Is this watercooling forum dying?

Having been around here for quite some time now, it seems to me that the watercooling forum here on OC has been declining in a number of ways.

For example, today on XS I see already 30 threads that have been commented on today so far, and most of them multiple times. There are 6 threads commented on here today so far.

It seems to me that many of the experienced watercoolers just don't roam here anymore. There are only 5-10 people or so I see contribute here regularly. For instance, I just saw Jas on here for the first time today since April. Thorilian last week Pm'd me as to what he is up to. He left the forums over a year ago and used to be a real source of info. Otter seems to have disappeared again, etc.

Our stickies really just haven't kept up. It seems that a lot of the info is a few years old.

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed this?

Since I've gotten into watercooling I find myself posting here less and less, I check the classifieds and the WC section, maybe post and then go to XS...

I agree the stickies are way out dated, the irrelevant ones need to be deleted/moved.

being relatively new to these forums i noticed when i first joined there was new stuff all the time in here but lately (last month or so) there hasn't been as much. i haven't really looked through the stickies though.

First I wouldn't compare this forum to XS. I don't want to insult anyone, but quantity is definitely not quality. Sadly, and not suprisingly, most people do not realize this.

I have to say I am guilty as well. Since I have completed my loop, and recently perfected it in my eyes, I do not post as much here either. Kinda greedy of myself, but I got what I needed and did not really give back. Mostly because when a question pops up that I know the answer to, someone else has already replied and did a better job than I ever would have.

ANd lastly, there is not really much going on in the water cooling world. Most of the technological advances seem to have been made. The practical limits seemed to have been met. And with that in mind, there is a lot less, compared to in the past, to talk about.

--pak

pak said:

First I wouldn't compare this forum to XS. I don't want to insult anyone, but quantity is definitely not quality. Sadly, and not suprisingly, most people do not realize this.

I have to say I am guilty as well. Since I have completed my loop, and recently perfected it in my eyes, I do not post as much here either. Kinda greedy of myself, but I got what I needed and did not really give back. Mostly because when a question pops up that I know the answer to, someone else has already replied and did a better job than I ever would have.

ANd lastly, there is not really much going on in the water cooling world. Most of the technological advances seem to have been made. The practical limits seemed to have been met. And with that in mind, there is a lot less, compared to in the past, to talk about.

--pak

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Worded perfectly pak, exactly what I would have said. I haven't been around here much lately at all. I do have to say though, when I have a problem and post here for help I do get a timely and informative response. Still got a bunch of good people here!

pak said:

ANd lastly, there is not really much going on in the water cooling world. Most of the technological advances seem to have been made. The practical limits seemed to have been met. And with that in mind, there is a lot less, compared to in the past, to talk about.

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I get that impression of CPU cooling in general, it's very rare that heat is an issue anymore when using a decent aftermarket cooler, let alone watercooling.

It seems that since cooling technology has come so far and CPUs are putting out less heat per core because of the die shrinks, it takes the fun out of cooling somehow

Mabye some of us have moved on to XS. And we cant be bothered reading the posts here.

i dont think its dieing its just become really redundant the last few months.you know,what kind of fans?what kind of rad,blocks barbs tubing should i get?help me configure my loop etc...i help when i can but most of the posts lately are answered pretty quickly and thoroughly for the most part.
the debates of old have been beaten into the ground.so theres just not much to talk about anymore.

It's sure that all the "Old Timers" know where they stand in their WC opinions and I've been here long enough to know what most of them are. I browse through here 4-5 times a week and most of the questions are answered. Occasionally I'll inject one of my "radical" thoughts but not often - it's not worth the argument and I know I'll be out-voted anyway.


But another issue is what many have alluded to - the "discussions" have been thrashed out and fewer new products on the market leave less to discuss anew. Even if something new comes out we wait until one of the "gurus" run a test on it because, in the end, that's who everyone will believe anyway. Why bother to post test results that will be ignored or over-looked when the "real" results come out?

I noticed something when I ran a series of tests using a Storm and Apogee in the same loop but changing the tubing sizes and pump types. It was interesting that the Apogee liked 3/8" tubing better than 1/2" and I hypothesized it was a "jet effect" the 3/8" tubing/barb had on the Apogee that made the difference. I thought that fact interesting enough to post but no one seemed to listen - it's still "run 7/16" tubing - it's the best because Cathar says so". Who can argue with that ...???

