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6 High End CPU Water Blocks Tested and Compared

In this group test we compare the performance of six high end water blocks from Koolance, Danger Den, D-Tek, Swiftech and EnzoTech on an overclocked Intel Quad Core Processor. Which one keeps the CPU running the coolest? Read on to find out.

Author	Keith Suppe
Editor	jmke
Date	2008-02-01
Discuss	6 comment(s)
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	Back Plate Results To be...Bowed, or not to be...Bowed? That is the question. A few of the water-blocks in this article eschewed hardware with a back-plate. There has been much considering the possibility the D-Tek Fuzion might benefit from a back-plate I decided to modify one and test those blocks in this round-up with this hardware. In the photo above the Fuzion is mounted with a back-plate. However we must clarify the difference between "motherboard bowing" and "water block bowing" which are ambiguous due to their dissimilarities. Swiftech's backplane was intended to prevent motherboard bowing, the robust O-ring they released was intended to produce bowing in the Apogee base-plate itself. This was done in order to combat the problem of concave processor IHs surfaces. The O-Ring produced a convex bow effect ameliorating gaps and poor contact resulting from the concave IHS. This was discussed in detail in an astute PCModdingMaylasia Apogee Review. The back-plate issue, which was originally intended to reduce bowing in motherboard PCB, served a dual purpose as it places counter-pressure equal to the spring tension just behind the processor. It was last year owners of Apogee water-blocks discovered the "bowing" effect around the socket after tightening down mounting hardware. In response to this Swiftech announced a new back-plate would be included with all Apogee water-blocks and those whom purchased blocks prior to the inclusion of the back-plate would receive a free "back-plate kit". The back-plate is pictured below. The chart below represents all the water-blocks tested sharing the same back-plate shown above with screws, springs, washers and brass tensions which I assembled as a "universal Socket-775" mounting kit. The focus is on those water-blocks which did not include a back-plate or as in Koolance deviated from such a design. Conditions were essentially the same as in other tests, although I eschewed the #3 setting test. The Q6600 was run at 9x334FSB = 3.0GHz, 1.28Vcore, dissipating 128W at IDLE. LOAD was produced running Prime95 as in other tests. Conclusion The D-Tek Fuzion has earned a reputation as the block to best in our Triad Elections. Fuzion is a well balanced water-block employing what may be the most sophisticated extruded-pin base on the market, augmented by a highly effective multi-port return system. D-Tek's Fuzion looks to be the epitome of what an "ideal" base-plate might look like. While not as involved in its plumbing as a micro-jet (mini-cup) model, it is nonetheless a carefully conceived and well executed design. The Fuzion is well worth its $69 price tag. PRO excellent performer high quality construction and finish minimal foot-print CON absence of back plate one barb needs to be elevated to secure tubing worm drive bands could be supplied for the price Other considerations, prices, comments: Koolance CPU330 is a very solid and consistent performer with a lot going for it. The CPU330 is the only water-block in this round-up to be constructed entirely of metal. Its unique pins are massive and have a unique Pyramid shape. Its cross flow design gives this block a lot more versatility where pressure is concerned. This block came with the best mounting hardware with one exception, the back-plate design. While the back-plate most definitely prevents "bowing" it may due more harm then good because of the absence of material encircling the reverse side of the socket. The fact Koolance did benefit somewhat when used with the X design plate, indicates something may be amiss. The CPU330 is a departure from the usual Koolance water-block and now places the company in the high performance realm. The CPU330 is $49.95 at Koolance. Danger Den Copper-TDX is a tried and true design which has withstood the test of time. This block is dependent on a high pressure, high speed pumps for the best performance. TDX was not designed with multi-core blocks in mind as yet it performed very well on the Q6600 even though its primary impingement area much smaller then the four cores below. This speaks volumes about the effectiveness of this design. I wouldn't necessarily recommend TDX for Quad Core processors, although for Single and Dual core models the TDX is still a great design. I hope to see Danger Den redesign the TDX impingement zone for use with Quad Cores. They do make the MC-TDX this is a rather extreme depature from the original. The Copper-TDX can be purchased direct fron Danger Den for $52 Swiftech Apogee GT and Apogee GTX are very similar in design, the primary difference being the distance between the inlet and outlet. The GTX has a few more mm between the inlet and outlet which give it an advantage over the GT especially in Quad Core applications. I am constantly surprised by how well the Apogee series of water blocks perform. On the face of it the design seems to be just mundane, however; its performance belies that simplicity. Swiftech employed computational fluid dynamic modeling to produce their Diamond Pin Matrix pattern. Both the Apogee GT and GTX can be found at SidwinderComputers for $44 and $59 respectively. EnzoTech Sapphire SCW-1 is a well designed water-block and has a few things in common with D-Tek's Fuzion. Both utilize a mid-chamber with mini-return ports creating pressure which draws the fluid stream from the center to the circumference in a centrifugal pattern. This design gives the best of both worlds, center impingement (with all that entails) and a larger internal foot-print conducive to Quad Core processors. The Sapphire has been in such large demand most stores are out of stock. For those interested, the Sapphire SCW-1 can be found at Sidewinder Computers for $67. In the final analysis all these water-blocks came within just a few degrees of one another, which is attributable to several factors. Most pertinent among these is the evolution in water-block design. Equally as important are the hardware supporting the water blocks tested. Danger Den was kind enough to supply us with their NVIDIA 4101 water-cooling kit and a Black Ice Xtreme III radiator. Installing three Sunons producing 90CFM resulted in a few noisy months here in the 44dBA range. It was this system which gave us such low processor temps we see in the charts on this and the preceding page. I would like to thank each water-block maker for their contribution. There were no losers in this round-up. Stay tuned for the inclusion of the EK Supreme water block, a thing of beauty from Slovenia. <<- Prev \|-\| Home Quick Page Jump: More reviews in this category can be found below: Swiftech Apogee XT High End CPU Water Block Review Larkooler Universal High Performance Complete CPU / VGA / Chipset / Mosfet Liquid Cooling Kit Review Intel Core i7 CPU Water Block Roundup October 2009 Corsair Hydro Series H50 CPU Water-Cooling Kit Review Intel Core i7 CPU Water Block Roundup May 2009 Mushkin Does Liquid Cooling! eXtreme Performance Liquid Tested Swiftech H20-220 Apex Ultima Water-Cooling Kit Review Xirex Liquid Cooling Starter Set Review Xirex 4mm Thick Water Block Tested for Geforce 8800 GT EK Supreme and Koolance CPU-340 Compared to The Competition

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