Waterblocks

The waterblock is the device, which actually takes the heat from the CPU and transfers that heat into the water. The water is then cooled by the radiator. Different shapes and water pathways through the waterblock can affect the amount of heat transfer that the waterblock produces. The material the waterblock is made of can also affect heat transfer. Copper is most commonly used but other materials such as aluminum and silver can also be used. Where the water enters and leaves the block is also another issue which waterblock manufacturers face. When building or buying a waterblock you must take into account all these variables to understand how and why the block works.

One popular design for a waterblock is the spiral shape. Water enters the block usually over the CPU core and leaves the block after it has spiraled around the block a couple of times. Dangerden’s blocks use this type of design. The Maze 3 breaks tradition a little but it’s still the basic shape. The Spir@l waterblock, as you would have guessed, also uses the spiral design. Another design is the zig-zag design where the water enters one corner of the block and zig-zags across the block until it reaches the other corner. This design isn’t used much today because other designs perform better.

Another design has little pins that protrude from the base of the block. Water flows around the pins and the water absorbs the heat. This design eventually turned into the micro-channel design. This design is just starting to get popular. The water enters the block over long thin columns of copper over the core of the block. The water leaves the block at two different exits on each side. Currently this design seems to be the best performing in existence but new designs are continually being built and tested.

I'm not going to write this telling you exactly what to get because things change so rapidly and different blocks can perform differently on different CPUs. To find which blocks are currently the best, I recommend you read reviews. Do a Google.com search for round-ups on waterblocks. Look for a round-up with many waterblocks. Although a little out dated, HardOCP did a big round-up of waterblocks. Finally, read forums and ask questions. Of course there are other types of waterblocks for video cards, chipsets, hard drives, and even ram. Most of these blocks use the zig-zag design because they are easy to make and performance isn't such a necessity as it is for CPUs. These devices just simply don't get very hot.