Solid Silver Waterblock?

As I just came across a sum of money, and the prices for an ounce of silver are pretty low, I am trying to decide whether or not I should bust for a block of silver to make a block out of.
Has anyone done this before, and did they see a major improvement over copper?

Another idea was to take a synthetic industrial heat spreading diamond and place that on the core. That would be much more pricy, but I would have the best heat transfer around.

So, my question:
Is it worth it to get a solid block of silver and make a waterblock, or should I just wait a bit and buy a synthetic diamond and make a waterblock with that beast?
any help would be appreciated.
Futura

wtf
sorry dude but i dont think anyone has a solid silver waterblock
soundsl ike a good idea
the diamond thing is weird
id go for the silver block
then youi could start a site called silverblock.com
and would go and see you silver block
and then you could sell them...

Well, the reason I am thinking of doing this is because I am devising a pretty exotic cooling system to coolmy computer to below 0 f degrees. Water cooling will be just the start of it. Instead of water travelling through the block, I am thinking of using a less viscous liquid, or even a gas that can handle extreme temperatures. Freon may be a possibility.
This system will be expensive, even if I just rip the freon system out of an old fridge.
So, diamonds, having the best heat conduction in the world, would make a good choice for the best heat transfer. They are also relatively cheap. Synthetic industrial grade diamonds cost between 50 cents and $5 a carat.
The silver block, although a good idea, would not be that useful. I would only need a solid silver plate at the bottom to get the same effect. Most of the silver on a solid block would not be used to transfer heat effectively. Still, it is easier to make a solid silver block than make a composite.
On the interior of the block, I am trying to decide what would make the most turbulence without air. I have thought about a number of methods, one being a metal prop inside and a motor spinning it outside so that it would produce thousands of micro eddies inside the block. In fact, I wouldn't even need a motor if I set the nozzles right.
Obviously, I still have a ways to go with this plan, but when I finish it off...
futura

Check out this site for a silver cold plate and also a silver base water block:
http://becooling.safeshopper.com/newitem.htm?681

Hope that's helpful...Be sure to post the results of your project when it's done.

K1

Get a chunk of silver and have dangerden make you a silver Maze3. Even better yet try a copper silver alloy since its a little better than just silver. I'm shure you could work out a deal with them. They might even do it for free if you do a little article on the block once its finished.

For 700 bucks you can get a flow through aquarium chiller that will cool your CPU far better than a block of silver will. Imagine being able to dial in the water temp you want down to 10 C? Since these things are designed to chill 10+ gallons of water, they really do a great job on the very small amount in your computer.

http://www.aquatictech.com/chillers.html

You can be sure that I will post the results. Possibly an article about it too.
So far, the internal propellor that produces micro eddies seems like it would produce the most turbulance. I read some articles on hydroelectric dams and how they are built to produce the maximum turbulance. More tubulance = more power for people like me.
The inside won't be to hard to do, just a smooth circular interior. That is simple enough, but the challenge is finding a propellor and mounting it in there.

Bender, I wish I had this done earlier. Then I could have put it in the competition... maybe next year though.
Futura

I though about buying an industrial diamond to use in a water block, but then i thought about how hard it would be to work with. It is the strongest rock on the earth and i think you may need somthing pretty expensive just to cut the thing, and i am in the process of looking for a block of silver to do the same thing but they are hard to find and way more expensive than making a copper block which will not see that much of a performnce decrease, but i have never heard of the copper silver aloy and think that i will look into that.

Bender said:

Get a chunk of silver and have dangerden make you a silver Maze3. Even better yet try a copper silver alloy since its a little better than just silver. I'm shure you could work out a deal with them. They might even do it for free if you do a little article on the block once its finished.

Click to expand...

Cusil (silver/copper alloy) was found to be worse than silver for heat conductivity... though probably cheaper than pure silver it would only be marginaly better than just copper. If anything I'd just use a copper block with a silver base... but to be honest even an aluminum block with a silver base should have the same cooling effectiveness as the metal between the die and the water would still be silver. I made a block for Sam with aluminum and silver which is now on his 8500. It was tested by me on a P2 300@400 and did VERY well. I wasn't able to test the temps but it was stable. I'm working on more designs using the same silver plates... the plates can be cut to any size but are 3mm thick... just right

A number of companies make diamonds specifically for heat transfer processes. Usually square or rectangular and only a few mm thick. They are still pretty expensive, but they will do. The silver isn't that expensive. At $5 a troy ounce, a block will not be too terribly expensive. Plus, if you do as Bender says and give the block to Danger den, you could probably pay them in the shavings left over. At least part of it, that is.
I have not heard of the copper silver compound either. I wonder where I can find it. Time to go back to the industrial district...
Futura

Found the article... Link

Key parts to look at are:

"Aluminum: 220
Copper: 388
Silver: 418
Silver/Copper (Cusil) Alloy: 515 "

AND

"Mr. Toshi Oyama, Ph.D. R&D Manager, WESGO Metals recently informed me "that the thermal conductivity of Cusil was calculated from Electrical conductivity, which is reasonable since both are controlled by free electrons in metals. However, electrical conductivity of Cusil was measured about 30 years ago with a very primitive machine. I re-measured it, and calculated Cusil thermal conductivity to be 371 W/m/K."

This means that the article's value of 515 W/mk (originally found on WESGO's website) is incorrect and the graph and calculated values for Cusil's heat spreading resistance should be disregarded (thanks to webmedic for the tip).
"

You can purchase a chunk of silver about the correct size on ebay. I would like to try silver but I'll stick with copper for now.

Actually its going to take a bar roughly 2x3x 1/2" which makes it arond 20 oz un milled. Thats not going to be a cheep pice of silver. Its fun to think about but I'll stick with a pelt setup for the pice of a silver block.

Hmm...
Ebay. That doesn't surprise me, but I should have thought of that. The diamond is going to cost a pretty penny though, but diamond all the way to the water should make a major improvement on my efficiency.
Futura

I am actually pretty sure that I am going to use a 3mm plate instead of a solid chunk. Plus, it is easier to attach the diamond that way.
Futura

but how are u going to cut the diamond?

no need to cut it, I am going to buy a precut diamond. Debid and P1 both make diamonds for heat exchnage, and pre cut.
Otherwise, it will be up to the dremel. Lol. Like that would work...
Futura

I was thinking of a diamond and silver alloy with maybe a pinch of graphite and copper. Maybe plate with a Gold and Platinum alloy for corrosion resistance. LOL!

Can gold substitute for carbon in the tetrahedral arrangement of a diamond?



What if I powered my computer with plutonium micro reactor generator?

Do you think they would get a kick out of it at a LAN.

ol' man said:

I was thinking of a diamond and silver alloy with maybe a pinch of graphite and copper. Maybe plate with a Gold and Platinum alloy for corrosion resistance. LOL!

Can gold substitute for carbon in the tetrahedral arrangement of a diamond?



What if I powered my computer with plutonium micro reactor generator?

Do you think they would get a kick out of it at a LAN.

Click to expand...

Then along comes that fateful day you spill your pop/beverage on your comp causing some freakishly bizarre reaction wiping out the better half of the states along the coastline

I would like to know why? Why diamond? That seems a little overkill to me. A silver plate on a block with a pelt or something similar would do just as well if not better and be a heck of a lot cheaper and easier.

Why not diamond?
At 50 cents to 5 dollars a carat for a synthetic industrial diamond, and 32 carats needed for my purposes, that means that up to $3 per carat I will be spending less than $100 on the diamond. Diamonds are incredibly better heat conductors than copper or anything else, it will be much more efficient than anything else.
Futura