lapping koolance waterblock?

Kamel · Jun 17, 2005

this waterblock i've got for my cpu is nice and shiney, it's also 21 karat gold plated. the problem is, i wasn't sure if it was flat or not. i don't know how good the process is, and by looking at reflections, i could tell a hint of wavyness in it.

my question is, does lapping waterblocks help as much as it does for air cooling?

outhouse · Jun 18, 2005

do not touch that block its perfect the way they send it.

some air blocks and a rare few waterblocks may need a touch up but yours does not need anything.

Moto7451 · Jun 18, 2005

Removing the gold could perhaps help but I don't think it'll help by much.

Rekarp · Jun 18, 2005

outhouse said:
do not touch that block its perfect the way they send it.

some air blocks and a rare few waterblocks may need a touch up but yours does not need anything.

well my Dtek WW certainly was not. dropped 2-3*C after lapping it.

hyperasus · Jun 18, 2005

All my koolance blocks are very nice. I would advise the same as the first reply. Don't screw up perfection.

YouEatLard · Jun 18, 2005

If you are looking for flat you already have it. You can probably read the fine print on a Half-life 2 CD from the reflection on that block. You touch the finish for anyother reason then to remove the gold and you'll be kicking yourself.

hyperasus · Jun 18, 2005

Why is the gold a bad thing?

Sneaky · Jun 18, 2005

cause gold isn't a very good conductor of heat... it conducts electricity plenty well, but not heat

citronym · Jun 18, 2005

if gold is a poor thermal conductor compared to copper or aluminum why is it used on the water blocks?

just curious

Sneaky · Jun 18, 2005

koolance uses it to prevent corrision (so no raw copper is exposed to the loop), due to them manufacturing mixed-metal WC systems, cause Al + Cu + H2O = galvanic corrosion = bad

citronym · Jun 18, 2005

thanks for clearing that up sneaky. i certainly understand galvanic corrosion. makes perfect sense now...

hyperasus · Jun 18, 2005

I like the idea of gold plated waterblocks....at least on the inside of the block where it's exposed to water. I didn't realize the gold was hurting performance.

Moto7451 · Jun 18, 2005

YouEatLard said:
If you are looking for flat you already have it. You can probably read the fine print on a Half-life 2 CD from the reflection on that block. You touch the finish for anyother reason then to remove the gold and you'll be kicking yourself.

Shiny != flat.

You can read the fine print off of a bank statement with a concave mirror if you'd like.

Bios24 · Jun 18, 2005

True, shiny != flat. But- If you look for waves in the text, then you can look for flatness. Another test would be to hold it next to a window or door screen. Then look to see if the screen is square/straight.

In terms of thermal conductivity, gold is slightly better than aluminum, but slightly worse than copper. I'm not sure if you'd see an increase or decrease either way because the layer of gold is so thin.

http://copernicus.subdomain.de/Thermal_conductivity

hyperasus · Jun 18, 2005

Bios24 said:
True, shiny != flat. But- If you look for waves in the text, then you can look for flatness. Another test would be to hold it next to a window or door screen. Then look to see if the screen is square/straight.

In terms of thermal conductivity, gold is slightly better than aluminum, but slightly worse than copper. I'm not sure if you'd see an increase or decrease either way because the layer of gold is so thin.

http://copernicus.subdomain.de/Thermal_conductivity

I agree. That makes much more sence.

YouEatLard · Jun 18, 2005

True, and I like the way you put that too (!=). I've got 5 of their blocks so far and they all look pretty good, thats why I say that.

True, gold's thermal and electrical conductance can be out done by copper but unless you're dead set one 2°C I wouldn't worry about it. The blocks are pretty heavy duty though so you can run water at fairly high pressure through it to get some extra performance out of it. Personally I ran water from two Eheim 1260 pumps in series through mine. There was so much pressure the block was picking up the vibration in the water induced from the pumps and actually humming. Also the way the blocks are sold with that orange plastic and gold most people will never have a problem with corrosion. Look up why the plastic only comes in orange. It's rated for diesel fuel, ammonia, muriatic acid or pretty much whatever you'd want to punish it with. Although the gold might not stand up to this (I don't know) you look at the blocks over all corrosion resistance it's pretty impressive.

Kamel · Jun 19, 2005

alright, well, 2C wouldn't be worth it, but if i saw a 5-10C drop, i'd be all over it. it kinda depends on what my setup ends up at when i'm finished with it too, i don't know what the final result will be, and if it's 3C less than comfort and a good lap job will get it there, i wouldn't hesitate. gold isn't precious to me, temperatures are

outhouse · Jun 20, 2005

you would not see 1C drop in temps removing the gold to copper

lapping koolance waterblock?

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