougem]

A really nice block, and made over on this side of the pond (UK).

http://www.overclockers.com/articles1047/

Very easy to mount and good performance, but incredibly resistive to flow.

What do we all think, even too much for the MCP600?

EDIT: Errr 3.5psi drop, isn't that like 30 Maze4s in series? Man, it's got a lovely C/W but can you use it?

[pHaestus]

JoeC got 1GPM through it with a crappy pump (Eheim 1260); We'll be fine

E-mail Joe and bug him to hack it open

[cougem]

Arf pH you neeeeed one of these Even though we all know you'll open the article saying 'I'm still hesitatant to give a C/W value....' and we'll all sigh

[AngryAlpaca]

A Mag 3 will give about 1GPM exactly, but the question is whether or not the increase in flow the other blocks will get will improve their performance beyond that one.

0.5mm according to Hydrcool's specs.

Does anyone else find this odd that they use the thinnest base but don't find near as much performance increase from higher flow as any other? Also, all silver isn't helping this block...

[cougem]

It says in the review it's UK based company...yet their website says they're in Perth, and all their prices are in AU dollars...?

[killernoodle]

Good lord... Thas is some freaking high flow resistance. It would choke even my mag 3 up... oh, and if the mag 3 is able to push 1gpm through it, then the MCP 600 will fare the exact same. If you have a high flow heatercore though you should be able to get away with it.

[jaydee]

Damn, look at the performance though. I suspect the extra heat generated from the pump working harder (or a bigger pump) might offset the advantage in a normal PC loop though if extra coolant cooling measures are not taken. Or maybe not! I am impressed. Will be more impressed if it costs around the same as the MCW6000/2. Not sure I like the clip, one tug on the hose and it might cause problems.... Not bad though.

[AngryAlpaca]

I suspect the extra heat generated from the pump working harder (or a bigger pump)

Just the bigger pump is valid. The more resistance the system has, the less heat the pump produces. A silver based product will not cost 40 dollars... If the clip holds strong enough, and the base hits all four pads, you won't be doing too badly.

[nicozeg]

The website menctions another interesting product, the hidro-spin, an integrated pump and block!

With all the impeller turbulence, it may have very good results even if flowrate is low. Not released yet, but seems a good idea.

[jaydee]

Originally Posted by AngryAlpaca

Just the bigger pump is valid. The more resistance the system has, the less heat the pump produces. A silver based product will not cost 40 dollars... If the clip holds strong enough, and the base hits all four pads, you won't be doing too badly.

All silver? My bad, thought it was just a silver plating. Will take the MCW6000/2 over it in that case. Can't see the silver and the performance is not much better so there is zero reason to buy this block.

[gone_fishin]

Quote from OC article,

"100% pure silver base
Micro-channel copper interior "

Are the channels brazed onto the silver base? Quite confusing.

[pauldenton]

Originally Posted by cougem

It says in the review it's UK based company...yet their website says they're in Perth, and all their prices are in AU dollars...?

"pty ltd." (which stands for proprietory limited company) is a guarantee that it's Australian...

[SlaterSpeed]

A interesting but confusing review there. I want to see inside it. Come on Joe get your plires out. Its only plastic!

[alexwai]

I am a little confused about the pressure drop measured at 1 gpm comparing between Hydrocool and Joe did. Yo can refer to OCAU. I've asked the designer of this block about this problem. His answer I feel is a bit vague.

[AngryAlpaca]

Link? Quote? Anything? Joe's is usally a bit high, but it's largely irrelevant. I made an error earlier on, the Mag 3 will NOT get 1GPM through this block.

[killernoodle]

3.5 PSI = 8.085 ft. head pressure.

According to this graph:

At a little over 8 ft, the mag 3 will be pushing just over 60gph or 1gpm through that block. I'd say the estimate is correct.

The MCP 600 pushes the exact same amount of water at that point.

[Cathar]

have become increasingly disappointed with JoeC's commentary. Quite to the contrary to what he says, the block does not require a high pressure pump to perform well.

3.45PSI is ~2.4mH2O. The Swiftech MCP600 can drive the block at 1GPM quite happily. So could the Danner Mag 3, even with other components in the loop.

JoeC noted 0.8C higher temperatures at 0.5GPM, which would result in an estimated pressure drop of 0.6mH2O, which is something that the very weak Eheim 1046 could push through that block happily with other components in the loop.

At the stated 70W heat load, a 0.8C higher temperature would mean a C/W of around 0.133 for his test-bed.

