Plexiglas Good??

[qwerty69]

For my new conroe rig, i'm thinking of getting the Nexxos XP Bold, EK GPU Full Block, Alphacool res(delrin + plexi), all of them use Plexiglas so i can have bling bling looks :cool:

My concern is, would the plexiglas crack under heat and pressure?

[mtl_hed]

what kind of pressure?

If your talking about water pressure from your loop, then no.


If your talking about from an outside force, then it depends.

While I have no experience with the said res, I know many previous plexi res's had leaking probs at the joints/barbs. I'm sure someone who is experienced with this res can comment on that.

[qwerty69]

what kind of pressure?

If your talking about water pressure from your loop, then no.


If your talking about from an outside force, then it depends.

While I have no experience with the said res, I know many previous plexi res's had leaking probs at the joints/barbs. I'm sure someone who is experienced with this res can comment on that.

Yea i'm talking about pump pressure. My pumps would be 2 x DDC 18w.

And heat with Conroe should be around 50c?

The res i'm thinking of are mainly delrin at the barbs part. Only the frontal part or top part are plexiglas.

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/images/products/WT_Shuttle_01.jpg

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/images/products/Repack-SIBUV_01.jpg

[Thrilla]

Use lexan or the stuff they sell at home depot, they're advertized 50x to 100x stronger than glass. Plexiglass is weak compared to lexan and acrylic I think, and easy to get scrached.

[qwerty69]

Use lexan or the stuff they sell at home depot, they're advertized 50x to 100x stronger than glass. Plexiglass is weak compared to lexan and acrylic I think, and easy to get scrached.

Plexiglas = Acrylic well at least that's what they say on Wiki :)

Lexan does look like a stronger material but they aren't using it in commercial water cool stuffs.. :(

[mtl_hed]

no you wont have a problem with water pressure, even with both of those pumps.

@Thrilla: Lexan and acrylic are often mislabeld as plexiglass since they are all polycarbonates. From the pics, It looks to be higher quality than the "cheap" flexible plexiglass, but the pics could be chopped.

[qwerty69]

no you wont have a problem with water pressure, even with both of those pumps.


Thanks. :)

How about this block? I want the good looks but seriously one crack on the plexi top would kill the CPU, mobo for sure...

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/images/products/NEXXXoS_XP-BD-775_01.jpg

[mtl_hed]

I would not go with a plexi top block. They look cool, but the design flaw is threaded plexi.

If the barbs are not threaded into the block top perfectly, you will crack it. Stick with metal tops.

[qwerty69]

I would not go with a plexi top block. They look cool, but the design flaw is threaded plexi.

If the barbs are not threaded into the block top perfectly, you will crack it. Stick with metal tops.

I'm beginning to think along this line...

[majestik]

Personally, after my maze4 top cracked, I decided against buying blocks with plexi/acrylic/whatever transparent plastic tops.

Now its either derlin or brass/copper.

[qwerty69]

Personally, after my maze4 top cracked, I decided against buying blocks with plexi/acrylic/whatever transparent plastic tops.

Now its either derlin or brass/copper.

Care to share what caused the crack? ;)

[majestik]

Care to share what caused the crack? ;)
Time + sideways force from the plastic barbs + possible over-tightening of the bolts holding the top. Another thing I had crack was the acrylic "X" that came with my maze4gpu mouting hardware.

So to sum it up, every acrylic part I had on/with a DangerDen block cracked.

[qwerty69]

Time + sideways force from the plastic barbs + possible over-tightening of the bolts holding the top. Another thing I had crack was the acrylic "X" that came with my maze4gpu mouting hardware.

So to sum it up, every acrylic part I had on/with a DangerDen block cracked.

Ok sounds like Delrin or metal is the way to go.. But that means no bling bling :(

[mtl_hed]

Ok sounds like Delrin or metal is the way to go.. But that means no bling bling :(

Copper and brass are shiny and can be etched or painted on the surfaces not contacting h20.

Personally an etched copper top with uv paint in the grooves of the image would look awesome w/o sacrificing performance.

[Eddy_EK]

I am confident the acrylic tops will handle your setup.
Dont know how could single guys had so much problems with acrylic material.

One possibility is they applyed way too much force as needed.

[septim]

most likely squeeshed to death the o-rings.....

hand turn barbs till tight, quarter turn with a wrench and i'am done.

[qwerty69]

most likely squeeshed to death the o-rings.....

hand turn barbs till tight, quarter turn with a wrench and i'am done.

I guess i would need to be gentle with a plexi top :p:

[creidiki]

Well, I've heard of trouble with TDX plexi tops.. but mostly it seems its plexi reses. The plexi top on my EK FCX1800 is fine.

I still got the delrin top, because im paranoid, but i went over it with a magnifying lens and there's not even the smallest hairline crack. And im none too gentle with screwdrivers or wrenches.

[KaptCrunch]

heat cycles crack polycarbonite, any liquid containment forget about it, for case exterior will work fine but make sure its well grounded for ESD (ElectroStatic Discharge)

[SiGfever]

Well, I've heard of trouble with TDX plexi tops.. but mostly it seems its plexi reses. The plexi top on my EK FCX1800 is fine.

I still got the delrin top, because im paranoid, but i went over it with a magnifying lens and there's not even the smallest hairline crack. And im none too gentle with screwdrivers or wrenches.
Plus....it's BLACK :D :toast:

[qwerty69]

Ok guys thanks for the replies. I guess i would still get the plexi blocks and give them a try. Still have my storm so will decide later. :)

[Sneaky]

just curious... where do you live? if you're in the USA, or even the UK, i know plexi blocks look good, but i URGE you to consider away with the eye candy and go with a block like the swiftech storm that will perform better (and is less restrictive than) the nexxos CPU blocks... just minus the clear top


and on the alphacool repack reservoirs - don't even worry about the acrylic cracking, look how thick it is (i have two of them)

http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/illuminati/ill_13.jpg
http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/illuminati/ill_14.jpg
http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/illuminati/ill_17.jpg

[qwerty69]

just curious... where do you live? if you're in the USA, or even the UK, i know plexi blocks look good, but i URGE you to consider away with the eye candy and go with a block like the swiftech storm that will perform better (and is less restrictive than) the nexxos CPU blocks... just minus the clear top


and on the alphacool repack reservoirs - don't even worry about the acrylic cracking, look how thick it is (i have two of them)



I'm from Singapore and do my shopping from US online stores. :)

Your res is what i'm getting and i guess i would go with my current Storm with EK barbs.. GPU is fine since EK has Delrin tops. NB block(if needed) is still under consideration because it is a pain to find a suitable one for Asus boards.. (to hell with those clips! why can't they just drill 4 holes on the pcb??)

[creidiki]

clips are standard on intel mobos. any universal NB block will do it.

MIPS in germany does blocks for ASUS mobos.

[qwerty69]

clips are standard on intel mobos. any universal NB block will do it.

MIPS in germany does blocks for ASUS mobos.

Oh ok heh, thanks for the clarification :)

[septim]

or you coul just fold em mounting screws to fit them loop holes...
like so http://www.radiical.com.au/products/Chipset.asp

[qwerty69]

or you coul just fold em mounting screws to fit them loop holes...
like so http://www.radiical.com.au/products/Chipset.asp

Sorry for noob question, wouldn't the screw break with this bending?