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Originally posted by gone_fishin


A copper top contributes absolutely nothing to the cooling abillity of a waterblock The only reason people have the notion of clear tops risking a system is by extremely poor utilization of the material which has spread such nonsensical ideas. After all, a poor soldering job results in the same risk does it not?

Okay sounds like the start of a mind/profession-slinging contest... Guess I'll start... Since I'm almost a degree having MATERIAL science Eng, I can tell you by FACT that a copper top DOES indeed contribute to the overall cooling of the block, being that the copper (or plastic top) material DOES come in contact with the water in the block AND has contact with the sides, which shouldn't have yet reached the thermal-resistance point. I've SEEN and done Stereo-lythographs and can vough for the RED=heat, being displayed on the heat mapping/stress areas... Anyone that believes that a plastic top will not hamper their temps (albeit some, minute) is being mislead. It's a simple FACT of material SCIENCE, not SELLING "eye-candy"

The fact of a "bad soldering job" is moot. Being that if you're not playing around an know what you are doing, as in heating the filler metal to the proper liquidus point and put on the right amount of brazing flux, then the copper+solder/brazing material WILL "wet" along each other and give you a solid seal, which should be stronger than both materials on their own. Now as for the plastic, many a things can go wrong, the plastic batch itself could be flawed in the mixing composition and with added heating and cooling could cause a catastrophic failure in it's structure, okay, blah, blah... metal on metal soldering is MUCH more of a SECURE way of sealing and conducting heat. Look pretty if you want, but how many PROPERLY metal topped blocks have leaked Vs Plastic... you do the math. "Let science and fact of physics be your guide, NOT your self-rightious opinion." -Me. lol!