Now this is interesting to compare against the RBX. At 0.42mH2O pressure drop, it achieves a C/W of 0.132.

So what we really have here is a waterblock that performs about as well as the RBX when given the same pump.

Given that the TDX and the RBX are the same basic design, JoeC noted a 0.9C gain at 1.5GPM for the TDX. At 1.5GPM we'd estimate that the RBX has a pressure drop of ~1.9PSI, and at which point it would still be performing better than the Hydro-Stream, but with less pumping effort.

Given the Swiftech MCP600, the RBX would be driven at a flow rate that would offer marginally better performance than the HS5.

The only problem here is with the presentation of JoeC's data. Very easy for someone to look at it and say that the HS5 is the best block with "the best C/W's", when in a real-world system with a real-world pump, it would actually be about the same as an RBX.

Nice looking block though. Pressure/Performance is about where I would've expected the side-to-side micro-channel approach to have worked out to. JoeC's data is just misleadingly presented.

Interestingly, the manufacturing engineer places the PD at 1gpm (3.78LPM) at 5.7PSI, and not 3.45PSI. (source). So JoeC's resistance is lower than the manufacturer's stated resistance, which is odd, because JoeC typically seems to report a little high? So who's out here?

[Herr Montag]

Originally Posted by SlaterSpeed

A interesting but confusing review there. I want to see inside it. Come on Joe get your plires out. Its only plastic!

Hi, I'm the "mfg engineer" Cathar reffered to - from Hydrocool (Pty Ltd)

Hope this slakes some of your thirst for destruction, SlaterSpeed: goto http://www.hydrocool.com/Hydrostream.html and click on the rotating Hydro-Stream.

And yes - the bases are pure silver - made for us by the Perth Mint. They are bloody expensive, but you can't beat them for corrosion & heat transfer. Really, it is the anti-corrosion & chemical free coolant possibilities that clinched us on silver. Copper is otherwise quite good. The rest of the device is cheap though - no CNC, since the fins are brazed into the basetray (tricky with such thin silver!).

My first attempt to prove the silver is not just plating: (right click & download)
http://hydrocool.com/Files/Scissors.MOV (2.29Mb)
More successful attempt:
http://hydrocool.com/Files/sidecutters.MOV (2.05Mb)
And the end result:
http://hydrocool.com/Files/Endresult.JPG (36.8kb)

Of course, you can just give them a good 180grit lapping to double check

Hope this helps,

Monty

[killernoodle]

Haha, you broke your scissors and your base to prove a point

Nice blocks, seems like they are pretty easy to make.

[Herr Montag]

Originally Posted by killernoodle

Haha, you broke your scissors and your base to prove a point

Nice blocks, seems like they are pretty easy to make.

Thanks. Easy to make? Hmmm...looks can be decieving.

You would be amazed how blaise you get about silver when you have big piles of basetrays on your desk Spewing about the scissors though - Dorothy will not be pleased!

Monty

[AngryAlpaca]

Holy shit. That's all I can say. Shows what a very basic design can do (well, confirms what Bill showed, at least)... Easy to make? Doesn't look like it to me either. We trust you about the all silver, but that's some nice proof.

Seriously, though, where are they being sold and for how much?

[Herr Montag]

Originally Posted by AngryAlpaca

Holy shit. That's all I can say. Shows what a very basic design can do (well, confirms what Bill showed, at least)... Easy to make? Doesn't look like it to me either. We trust you about the all silver, but that's some nice proof.

Seriously, though, where are they being sold and for how much?

Actually, the only ones available are our first run of prototypes, and even those have been held back for several weeks (since Joe & Otti got theirs). We have priced the production for them & are tooling up, but I don't know yet the firm date for them to roll of the production line. Once we know, they'll be available at Hydrocool.com, or from your local OC suppliers.

Monty

[Light]

When purchasing an "off-brand" pump from a regular fishtank or pool store what numbers and information should i look out for. You guys supply so much qualitative and quantitive data that it would make any home-made watercooling newbie's head spin.

By the way, i am deeply conscidering using the Hydro-Stream waterblock and an Heatercore found off an old automobile. Thank you very much.

[Light]

When purchasing an "off-brand" pump from a regular fishtank or pool store what numbers and information should i look out for. You guys supply so much qualitative and quantitive data that it would make any home-made watercooling newbie's head spin.

By the way, i am deeply conscidering using the Hydro-Stream waterblock
and an Heatercore found off an old automobile. Thank you very much.

[greenman100]

over 200GPM, over 6'heat pressure

the head pressure is a bit more important