Which water block design?

Nightingale · Nov 2, 2003

Ok I am in the process of setting up a water cooling rig. Anyhow I am wandering which water block design is best to make. I currently have 2 pieces of acrylic (1/2 and 1/4) for making a clear top. The tools i have access to are a table saw with metal cutting blade, drill press, dremel,and tap and die. Besides the water block i am wondering whats a good high flow radiator setup thats cheap.

gungeek · Nov 2, 2003

Nightingale said:
Ok I am in the process of setting up a water cooling rig. Anyhow I am wandering which water block design is best to make. I currently have 2 pieces of acrylic (1/2 and 1/4) for making a clear top. The tools i have access to are a table saw with metal cutting blade, drill press, dremel,and tap and die. Besides the water block i am wondering whats a good high flow radiator setup thats cheap.

You should look at the Rotor-style blocks. They are effective and not that hard to make with a drill press and dremel. Do a search for "rotor" for more info. Sometimes it is called #rotor or 3rotor also.

A heatercore is a good radiator that can be less than $25 if you are willing to buy it at an automotive part place and do a little modding. Modding consists of either (1) cutting off the expanded barb section and streching 1/2" ID hose over the remaining 5/8" stubs (easiest), (2) cut off expanded section and solder/epoxy barbs into 5/8" stubs, OR (3) use propane torch and remove existing expanded barbs completely and replace with 1/2" metal hose barbs. I went with (1) and it wasn't hard to slip 1/2" ID clearflex hose over the stubs; 10 minutes with a hacksaw/file and modding is complete. Of course, you'll want a fan shroud or 2 but that's a different subject

Nightingale · Nov 2, 2003

hmm yeah I been doing alot of research on this and I am deciding between rotor,cascade(I think thats the one with the slot in it), or the WW(jets). Also which is a better heater core to use? I am looking for something big and with good flow becuase to start with my pump is a pondmaster 2(I think its just a danner 2 with a different label). The plan was to use some large clear plastic tubes(probably about 3 large ones) as a reservoir and set the case ontop of that.

omaticrail · Nov 2, 2003

Nightingale said:
hmm yeah I been doing alot of research on this and I am deciding between rotor,cascade(I think thats the one with the slot in it), or the WW(jets). Also which is a better heater core to use? I am looking for something big and with good flow becuase to start with my pump is a pondmaster 2(I think its just a danner 2 with a different label).

Correct on the Pondmaster. Almost all heatercores will give you sufficient flow for that pump. Common cores are the Chevette core, and the Caprice Core (almost double the size of the length of the Chevette core). Caprice core at Parts America is $19, plus $6 shipping. The Chevette core is a little more expensive, but fits into cases easier. The Chevette core is also available painted and pre-modded for roughly $36 at one of the overclockers e-tailers.

Nightingale · Nov 2, 2003

I think I will shoot for the Caprice core, but I will see if I can get it locally at the my Parts America.

omaticrail · Nov 2, 2003

I found that my local PartsAmerica (Schucks Auto Parts) didn't carry the FedCo brand in store.

9mmCensor · Nov 2, 2003

Like this guy3Rotor. If you are building a poly top, it would be cool to build some LED's into the block for style.

AndrusLRoc · Nov 2, 2003

I just finished making some rotor style blocks and I'm very happy with them. Right now I'm runnin F@H, Kazaa-lite, and surfing the web, with a barton2500+ runnin @2.3ghz and 37 C. It's a very efficient design!!!

Nightingale · Nov 2, 2003

Can anyone give me a temp comparison between the different styles of DIY waterblocks? I am especially interested in the Jet impingment type because it looks like it would give good performance and it doesn't look to complicated to make(less metal cutting).

I.M.O.G. · Nov 2, 2003

A temp comparison between the different kind of blocks would be a demanding endeavor. You would need one person (same mobo/cpu) to evaluate all the different kinds of blocks.

