Water Woes

[DD_Brando]

I decide to swap out my old CPU water-block for something a little more modern - and I chose the EK High flow shown here. As shown in the picture it's a neat piece of work - low profile, very solid attachment, high spec and very nice thank you. Delivery from Overclockers was next day, they're very good that way, and I started in yesterday morning feeling pretty confident.

EK have made this kit suitable for most everything from a Skt A to an i7 and the components are well manufactured (well, almost) and I made good progress following the clearly-printed and concise instructions. With my Crosshair 3 mobo out on the bench after a half-hour dismantling session, I was pleased to find that the backplate mounting holes lined up perfectly with those on the Asus mobo. EK use an insulation layer of EPDM(?) rubber which is obviously cut and drilled on the same jig as the backplate, as it fits into the sandwich just right. I inserted the four bolts and then dropped on the fibre washers followed by steel washers and secured it in place with the locknuts. I slipped the AMD mounting plate over the four bolts and it was a perfect fit, so I had a cup of tea in celebration

After this it all went sideways! The picture shown in the link, of the unit with the four-eared mounting-plate, is the Intel system of attachment. The AMD AM2 fixing requires the fitting of an oblong plate instead of the one shown, and here's where it all went tits up.

Removing the mounting plate requires the perspex cover to be removed from the base of the waterblock because the mounting plate fits between them. Four Allen-headed M20 screws hold the cover on, and Ek include the correct Allen key, so what could possibly go wrong?

The answer is a rubber O-ring that seals the outside edge of the assembly. Once dislodged it is impossible to replace accurately, and changing mounting plates means it will inevitably come loose.

Now, I've had a heap of experience fitting O-rings into various assemblies in my time. Bike engines, car engines, water pumps, hydraulics, you name it I've fitted it, but the one thing they all have in common is a method of securing the O-ring before the mating surfaces are placed together! A slight smear of silicon grease is usually enough to hold the ring in place if assembly has to be done inverted and it's rare for any problems to occur... but the EK set-up is lacking any securing method at all. There is a lip which the seal is supposed fit around, but it's too slight to hold the ring in place. I tried the grease trick to no avail, so I cleaned up and used a small amount of PVA white glue instead. Neutral to both plastic and rubber the PVA went nicely tacky and I positioned the seal and carefully joined the parts. All seemed to go well, but right after the M20s were tight I realised that a corner had slipped and become trapped sometime during the process. D'oh!

Now I really had a problem because the O-ring was severed. I wasn't about to attempt an RMA on something I'd screwed up myself, so I jumped in the car and headed off to see if I could find a replacement. I tried plumbers, motor factors and my local plant hire company. They were all happy to help - but no one could match up the article. To cut the story short, I decided to use a bodge, and headed back to the plumbers for a tube of clear mastic. With the tiniest aperture in the nozzle I squeezed out a slim bead of the goop right around the seal position and then embedded the o-ring into it. Using a soapy finger I smoothed the mastic and removed any excess, and then I joined the components again.. Success! I smoothed the squeezed out silicon with a soapy Q-tip and set it to cure. An hour later after a final inspection I removed the backing paper from the contact surface, spread the Arctic Cooling MX2 TIM onto the heat spreader, and proceeded to bolt the cooler to the board using the thumbscrews and springs. That works particularly well. Then I re-piped, refilled and fired up the pump, using the wire from the green to the black in the power connector. EK recommend 24 hours, but I settled for 4. The only weak point that could occur was the cooling block, and nothing was showing, so I connected everything up and booted the rig. Everything works like a charm, and it's knocked about 5 degrees C off the CPU temps.

So what am I saying re "heads up"? Well EK also make an all-metal version of this block with just the same potential problems. The one awkward thing is - you won't be able to see the possible snafu with the O-ring until you switch on your pump. EK would do well to think of having the AMD variant available already built up as the Intel setup is.

