neil@kobalt
27-02-08, 01:56
Two weeks ago I arrived in the workshop to find a box marked Astoria, Oregon. Well, the only company we deal with in Oregon is Danger Den so I knew exactly what lurked inside:
http://www.kobaltcomputers.co.uk/reviews/block 1.jpg
- two pre production 3870 X2 water blocks. I'm building a system in our Apache ICE chassis for a feature in a certain UK publication and so got in contact with Dan at Danger Den to see what they had in store for these cards. They will be running in crossfire but at the moment I can only report on the performance of one card ;)
Some of you may remember the 7950 GX2 block I wrote a small article in 2006. I managed to get an early pre production sample of that and Danger Den have come through for us again with the 3870 X2 block. It's worth mentioning how good this block looks in the flesh. It's fair to say that the NV88GTX blocks weren't a work of art but the semi-transparent acrylic and finish on the copper (it isn't sand blasted btw!!) really looks the part.
Although the block is a bit of a monster, fitting it wasn't a problem. This is a pre production sample so the design/attachments may change but the instructions were clear. Care needs to be taken with some of the thermal pad cutting however it's no more complicated than doing a GTX block, just takes a bit longer.
OCZ HYDROFLOW
We also have an brand new CPU block from OCZ, which is even more pre production than the 3870 block! It is the best looking block we have seen, build quality is excellent and it performs very well :cool: I have been testing it against a D-TEK Fuzion block with a QX9650 and have about half the results I need for a proper review which I will post in due course. A couple of points to note in it's favour are:
-Low profile meaning it's easier to integrate into a loop (less pipe bending etc)
-Barbs are nice and far apart making it easier to install
-A backplate is included :-) Anyone familiar with CPU blocks will be aware of the bending board issue, even to the point sometimes of moving the MOSFETs away from their heatsinks. The backplate does a great job of keeping the board straight and suitable washers are included. There was nothing to intefere with the plate on the Maximus Formula however I think there may be an issue with 680i boards from memory so obviously best to check no chips are going to be squashed!
-Two sets of spacers are included which change the pressure of the block on the CPU. The top pressure is quite a way above the Intel recommended btw so be careful!!! The initial results below were with no spacers so at 55lbs. The spacers go to 70lbs and 100lbs.
All in all it's a very nice piece of kit. There are supports that screw through the board into the backplate and then thumscrews (as seen in pics) hold the plate down. The plate is an integral part of the block unlike (for example) the D-TEK and it all fits together very nicely.
http://www.kobaltcomputers.co.uk/reviews/HYDROFLOW_closeup.jpg
http://www.kobaltcomputers.co.uk/reviews/block 1.jpg
- two pre production 3870 X2 water blocks. I'm building a system in our Apache ICE chassis for a feature in a certain UK publication and so got in contact with Dan at Danger Den to see what they had in store for these cards. They will be running in crossfire but at the moment I can only report on the performance of one card ;)
Some of you may remember the 7950 GX2 block I wrote a small article in 2006. I managed to get an early pre production sample of that and Danger Den have come through for us again with the 3870 X2 block. It's worth mentioning how good this block looks in the flesh. It's fair to say that the NV88GTX blocks weren't a work of art but the semi-transparent acrylic and finish on the copper (it isn't sand blasted btw!!) really looks the part.
Although the block is a bit of a monster, fitting it wasn't a problem. This is a pre production sample so the design/attachments may change but the instructions were clear. Care needs to be taken with some of the thermal pad cutting however it's no more complicated than doing a GTX block, just takes a bit longer.
OCZ HYDROFLOW
We also have an brand new CPU block from OCZ, which is even more pre production than the 3870 block! It is the best looking block we have seen, build quality is excellent and it performs very well :cool: I have been testing it against a D-TEK Fuzion block with a QX9650 and have about half the results I need for a proper review which I will post in due course. A couple of points to note in it's favour are:
-Low profile meaning it's easier to integrate into a loop (less pipe bending etc)
-Barbs are nice and far apart making it easier to install
-A backplate is included :-) Anyone familiar with CPU blocks will be aware of the bending board issue, even to the point sometimes of moving the MOSFETs away from their heatsinks. The backplate does a great job of keeping the board straight and suitable washers are included. There was nothing to intefere with the plate on the Maximus Formula however I think there may be an issue with 680i boards from memory so obviously best to check no chips are going to be squashed!
-Two sets of spacers are included which change the pressure of the block on the CPU. The top pressure is quite a way above the Intel recommended btw so be careful!!! The initial results below were with no spacers so at 55lbs. The spacers go to 70lbs and 100lbs.
All in all it's a very nice piece of kit. There are supports that screw through the board into the backplate and then thumscrews (as seen in pics) hold the plate down. The plate is an integral part of the block unlike (for example) the D-TEK and it all fits together very nicely.
http://www.kobaltcomputers.co.uk/reviews/HYDROFLOW_closeup.jpg