Some of this has been done here:

www.overclockers.com/articles373/

Beyond that, any comparisons that most people make won't be any good.

The whitewater design is inarguably one of the best - the channels could be kind of challenging to cut that narrow however.

There are also issues with tapping poly tops that you are hopefully aware of... If not you will want to look into that. This guy probably wishes he had:

http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=2243645#post2243645

ILikeMy240sx · Nov 2, 2003

Nightingale said:
hmm yeah I been doing alot of research on this and I am deciding between rotor,cascade(I think thats the one with the slot in it), or the WW(jets). Also which is a better heater core to use? I am looking for something big and with good flow becuase to start with my pump is a pondmaster 2(I think its just a danner 2 with a different label). The plan was to use some large clear plastic tubes(probably about 3 large ones) as a reservoir and set the case ontop of that.

Actually... cascade is with jets and WW is with slits.

single-pass heatercore is the best performing heatercore that I know...

Why not go with Danner Mag 3?

Nightingale · Nov 2, 2003

Thanks for clearing that up. I meant to say I am leaning towards the cascade because I have 1/4 acrylic and 1/2 acrylic and it looks like its just a series of holes drilled to a certain depth and width and then a metal jet is suspended a little off the bottoms of the holes. So how is the jet held together just the tubes expoxied in? Also the cascade can work with a single slit to act as the jet?

gungeek · Nov 3, 2003

Here's a link to designing and building the cascade. It is a long, but worthwhile read. http://forums.procooling.com/vbb/showthread.php?threadid=6666

It is made using high precision CNC machine tools; not something the average person has in their garage. It is an excellent design, but not a DIY block IMO.

Take another look at the rotor design; that is likely to work very well and you have the tools to make it. The designer likes a 3/16" drill bit best. Post pics of whatever you make.

AndrusLRoc · Nov 3, 2003

9/64 is also a good bit for the rotor style designs.

Nightingale · Nov 3, 2003

I am going to order a 4x4x1/2" block of copper and use 2 outlets 1 inlet. Ok now for the reservoir I plane to make it the case for my case to sit on. It will be about the sides will be 12"x6" and the top and bottom the case sits on will be 8"x17(top) and 12"x24"(bottom base). Any suggestions on glue on strong solvent to hold it together?

Ven0m · Nov 3, 2003

I'd rather suggest using a bit thicker block, and I really see nothing better in using 1in-2out flow styl than in symetric in-out in #rortor blocks.

I've seen also intresting #rotor block modification:
1 in 1 out, one on centre, one on corner (I don't know which was in which out), but water flow was spiral. Something like spiral block with #rotor interior. It may perform quite nice, but seem to be restrictive.

Nightingale · Nov 3, 2003

Ok now theres a problem. I can't get anything thicker then 1/2 so I was thinking of using aluminum(4x4x3/4), but then theres the problem of a radiator. So should I go this route and use some aluminum tubing coiled up with a set of fans blowing on it as a radiator?

gungeek · Nov 3, 2003

A 1/2" thick base is thick enough. Use 1/4" thick or less copper for a cover (and mounting holes) and you'll be fine. Consider how much a 3/4" 2x3 piece of copper would weigh; it'll be heavy. Make sure your mount is solid. The cover doesn't really provide much, if any, cooling so it doesn't need to be thick.

If you decide on an acrylic cover, I think there are special precautions to keep it from cracking during cutting, drilling, and tapping. I've never done it, but others on the forum have.

The rotor style blocks seem to work well with 1-in and 1-out on the sides or corners, but you could make up 2 covers and see if 1-in 2-out is better. If you're doing the center inlet, don't cut out the pins in the center of the block, those are the most important for heat transfer.

Nightingale · Nov 3, 2003

Ok so I guess its back to copper rather then aluminum unless anyone knows of a good aluminum radiator to go with an aluminum block.

gungeek · Nov 3, 2003

Copper will perform better than aluminum as a block material. Also, copper or brass radiators are much more common than aluminum.

Which water block design?

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