3/8 or 1/2, whats the performance diff?
 

I have read numerous people state that they went from 3/8 fittings (tubes, blocks, etc) to 1/2 and got a performance increase.

So my question was, just how big of an increase did you get? 1-2degrees? 2-3degrees, more...

Also, if you could include what blocks you switched from to go from 3/8 to 1/2 I would appreciate it.

Thanks

Gonna be system dependent. I did this with a heatercore (Chevette), Danner 250gph, and an original revision Maze2 and I couldn't detect a temperature difference with my test devices at the time (thermistors on side of core and in water). However, I could overclock stably about 20MHz higher on my TBird. Might want to think about where the restrictions are in your system and whether larger fittings will help you get where you want to be.

Im using 1/2 cause its a nice number :)

Just remember that 1/2" barb fittings are roughly 3/8" ID, and 3/8" barb fittings are roughly 1/4" ID.

thats correct, on my waterblocks iv made, i used half inch dia copper tubing for the hosebarbs, and 3/8in hose, that slides over it and clamps on, so there isnt flow restriction with that....
gotta find me more pipe, almost out of it...

It really is system dependant, but in general, if your tubing size is equal to, or larger than all the fittings of any of all the other components, then you won't see a difference.

Some people claim 1 to 3 degree difference, but the margin of error in measuring those temps is pretty big, so they might have achieved the same results regardless of the tube size increase.

It is far more efficient to eliminate 90deg bends in your rig, because a single 90deg bend can create more flow resistance than changing tube size.