It also may be because that we are getting ready for the holidays and we are all trying to save money... also it is cold outside so people have lower ambients which makes people not worry as much about cooling but when summer rolls around i think this part will liven up again

could we e-mail some manufactures and ask for new products so we can cmpare them and have something new to talk about

I was in this section A TON when I was first getting my loop together... which oddly enough has never actually cooled a PC. (space constraints mostly)

But now... I think like a lot of others, I don't frequent this section unless I have something to say or ask. I check the Alt Mod, and Folding sections all the time, but not the cooling sections unless I see a thread title that catches my eye. For me cooling is a means to an end (stable OC)... Folding and Modding though, those are things I do all the time to relax.

And Quiet Ice... I think you might be right... the pump would probably push the same amount of fluid through either diameter pipe, and more velocity could help the block's open diamond grid design.

Well, I haven't been on much mainly because I landed a new job, and moved to Wisconsin in late spring. Then had to get my wedding underway through the summer, finally getting married last month.

So personally, I just haven't had much time, or much money.

Fact is, we all have lives outside of our respective hobbies, and often, our hobbies get put on the bakc burner for a while. I don't think that's any indication of the forums dieing.

No major developments about components lately, means not much to discuss without beating a dead horse. Plus, most questions can be answered on this forum in a search.

Prisoner1138 said:

No major developments about components lately, means not much to discuss without beating a dead horse. Plus, most questions can be answered on this forum in a search.

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pretty much ^^^ and thers much more exitin stuff happenin in the CPU n graphics sections atm.

I do brouse here evry now nd again as im partially on the way to getting parts for my first WCing setup.

Jas said:

Fact is, we all have lives outside of our respective hobbies, and often, our hobbies get put on the bakc burner for a while. I don't think that's any indication of the forums dieing.

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We do!?

I know what you mean QuietIce, I would find those results interesting and would enjoy the debate around why that occured. However you'd get so many posts stating you're simply wrong due to testing methods etc.

Clockwork_Apple said:

We do!?

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I know it seems strange, but trust me, that front door is not a portal to "The scary sunshine monster"

Clockwork_Apple said:

I know what you mean QuietIce, I would find those results interesting and would enjoy the debate around why that occured. However you'd get so many posts stating you're simply wrong due to testing methods etc.

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Lol, aint that the truth. Thats what is soooo maddening about extreme cooling. But the honest truth is, there is allot of apples to oranges comparisons when it comes to cooling hardware, no matter what they are.

I suppose I could be partly to blame as well... but I do post everything here that I post over there - test results, new trends, my attempt at stepping bases, etc etc etc. There is just much more activity over there in the water section, IDK why it just is. Funny enough though, that is really the ONLY forum in all of XS that I visit... here, I visit almost all the forums (and not because I have to).

nikhsub1 said:

I suppose I could be partly to blame as well... but I do post everything here that I post over there - test results, new trends, my attempt at stepping bases, etc etc etc. There is just much more activity over there in the water section, IDK why it just is. Funny enough though, that is really the ONLY forum in all of XS that I visit... here, I visit almost all the forums (and not because I have to).

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For the most part, ALL the forums on OCForums are great, with a wealth of info. I wouldn't be half the OCer, or WC nutjob that I am had it not been for these forums.

I also find a few less "idoits" here.

Development of new water cooling products have simply come to a complete hault ever since the Fuzion and Apogees. There has been few developments here and there, but nothing that would make people go WOW other than the G5. It got to a point where one or two degree improvements no longer merit a tear down of my watercooling system. The one thing I am yearning for is a better dust filtering system. Cleaning the filters on a monthly basis is becoming a hassle.

situman said:

Development of new water cooling products have simply come to a complete hault ever since the Fuzion and Apogees. There has been few developments here and there, but nothing that would make people go WOW other than the G5. It got to a point where one or two degree improvements no longer merit a tear down of my watercooling system. The one thing I am yearning for is a better dust filtering system. Cleaning the filters on a monthly basis is becoming a hassle.

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Cyclone vacume > dust

Year and a half old beagle > Cyclone vacume