I think it is very interesting that you failed to get any coolant pressure readings to go along with you water-block tests . Since you are curious as to the effects of flow , one of the major factors becomes contact time . Higher presssures will enable lower contact times (but higher flow rates ,at low pressure may lower the contact time thus reducing efficiency), but there is a balance point to consider . The turbulence in the flow will cause localized cavitation which will increase as the pressure rises . in some systems the internal friction created by high pressure / cavitation situations offsets the the higher flow rate in two ways, one by causing localized heating within the block and reducing eff by less heat transfer (contact time) and friction .
Not one of those blocks utilizes proper water turbulence with regard to direction of flow and while a large base plate may be good for stabilizing the over-all system equlibrium , the "dead solid area's within the blocks will always require a much larger pump than is absolutely necessary .
P.S> I install and repair all types of solar heat exchangers for water . From domestic copper systems to plastic pool panels (vastly different in terms of operation - pools work best with metered panels (even flow all pressures-this from data going back 30 years ) and domestics are full pressure -low flow. the interesting thing is that most of the water block/ radiator setups work almost exactly like domestic hot water water heating systems , in that the recirc temp is dependant on the resavoir (or radiator ) size . I would like to see if you get a wider range of temperature differentials using a larger radiator (as I suspect that you were actually measuring your radiators capacity) , say the heater core (you know that neat radiator from under the dash) from a 72 chevy caprice classic?
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