CPU blocks so big, why?
 

Now that the AMD holes are going away, and the revelation of the nano block so long ago, I'm left wondering why so many of these CPU blocks are still so big.

It seems like a pretty big waste of metal, not to mention the added weight and mounting issues, to have all these spiraling channels running around, when the only real heat transfer is taking place right over the core itself.

Am I missing something here? It seems like one could easily get away with 1 channel going left-to-right over the core, then out. Why aren't we seeing anything like that?

The socket A holes are not going away. It's just online rumor crap, no more true than when people said the multiplier pins were going to be removed from the chip, or that XP chips wouldn't run SMP.

hmm, yes, all the conspiracy!

--Matt

because we are MEN, and being men, we like BIG stuff! NUFF SAID! :)

I must tend to aggree with you fix

--Matt

WTF is up with the eye avatars!? that just freaks me out

why doesn't anyone have a tit as their avatar?

I was wondering the same thing myself...

LOL! funny stuffs :p

Are you an ornithologist, Brad? I have a picture of one, but I'm not allowed to upload a custom avatar yet:)

what about a beaver?

brad thats simple, cause I would remove that avatar from the user.

and there is a beaver avatar. just not that kind of beaver.

Outstanding hijack gentlemen :D

Returning on-topic, seriously, what stops us from making smaller blocks? Will a smaller block neccessarily work much worse? I have an idea brewing, maybe I'll try some solidworks renderwork and see if I can cobble together some visualization of what I'm thinking of.

Relevance...
 

Well, it doesn't really matter if it's rumors or not, it doesn't have much bearing on the question of "is the size really needed?"

Also, of the boards I'm looking at, most of them do NOT have speed holes (Dual CPU), so if it's part of the spec or not it doesn't really matter to me. I just need to find a block that fits, and hopefully doesn't warp the mobo in the process (multiply the weight by 2!).

My blocks are 3"x2" as that is as big as I can get on my Epox 8K7A without some serious mods that I don't want to do. If the block is wider it has more surface area on the bottom of the block to "spread" the heat out so all the chanels get used.

If you mobo is mounted correctly in the case then weight will not be that big a deal. If you want light blocks go with Aluminum as it is much lighter than Copper and still cools well.

I would also GUESS that in the event of a pump failure a bigger block would take longer to heat up. This would give shutdown software more time to work...

I AM in the process of designing a small block, though. Unfortunately people have already been talking about some of the ideas I had. Oh well.

I wonder if the larger base size of a MAZE2-sized block makes a difference. It seems that some of the best performing blocks out there are only 5cmx5cm blocks. However the larger blocks probably do buy a little extra time, in the event of a pump failure.

PROBABLY?????? I know they do

I have had my system running for 15 minutes with the pump shut off. Ok, 15 minutes before the alarm went off and I figured out the pump had gotten unplugged by my ferret. But still, it ran for 15 minutes with no water curculation. I would love to see someone do that with a small block. HEHEHEHE ( no disrespect intended here) but I dont really see that haponing with the gemini blocks. I talked to Peter on the phone and he agreeded with me on that.

Also I had pelt options in mind when I designed it. So a bigger much more meater block was needed.

orev
your observation is quite correct

just ask any who disagree to demonstrate the cooling benefit of 2x3in. size by calculation or with test data
Una's seat-of-the-pants results should have prompted this question long ago

we are observing sheep following each other off a cliff

but hey, "its manly"
and the sheep will pay $

Another thing you have tothink about is this.
With the larger blocks, you have more room to "CREATE" With all the stunning blocks that are coming out now, it is harder to creata a good looking block while still having it preform well. At least that is the way I look at it. I am a form and function kind of guy. I like things that look and preform good. But hey what do I know? :) (Smiley indicates humor)

Nanoblocks do work well, with moderate heat loads. However to cool overclocked XPs (or worce with pelts.) you need the larger surface area given by larger blocks, and yes, all that area is used, the base of the blocks spread the heat well.

Edward

copper is such a good conductor of heat it makes sense to make the block bigger and give it more surface area to remove the heat

I have always made my blocks small and thin... The secret is block volume vs. internal surface area.... that ratio is what makes a block's performance good, bad or ugly..... :D
http://3rotor.dns2go.com/images/Smal...P05240_sml.JPG

I prefer to go for all out 100% maximum performance, looks sometimes get in the way of that... not that looks are not important.... I prefer to think of it as the MCLarenF1 Syndrome..... you don't need to look faster than a Viper, to be able to kick it's ass.

rotor, the McLaren F1 was also very light, it was a car designed to completely ignore price, just speed and comfort.

The Quattro is a small block too, but probably one of the best performing out there

yes, it may be one of the best preforming blocks out there (Ill take your word on it)

But how much better does it preform? It cant be more then 3 to 5 C