Cathar, when do you plan on releasing your block? i am going all out this summer on a brand new rig, and am only getting the best, and your block is #1 :)

I, and others, would argue that is yet to be proven independently.

When it's ready. Still awaiting the return of my test blocks, and still waiting on the machinists to complete the "goop tweak" version. Might have both by the end of this week.

OHHHH NOOOO!!!!! before or after DUKE NUKEM???? :evilaugh:


Anyway what is your target price, or are you close enogh to know yet????

That reminds me of Lomac. lol

Yeah, I'm putting together a rig next summer. I'm holding out for the Athlon dual-core (:D) and I plan on using your latest and greatest. Will it be out by then? I must admit though, I haven't rulled out the TDX w/ the #5 nozzle. ;)


Good luck to you Cather!


DrCR


__________
1977 Bonneville Heatercore
IWAKI MD-20RZT @ 60Hz

Got my blocks back today, just sitting on our front porch for who know's how long? :eek: Yay! Thanks Phaestus. I've been missing them.

Opened up and inspected the blocks. The "Storm" is a jetted block as I've hinted about this before. A significant number of the jets were clogged quite heavily with balls of lint, and especially over the central die area. The baseplate even had lint trapped in various places, which says to me that some of the jets were so clogged that there wasn't even enough flow to push the lint out of the way as there's plenty of room for it to escape once it reaches the base-plate.

The Cascade SS faired a lot better, with just a few outer (slower-speed) jets clogged mildly. The Cascade SS was tested second, so I have a feeling that the Storm already did the job of mostly filtering the test system. I don't believe that the SS's performance would've been impacted to any significant degree given what I saw.

I'll still run the "goop" tests, but right now I'm thinking that it was a filtering issue that explains the differences between Phaestus's and my own internal testing.

Sadly this is something that all these modern higher performance finely-structured blocks do suffer from. If the loop is open to the air for long enough, or perhaps refilled using dirty containers that introduce lint into the system, then this can be an issue. I'm sure what with Phaestus installing all manner of blocks all the time, that over time enough lint would've entered the system, whether from his own actions, or from lint/crap already present inside the previous tests blocks that were installed.

Stew
Do you use an Inline Filter?
What do you use or what are the preferred types?
Thank you:)

I have an in-line filter here in my test setup, but only because I accidentally sprayed paint into one of my radiators and it often releases globs of paint into the system. Otherwise I filter all my water and using clean containers I add it into the loop, and never have a problem with lint. The filter catches the paint particles.

My inline-filter is a "barrel and basket" micro-irrigation filter which I picked up for US$3 from a local hardware store. It's the one on the right in the below picture:

http://www.employees.org/~slf/images/filters.jpg

It is very low flow restriction, offering less resistance than one of my heater-cores. It has a removable "basket" inside that has literally thousands and thousands of ~0.1mm diameter pin-holes in it. It's big and ugly, but it's free flowing and dirt cheap. There'd probably be a good market for something that was 1/3rd the size for computer cooling use with micro-structured/jetted blocks.

My other closed-loop Cascade-based system that I leave running all the time (my P4 work system) doesn't have any inline-filters installed and it's never had any problems because the water was pre-filtered when I added it. I pull it apart every 3 months or so just to check, and it's always been fine.

what do you use to filter the water?? one of those regular Purina water filters you put on your sink or something?

Something similar to that. It's just a basic sits-on-the-bench water-filter that uses a 10 micron carbon filter. For the price and the amount of water needed, it would be perfectly acceptable to just buy a couple of litres of bottled drinking water. I'm somewhat fortunate to live in Melbourne, Australia which mostly has the cleanest and softest drinking water found in the country. Only a total paranoid would ever feel that drinking Melbourne tap water was bad for them. Chemically it's purer than many bottled drinking waters. We just filter it to get rid of any localised particle matter.

What about the top plate?

I remember an article showing that copper + anodized aluminum still causes corrosion when the anodizing wears off ...

Also, when these blocks go into retail, any idea what they will cost?

Same with NYC tap water ;)

Only think they add is the chemical which makes it easier for calcium to get into body cells.

I can't find those here in my country.
Could you share what Brand & Model is that if there's any info please.

Here even using bottled h2o has slime said by a friend.

