Performance testing



For the performance comparison I used two competitors: the Swiftech MCW-6000 and the Zalman WB2 Gold.



Both these blocks have already proven themselves capable of cooling the latest processors. I applied a new layer of Arctic Silver 3 and fresh water for each testing cycle. Tests were repeated several times to make sure I did not get false readings due to a bad mount.

I ran a full cpu test with S&M ( 24 minutes ) at a load percentage of 90%. First test was done with my San Diego 3700+ at stock speed : 2200Mhz with 1.3V. I raised the Vcore to 1.4V and overclocked my processor to 2500MHz. Final test was done at 2750MHz with 1.5V. My CPU doesn't need that kind of Vcore, but I find it nice to see how each block performs when more heat is generated.

I monitored temperatures with MBM 5, with the modified data files for DFI. The system was installed inside a Lian Li PC70, with one panel open due to the large Hydor L30. This pump goes up to 1200l/h, similar to the Eheim 1250. The Hydor L30 could create a little tsunami inside your water-cooling rig, so we're ready to power it up.

My water cooling components used for all tests:

Watercooling
Pump	Hydor Seltz L30
Radiator	Watercool HTF3 Triple X
Radiator fans	3x Papst 120MM @ 12V
Reservoir	Cape Coolplex Cilinder

First test @ stock speeds:



The results are close to one another in the first test, the K8-1 takes a small lead.

Time to raise CPU speeds and vcore:



All blocks show a similar increase of 3°C, so it’s time to push the CPU hard and hot for our last test to see how the water blocks compare:



Here the K8-1 shows its power, only 1°C difference between the previous test and this high speed high vcore test, it’s very hard to believe and I verified several times these results before I had to conclude that they are as real as it gets.

Conclusion

It was fun having this block inside my case, it has got "the looks" and it delivers stunning performance. This new water block from nPowertek proved its capabilities with the heat column design which can handle an enormous amount of heat.

There’s just one possible catch, nPowertek asked me to test the block with a powerful pump, because this block is very restrictive and a slower pump might not be able to get fresh water through the block fast enough. My test setup does (not yet) allow for pressure drop tests, but Overclockers.com found in their tests that performance does not degrade much at all when this block is paired with a slower pump. This is good news of course.

There were two installation drawbacks: the rather small fittings, most water cooling systems use 3/8” or ½” so I had to get me appropriate tubing for this setup, and the botom fitting sits too close to the mounting plate which makes installation of the tubing difficult.

PRO
Amazing cooling capacity
Excellent build quality and looks
Heat column design looks very promising

CON
Small fittings / tubing diameter

Thanks go out to Gary from nPowertek for providing us this magical water block.

Question/Comments: Forum thread