Are old wb's even worth the price anymore?

some of you may have seen the watercooled microATX thread a while back. well i've progressed somewhat on it. I got my rad (2-570) and pump. I've kind of hit a wall with the waterblock. i don't want to spend 50 bucks to get a waterblock here. i'm not going for record temps. i just basically am trying to watercool the thing internally for kicks and because a single cpu fan is just not gonna cut it any more. i plan to have it fold once its successfully wc'ed. anyway, in my search for a cheap wb, i've narrowed it down to the TC-4 by D-tek or the Maze4 by DangerDen. the Tc-4 is only $25, and the maze4 is $35. my question is, are these blocks going to be essentially worthless? are they even worth the money? i just find it hard to pay a mid-range price for crap when i could spend 20 more to get the best retail block. then again, thats how i always get trapped into spending more money he he. which of these blocks should i get for a low-cost, as good performance as i can get for that money, block?

also, i want to be able to take out the barbs b/c i will be using copper pipe in the whole system. will i be able to do this with these blocks?

jungle

my 2 cents: if u can find an old block in the classifieds or somewhere for like 25 shipped get it. the differenses between water blocks are a few degrees. if u dont want to buy used, spend a a little more and get a swifty 6002 for 40 bucks plus shipping. the only thing with the swifty though is u cant take out the barbs but im sure u could rig something up.

if you are willing to pay $35 for a maze4, then spend the extra $5 and get a swiftech mcw6002. $40 for one of the best water blocks out there, plus its all copper. Its just a really good deal...

mmm no access to the classifieds yet. have to have 100 posts or something right? that makes me sad. i cant imagine that i dont have enough. it seems like i've been around here forever lol. i guess i registered a good time after i started reading. i've been dabbling for around 2 years now. guess im just slackin

how bout the barbs? will i be able to take those out? it looks like they are just teflon taped in from the pics on dtek's website. i think i'm going to go for the tc-4 just because its cheaper and it comes with thermal paste joy! i dunno, maybe i'll upgrade later once its up and running well.

how much did the 2-570 cost you?

52.99 from autozone special ordered with free shipping. that's one of the few places i could find it. everywhere else had it for 70 or even >100. the fins look pretty rusted though, which i'm a little upset about. i think i will soad it in some kind of rust remover over my thanksgiving break and see if i can clean it up. it was literally the only heatercore in the database that would come close to fitting the case correctly. with a little modding, im pretty sure i can get it in there. tubing will be interesting though.
pm me if you want more info

jungle

well just think that the better block will get you about 2c. So you pay 15-20$ for 2c. Up to you. I would definetly try and get into the forums classifieds.

Edit: Rusted? as in steel? or oxidized copper? Steel is not good in a loop...

$53?!?!?! Oh Geeze

he he yeah the core was pretty $$$$, hence my reluctance to spend money on a block. i really hope all this comes together. autozone said i could take it back for a refund if it doesnt work for what i need, as long as it wasnt installed. as for how they could tell that..... anyway im a little :-\ about the core b/c of the price and the condition. i'm not even sure what its made out of exactly. it would really suck if it were steel. the top of it is brass i'm pretty sure. hey the inlet and outlet are copper pipe. thats a good sign right?
i'm at work right now, but i will take another look at the thing when i get home. it looked a little shakey when i first got it in. sigh i really hope it works out.

I would have to agree. These older waterblocks are not crap. If you had a computer from 15 years ago, ya it is prutty much crap.

Waterblocks have not really changed in the past couple of years, they transfer heat to water. If you are asking if you should get that maze 1 or maze 2, I would pass. If you can get a maze 4 or something that came out on the marked a year ago and it is a good deal then take it.

Maybe check e-bay, it is becoming more mainstream for selling watercooling gear.

My philosophy is that old waterblocks are comparable to old computers or televisions... they are outdated by newer technologies that flood the market, and eventually the old products become hardly worth it.

The only exceptions I am willing to make is on the GPU or NB waterblocks, where one usually doesn't really care about a low C/W but rather a low pressure drop.

are you trying to hit a certain temp? I have my daughter's pc watercooled using a BIM, 2 92mm fans on a resin shroud, 3/16" tubing, DIY 3-barb w/b, marineland 660 powerhead in 4x4 conduit box, diy relay. The fans are 7 volted and I can't hear them. Her pc is quieter than my 1/2" setup. Temps are 36/41 cpu. Biostar M7NCG and 9600.
I don't have any other fans other than psu. It's all in a used HP case; one of those small ones.

I recently used maze 4's on my dually and they worked fine. kept my 2 bartons @ 1.85Vcore 2500mhz cool with a BIX. I would compare older waterblocks like the maze4 as good, just not the "best of the best".

devilscow22 said:

I recently used maze 4's on my dually and they worked fine. kept my 2 bartons @ 1.85Vcore 2500mhz cool with a BIX. I would compare older waterblocks like the maze4 as good, just not the "best of the best".

Click to expand...

Indeed.

enlightend said:

My philosophy is that old waterblocks are comparable to old computers or televisions... they are outdated by newer technologies that flood the market, and eventually the old products become hardly worth it.

The only exceptions I am willing to make is on the GPU or NB waterblocks, where one usually doesn't really care about a low C/W but rather a low pressure drop.

Click to expand...

Maybe true when buying old blocks, but old block's that have you can be very usefull. I modded my Maze 2 for my A64 and my GT to work with my Maze 3. Worked out great

The only real reason I stopped using my Gemini was because I switched to a P4 from an AMD...it's still a great block.

If yours is a P4 system as well, there's Swifty's block in the 3/8" flavor for cheaper HERE. 3/8" tubing would be easier to plumb in a small case...

copper tubing should fix that eh? i think i have enough room for that.

jungle