[quote=j813]I can't find those here in my country.
Could you share what Brand & Model is that if there's any info please.

You should be able to find it in the sprinkler section of you local hardware store.

IIRC some members on OCAU pointed out that filter after he bought the one of the left, and he had never noticed it despite walking down that isle a number of times.

So it may be a little hard to find, but any hardware store/sprinkler shop will have it. They are fairly big.

I brought a similar one today... it was 10.99NZD, a bit dearer, but a similar filter i think. It was in the garden irrigation section of my local hardware store.

Apologies for the thread hijack Cathar.

K guys thanks!

It's just that I'm living in a third world environment not too many have the luxury of having a garden.
What we mostly have here are (h2o for drink) filters or water filtration in gen & these things has so much restrictions especially the price.

Will scout for it though & if there's not any, maybe I can buy there online. Am kinda near you Mates. BTW I'm using an Evap Tower, yeah I know me better scrap the idea whenever using a jetted block(s). I'm in process of having a special made Rad or Core.

Cathar how is the block coming? Have you started talking to resellers yet?

No. Still waiting on the tweaked block so I can make my final decision. I am now very confident in my own results of the G4 vs the Cascade SS, after relapping both blocks after they came back from review. Both the G4 and the SS had degraded from numerous remounts, with the SS and its soft silver being particularly affected. Upon close inspection I could almost make out a few core imprints left by myself and Phaestus in the soft silver. A careful relapping with 2000-grit paper cleaned it up and it picked up performance (a small amount). The block would have been through, perhaps 30 mountings since the last time it was lapped.

The Storm/G4, with its harder copper, wasn't as bad, but it had been through perhaps 40-50 remounts by the time I decided to lap it again.

Arctic Ceramique has been good to use as a thermal paste - with noticably less (if even noticable at all) curing variance, and so I've been able to build up a stronger level of confidence in my results. With my old thermal paste I was seeing 1-2C drops after a few thermal cycles which made it hard to guage what was going on, whereas with the Ceramique what I see on the first mount doesn't change in any detectable way even after 3-4 thermal cycles. The Ceramique starts out better than the Silver 5, but the Silver 5 over time cures to be ~0.5C better than it.

So I'm very confident that given the same pumping characteristics (i.e. any given fixed pump from an Eheim 1046 up to an Iwaki MD40-RZ) that the Storm/G4 is a stronger performer than even the re-lapped SS.

Once I get the tweaked version back, hopefully this week, I can put the two Storm blocks head-to-head, gather a clean-water base-line, add glycol (although I don't believe now that this is a significant issue), and make a choice, and then start down the road to ramping up.

Are you still haveing problems with the storm getting clogged?

I never had a problem with it getting clogged. Read back in this thread for context on that issue.

*bump*
Had any time to do some testing Cathar?

Piccy of final block
 

Well here's what the final block will look like in basic Socket 462 (Socket A) format. There will be an aluminium universal adaptor plate that fits over the top for Sockets 423/478/603/604/754/775/939/940. Presently considering getting the plate anodised in black as well. Don't have an adapter plate in hand yet though.

http://www.employees.org/~slf/storm/...inal-small.jpg

Silver bases are definitely needed. Got to go all the way with the black/silver thing. Shiny plated adapters?

Chrome/Nickel barbs, SS screws, Silver base, and chromed, stylised chrome adapter plate

mmmmmmm sexy

Actually you're describing the silver/g5 now...

Yeah, its what im expecting it to look like :)

I apologize if this has already been explained earlier in the thread, but what does it take to get on the waiting list for one of these? I imagine that it is quite long already!

Thanks!!!
-Barry

I think you don't have to do anything to wait... I too, am waiting.
Cathar said pre-order is not open just yet. We'll just have to wait.

at overclockers.com.au he said end of september and there would be enough for every one for the g4/copper

Quit teasing us please.... :drool:

I posted this over at OCAU. Figured some of you guys might be interested:

No Flash:

http://www.employees.org/~slf/storm/jets1.jpg

With Flash:

http://www.employees.org/~slf/storm/jets3.jpg

Gratuitous fountain shot. Fountain reaches around 3m into the air.

http://www.employees.org/~slf/storm/jets2.jpg