waterblocks with 1/2" fittings?

[SkiFletch]

are there any such beasts out there that perform well? I've been reading all about how flowrate through the waterblock is one of the best ways to increase the effectiveness of watercooling. seems to me that one good way to acheive this would be to use 1/2" fittings and channels on waterblocks right? how come most popular blocks like the swiftech, or innovatech, or perhaps the geminis, etc all seem to use 3/8" fittings? just doesnt make much sense to me in the least... anyone got any suggestions? or perhaps know of waterblocks that do in fact use 1/2" fittings?

[JFettig]

that one new swiftech comes in 1/2 fittings and with high flow rates its suposed to be the top dawg...... no prooven facts tho, no reviews of it...

[SkiFletch]

new swiftech huh? interesting, whats the model number?

[JFettig]

here it is its called MCW462-UH the H i think is for high flow or something... but try to put like 150 thru it or more...

[lcpiper]

Actually Swiftec, Danger Den, Gemini, and others all have blocks with 1/2" fittings available.

But remember that even if the water block has 1/2" fittings, if there is a fitting anywhere else in the system with a smaller fitting then it will choke your flow rate down to that level and you will get reduced benefit at your 1/2" water block.

Design a water cooling system as a "System", the radiator does the cooling, there is some convection cooling happening elsewhere but the lion's share is done at the radiator. Get a radiator that meets your needs first and pay attention to it's size and design. Next select your water block/blocks , the more you buy and use, the greater your thermal load will be and the more resistance will be added to the water line with additional blocks, fittings, and more tubing. Look at what you have at that point and select a pump to match the rest of the system, make sure the pump is strong enough to do the job right, but do not go for "overkill" as the extra pump energy is dumped into the water in the form of additional heat.
By now you are seeing that it is important to achieve balance and efficiency in a water cooling system and that you need to have a clear defined target for how much cooling you want. Remember that it is very unrealistic and even impossible to cool a system below ambient temperatures without the use of peltiers, refrigerants, or phase change systems so if your room temperature is 34C and your radiator is cooling with this same air then don't expect 32C, and if your radiator is cooling with case temp air then don't think that you will get below those temps either.

Well, that's enough for now, good luck.

[Despotes]

The Swiftech MCW462-UH not only has 1/2 barbs , but 1/2" NPT size holes in the block (about 3/4"). I believe this block is the only one with this size NPT. Unfortunately, the 1/2" barb does not have an inside diameter of 1/2". It's closer to 3/8". You want to replace the 1/2"X1/2"NPT barbs with 5/8"X1/2"NPT barbs for minimal flow resistance.

http://www.cooltechnica.com/images/Swiftech/462-UH_PARTS.gif

[SkiFletch]

thanks for the info guys, i'll refine my search a little more then and look for some of those blocks you mentioned.