[DD_Brando]

I should have mentioned this section of the instructions:

.....please note that EKWB assumes no liability if after removing stock plate leaking occurs. All blocks are 100% leak proof tested at EKWB's premises.

Pretty crazy when it has to be removed to change mounting plates! So, caveat emptor if you're tempted to use one of these in an AMD rig.

The sad thing is, it's a beautiful piece of kit when it works right. Using the silicon mastic has fixed it up well - but there's no way it can ever be dismantled without the use of a hammer & chisel

[GreyKnight]

Brando,

Sorry to hear that, sounds like a nightmare! I bought this one... http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-002-CS&groupid=962&catid=1532&subcat=

Absolutely superb! Attach backing plate to bottom of MB, screw in clamp from front side of MB to backing plate, now put in the cooler, give it twist and screw it down. Job done! Attach radiator/fan to your 120mm chassis mount and connect power. Radiator and cooler are already connected to each other with 2 pipes. You just mount the radiator and cooler.

Keeps my CPU at about a constant 30°.

[DD_Brando]

Brando,

Sorry to hear that, sounds like a nightmare! I bought this one... http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-002-CS&groupid=962&catid=1532&subcat=

Absolutely superb! Attach backing plate to bottom of MB, screw in clamp from front side of MB to backing plate, now put in the cooler, give it twist and screw it down. Job done! Attach radiator/fan to your 120mm chassis mount and connect power. Radiator and cooler are already connected to each other with 2 pipes. You just mount the radiator and cooler.

Keeps my CPU at about a constant 30°.

Yeah, that certainly would be a choice if I didn't already have the traditional rad, res, pump, block setup. I'm impressed by your 30° reading, which I presume is at idle? Mine is now running 32° idle, and around 39° at full chat - which is a moderate improvement over my previous waterblock.

Yes, I am a little jealous of the ease of installation you had, and I'll certainly consider using one of those units in my next build.

cheers, B

[Kimosabi]

Ouch, that sounds messy. I usually steer away from plexi alltogether when it comes to waterblocks, reservoirs only. Converting to AMD mount shouldn't be that tricky, maybe some feedback to EK is in order.

Never had your kind of problem though with any of my blocks(not EK), it's space and clearance I usually struggle with lol.

[Snacko]

Brando,

Sorry to hear that, sounds like a nightmare! I bought this one... http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-002-CS&groupid=962&catid=1532&subcat=

Absolutely superb! Attach backing plate to bottom of MB, screw in clamp from front side of MB to backing plate, now put in the cooler, give it twist and screw it down. Job done! Attach radiator/fan to your 120mm chassis mount and connect power. Radiator and cooler are already connected to each other with 2 pipes. You just mount the radiator and cooler.

Keeps my CPU at about a constant 30°.

This sounds great. I watched the video on that link and it looks pretty easy, except I would need to remove my MB to install the back plate (dammit). Right now I am using a heatsink and I am getting 43c at idle. That's OC'ed to 3.6ghz.

[DD_Brando]

Brando,

Sorry to hear that, sounds like a nightmare! I bought this one... http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-002-CS&groupid=962&catid=1532&subcat=

Absolutely superb! Attach backing plate to bottom of MB, screw in clamp from front side of MB to backing plate, now put in the cooler, give it twist and screw it down. Job done! Attach radiator/fan to your 120mm chassis mount and connect power. Radiator and cooler are already connected to each other with 2 pipes. You just mount the radiator and cooler.

Keeps my CPU at about a constant 30°.

This sounds great. I watched the video on that link and it looks pretty easy, except I would need to remove my MB to install the back plate (dammit). Right now I am using a heatsink and I am getting 43c at idle. That's OC'ed to 3.6ghz.

Actually I found the mobo removal part really easy. I used the opportunity to clean out a few month's dust and rearrange certain aspects of the cabling layout. I've found that there is always something that I could have done better after finishing a build, and Murphy's Law dictates that the fix generally involves removal and replacement of the motherboard! So I was glad of the necessity this time around.

