thickness of waterblock

what is the ideal thickness of the base and the top of a waterblock? for a DIY project i was going to go with a 3/8" base with a 1/4" top, but would it be better to have a 1/2" base instead?

I've got a 1/2" base with a 1/8" top, all copper.

I cut the inside of the block down 3/8" so the bottom is 1/8" thick, it works really well.



The left and right side are open areas for inlet and outlet. The center are just fins, cut down with the fiber reinforced cutting wheels and my Dremel (I love dremels )

another question for all you do-it-yourselfers, totally off topic. do all of you use a drill press to fashion your blocks or is there some other means that you use?

some of us have access to milling machines and lathes
some do it with dremels, some with drill presses, some with both. some with table saws. theres many ways to do it, some really dangerous(table saws)

I personally do it with a mill.

Jon

JFettig said:

I personally do it with a mill.

Click to expand...

That's gonna leave a mark.

I've seen some say thinner is better, and some say thicker is better. I've built blocks both ways, and have concluded that "it depends"
If you have great waterflow and surface area, thinner.
If you have less surface area, thicker. You'd need to spread the heat to your waterchannels that aren't over the cpu die area.

This is all just my opinion, and what I've found to be so.