Which water block should I get?

Fuzion, apogee GTX, or Storm?

I am going to be ready to purchase a new cpu block at the end of this week. My question is which one for my application. I have been reading a lot on this forum and these three seem to be the most popular.

As of right now, I only plan to cool my CPU in my loop. I have no immediate desire to W/C anything else. I just want max cooling on my CPU. I am not sure if that will make a difference, but it does have a play on pressure drops correct? Where one block might perform better with multiple blocks and one will perform better with a single block.

In my case, I am running an un lidded x2 cpu so my cooling surface is smaller. Someone did recommend to me that a storm should perform best because it focus's its cooling on a smaller area.

The storm block is what gets me. They seem to range from $44 all the way up to the upper hundreds. The higher dollar ones seem to be G4's and G5's. They also seem to say that they are made be Cather himself. Are these higher dollar storms worth the coin? Or are they kinda like novalty items because they were hand made by cather?

So, help me decide. I think in the end the difference is minimal correct? I beleive I am looking at 1-2c difference, in which case I would like to have.

--pak

I have looked at all three blocks and found the storm to be more appealing to me. Not only because of looks etc but how it is designed. My choice would be the Storm.

Well If you are going water you should put a block on your GPU as well . If you do your gpu temps will drop way more than your CPU temps do . My 7800gt loads @ 36deg with 1.8V vs stock cooling it would be dead right now @ 1.8v =)

The storm is a very nice block and is perfect for the cpu that ypu have right now . But how long do you plan on having that System for ? becuase where the storm does Naked A64chips the best the apogee gt does c2d's and c2q's better . So if you plan on geting one of those in the future it might be best to get one of those .

About paying more for having a Build By Cather I would not buy them they are like you said more of a novalty .

The Fusion I dont know much about I know Nik did some testing as said they were pretty good . he made a nozle for it and it worked even better .

All in all I think just keeping your WW and using that would make the most sence , you prob wont see much better temps on any other block you use .

What is your load temp with your WW that you are using now ?

I hit 50c orthos load'd with vcore set to 1.55 in bios and cpuz reports it at 1.52.

I was under the impression that I would see more than 5c drop.

--pak

What happens when you go over 1.55v do the temps go up alot ? I find my temps dont really change that much when feading it more volts . I dont really see a diff @ load when @ 1.55v or 1.75v .

What Size rad do you have ? I think the rad might have more to play with the temps than your block will .

Im not saying you wont get a 5deg temp drop but nothing is for sure .

Have you tryed feading your cpu more volts to see if it can oc any higher ?

For bare CPU's, the Storm will beat the pin-fin blocks hands down. With the IHS on, things are muddier. For a dual die block like Intel's quads, I'd recommend the Apogee GTX or Fuzion. But for block that has only one die, even if it's dual core), I'd still go with the Storm, though the difference won't be much. Die sizes will get larger as more elaborate CPU's get introduced, favoring the GT(X) and Fuzion, then get smaller again with the next die shrink, favoring the Storm. It's hard to say which will be the better design several upgrades in the future.

The more heat your CPU puts out, the better the Storm will perform compared to the Fuzion and GTX. At moderate overclocks, though, the pin-fins might give you slightly better temps.

Bottom line: I really don't think it matters that much as long as the IHS is in the way.

The Storm G4 is what Swiftech makes and sells. I don't think the Little River G4's perform any better, but they may have value as collectors items. The G5 is another animal entirely, though. The base is made of silver, and it has more internal surface area. And yes, it's expensive as hell. If you like to pull the heat spreaders off your CPU's, this is the best block currently available. Silver bends pretty easily, though. I'd think carefully before buying one of these used from a stranger.

I have a coolrad 32t. And when I put more vcore, 1.65 higest so far, my temps only peaked at 53c.

I have no intention to upgrade anytime soon. So it looks like the storm it is. Probably just go with the rev2. I don't think the G4 or G5 is necessary.

--pak

Guys, so far my testing reveals the storm is getting spanked on my testbed (6600) by a fair bit (more than 3C). I still have more testing to do, but with IHS's the storm is just crippled. Fuzion and Apogee's so far are best.