[DD_Brando]

Ouch, that sounds messy. I usually steer away from plexi alltogether when it comes to waterblocks, reservoirs only. Converting to AMD mount shouldn't be that tricky, maybe some feedback to EK is in order.

Never had your kind of problem though with any of my blocks(not EK), it's space and clearance I usually struggle with lol.

That's a meaty looking system there Kim, congrats. I've never used plexi before either, and that may be the issue that EK need to get to grips with. Basically O-rings need a distinct channel or lip to seat in, and possibly plexi is too fragile to machine a good seat into. I will certainly be feeding back to EK on this. I'm happy that my rig is quiet again though, and now that the VRaptor is replaced replaced with a solid state drive I'm enjoying the merest hum of a couple of slow-moving fans.

cheers

[Kimosabi]

Ouch, that sounds messy. I usually steer away from plexi alltogether when it comes to waterblocks, reservoirs only. Converting to AMD mount shouldn't be that tricky, maybe some feedback to EK is in order.

Never had your kind of problem though with any of my blocks(not EK), it's space and clearance I usually struggle with lol.

That's a meaty looking system there Kim, congrats. I've never used plexi before either, and that may be the issue that EK need to get to grips with. Basically O-rings need a distinct channel or lip to seat in, and possibly plexi is too fragile to machine a good seat into. I will certainly be feeding back to EK on this. I'm happy that my rig is quiet again though, and now that the VRaptor is replaced replaced with a solid state drive I'm enjoying the merest hum of a couple of slow-moving fans.

cheers

That's basically why I don't use plexi for that. Too fragile in some areas, while it's very good in others like transparency etc. Waterblocks have lots of temperature swings & tensions and need to withstand a greater pressure than, say, a reservoir so I don't really trust the material for those kinds of applications. Must be because even cutting a sidewindow in plexi is nervewrecking enough IMO. It's also sensitive to any kind of chemical that contains any kind of alcohol whether it be coolants or just spilling isopropanol on the outside surface. BUT plexi looks good and you can see the inside of your block without dismantling it so that's a plus.

SSD's is my next upgrade as well. Well, that and W7.

[DD_Brando]

Ouch, that sounds messy. I usually steer away from plexi alltogether when it comes to waterblocks, reservoirs only. Converting to AMD mount shouldn't be that tricky, maybe some feedback to EK is in order.

Never had your kind of problem though with any of my blocks(not EK), it's space and clearance I usually struggle with lol.

That's a meaty looking system there Kim, congrats. I've never used plexi before either, and that may be the issue that EK need to get to grips with. Basically O-rings need a distinct channel or lip to seat in, and possibly plexi is too fragile to machine a good seat into. I will certainly be feeding back to EK on this. I'm happy that my rig is quiet again though, and now that the VRaptor is replaced replaced with a solid state drive I'm enjoying the merest hum of a couple of slow-moving fans.

cheers

That's basically why I don't use plexi for that. Too fragile in some areas, while it's very good in others like transparency etc. Waterblocks have lots of temperature swings & tensions and need to withstand a greater pressure than, say, a reservoir so I don't really trust the material for those kinds of applications. Must be because even cutting a sidewindow in plexi is nervewrecking enough IMO. It's also sensitive to any kind of chemical that contains any kind of alcohol whether it be coolants or just spilling isopropanol on the outside surface. BUT plexi looks good and you can see the inside of your block without dismantling it so that's a plus.

SSD's is my next upgrade as well. Well, that and W7.

SSDs will work in an XP environment: there is a manual software adjustment to enable TRIM support, or you can use CCleaner to clean used memory cells. The important item to remember is that you don't need to defrag an SSD. Whatever speed of drive you are using now, you will be amazed by the speed of an SSD and the lack of noise, plus the saving of space and the non-requirement of active HD cooling. Definitely recommended.