*edit* here is a pic of my test setup

nikhsub1 said:

Guys, so far my testing reveals the storm is getting spanked on my testbed (6600) by a fair bit (more than 3C). I still have more testing to do, but with IHS's the storm is just crippled. Fuzion and Apogee's so far are best.

Click to expand...

Oh, man. Time to upgrade again.

I just moved from an IHS-less X2 to a an e6600. Thinking about going to a Fuzion...

Nik, aren't you agreeing with what everyone else is saying. No IHS=storm wins. IHS=fuzion or apogee?

--pak

pak said:

Nik, aren't you agreeing with what everyone else is saying. No IHS=storm wins. IHS=fuzion or apogee?

--pak

Click to expand...

Yes without IHS storm would kill the apogee, fuzion would likely hold it's own though - can't say for sure as I don't have a way to test this though.

Is that with the clock and vcore cranked up or close to stock? I'd have thought the Storm would do a bit better with the single cores, but I trust your data. Either way, it's good to move from guessing to knowing.

Stock speed with vcore set in bios to 1.55v. I decided NOT to OC as I can't have an unstable test rig.

nikhsub1 said:

Yes without IHS storm would kill the apogee, fuzion would likely hold it's own though - can't say for sure as I don't have a way to test this though.

Click to expand...

What blocks have you tested? and do you need a fuzion to test or an unlidded cpu?

--pak

pak said:

What blocks have you tested? and do you need a fuzion to test or an unlidded cpu?

--pak

Click to expand...

Blocks tested (not all complete yet):

Fuzion (with and without various nozzles)
Apogee GT (bowed and flat base)
Apogee GTX (bowed and flat base)
Swiftech Storm G4
MCW6002
Little River G5
AquaXtreme MP-05 SP LE

Testing on uncapped CPU's is useless IMO. You can't reliably remove the IHS on Intel CPU's anymore - I have no interest in AMD and soon AMD will do the same - solder IHS to core.

nikhsub1 said:

Blocks tested (not all complete yet):

Fuzion (with and without various nozzles)
Apogee GT (bowed and flat base)
Apogee GTX (bowed and flat base)
Swiftech Storm G4
MCW6002
Little River G5
AquaXtreme MP-05 SP LE

Testing on uncapped CPU's is useless IMO. You can't reliably remove the IHS on Intel CPU's anymore - I have no interest in AMD and soon AMD will do the same - solder IHS to core.

Click to expand...

they do allready =) on the new chips
But there is always a way to get rid of it 4 razor blades and a blow tourch =) but i can under stand y its not worth it to test .

"SWIFTECH STORM EXTREME DUTY UNIVERSAL WATERBLOCK REV. 2"

http://www.svc.com/storm.html

What is the deal with this storm? It is a little more expensive than other non extreme duty storms

--pak

It's the same block. The text on that page is two or three years old, but the price is pretty typical. Jab-tech is offering it for $20 less right now, and if you want a Storm just for your current CPU, that would be the way to go.

Nikhsub isn't done with his testing yet, but it looks like with a soldered lid, the Storm is obsolete. I haven't been paying much attention to Intel and so can't say anything about their current arrangement, but if it were done correctly, a soldered heat spreader might actually serve the purpose its name implies, allowing the heat to spread out before it has to cross through a non-soldered TIM. If they haven't got it right yet, they probably will, or perhaps AMD will come back with more competitive silicon and a better thermal interface. Either way, I suspect soldered spreaders will negate what I said above about periodic die shrinks bringing the Storm back to the top unless someone comes up with a thermal paste or pad that can compete with solder.

With the heat distributed across a wider area, the Storm's focus on on the die area would no longer make sense. Hence if you want to use this block beyond your next upgrade, you might want to hold off until Nikhsub's results are in or take a chance on the Fuzion, which should at least be able to beat the Apogees with the lid off the CPU, thanks to its central inlet. If you want the best for your X2, though, the Storm is still your best bet. Its performance with naked AMD's is well documented.