Koolance 9800GX2 waterblock review [56k warning]

Koolance VID-398X2, waterblock for nv 9800gx2,
coming a little bit late, but...should be the right time (summer is coming here in China ).

some pics:
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...1dFNrrL4a8.jpg
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...8VIFWR92S0.jpg
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...mg3DooSCod.jpg
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...zOK4ly2Idn.jpg
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...5rGSYpgYow.jpg
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...p2miL93yAp.jpg
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...iXIZooTlbI.jpg
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...PRxWEPrFrQ.jpg
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...5X9zDJweMD.jpg
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...IMmWZBYlLT.jpg

four blue LED bellow, but unfortunetly, I damaged the LEDs after mod :(
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...4UjT7gJxKu.jpg


setup finished:
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...9RIfJu3Ibr.jpg
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...4wWS0bnTyf.jpg


whole system:
D5-->Aqua MP-05-->VID-398X2-->HX-->Res.
ambient=26c.
fan=1500rpm
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...sIVRn3gZKe.jpg


think i dont have to mention how hot 98gx2 is with stock cooling.
my card, with 100% fan speed, can only run 750mhz in the same condition.
but now...100% stable at 800/1100mhz with Koolance watercooling :D
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...X84mRGtzET.jpg

idle=37c, load=44c, delta=7c !!!
32min stability test and coretemp still <45c,
without any additional cooling on card :up:

thats looking like a good performer. it does look quite restrictive though.. why not go with more thinner pins instead?:confused:

Wow! That performs pretty good! :up:

Excellent review Victor! I think Koolance is finally getting things right.

Am I the only one who thinks the inside of the block looks dirty as hell?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by biftek.

Am I the only one who thinks the inside of the block looks dirty as hell?

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do u know that's sillicon oil on a Ni plated metal ?

Good performer, but that is one ugly waterblock.

Nickel plated copper or aluminum?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Linus@ncix

Nickel plated copper or aluminum?

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Asking the same question myself. I do know the D5 aftermarket top is aluminium so this is something to take care...

IIRC the blocks are plated Cu

for waterblock, of course, Hi Density Copper.

no need to use copper for D5/DDC cover, that's a big big waste and gain no performance :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by VictorWang

for waterblock, of course, Hi Density Copper.

no need to use copper for D5/DDC cover, that's a big big waste and gain no performance :)

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Be careful with that statement, we are against aluminium not due to performance but due to corrosion issues. Mixing aluminium is a big no-no, no matter what component. This also mean that the D5 top has to use a different material than aluminium.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Xilikon

Be careful with that statement, we are against aluminium not due to performance but due to corrosion issues. Mixing aluminium is a big no-no, no matter what component. This also mean that the D5 top has to use a different material than aluminium.

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:shrug: sorry, but I haven't see any corrosion happend if the liquid coolant is RIGHT.

for myself, performance good, looks nice, price is right, can use for 3~12months, quiet are the basic factors for watercooling stuff :p:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by VictorWang

for waterblock, of course, Hi Density Copper.

no need to use copper for D5/DDC cover, that's a big big waste and gain no performance :)

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Victor how is performance with the koolance top on the D5? does it make the pump assembly very large? any long term testing done on the D5 top?

edit : guess i got my answer

what coolant is used to protect against corrosion?

Your neighbourhood water cooling superstore carries a wide variety of corrosion-inhibiting fluids including Feser One, Koolance, Primochill, and Fluid XP.

Any one of those should theoretically work, but I believe Koolance only provides warranty if you use their own.

Linus

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Linus@ncix

Your neighbourhood water cooling superstore carries a wide variety of corrosion-inhibiting fluids including Feser One, Koolance, Primochill, and Fluid XP.

Any one of those should theoretically work, but I believe Koolance only provides warranty if you use their own.

Linus

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personally i would make my own mix, but i was just curious as to what Victor was using?

we have no "neighbourhood" watercooling stores, let alone "superstore"
R.I.P bigfootcomputers :(

koolance and innovatek still do that?

coolant i'm using ? pure water , nth else.

koolance d5 cover is smaller than the origin D5 cover, and looks damn nice and more flexiable.
performance? since it has almost the same water channel internally compared with the origin cover, i think u dont have to worry about it's performance :)

i dont know why people here hate koolance so much.
it sounds really funny and boring.
mixed metal, corrosion, alu-hx...etc.
so...what do u think are the best ?
can we say that swiftech/aqua/d-tek/dd/innovatek = perfect ?

Like the U.S. constitution says

"...a more perfect union..."

If someone wants to run an all koolance loop, so be it. You can do better for the money but you won't have any issues.

It's when you get into mixing the metals that you run into problems. And pure water offers no protection against galvanic corrosion.

I actually meant us. We ship nationwide and stock MANY water cooling products... :p

Quote:

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Originally Posted by madmaxx

personally i would make my own mix, but i was just curious as to what Victor was using?

we have no "neighbourhood" watercooling stores, let alone "superstore"
R.I.P bigfootcomputers :(

koolance and innovatek still do that?

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I have that D5 top and it is nickel plated to avoid corrosion issues.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Snyxxx

it is nickel plated to avoid corrosion issues.

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Tell that to Swiftech :rolleyes:

Well I give them props for making use of the space that use to house the stock fan, it's just to show off their logo but looks decent and at least no big hole in the card, with some LED lights you could do something there to give the card a little style. I also like the barbs going straight up I think that gives more options in routing the tubing and what barbs you can use.

I think it's a good effort. My G80 blocks cooled just fine, however they did succumb to corrosion (I posted the pics) so the acrylic midpiece is perfect.

Props for attempting to fill that nasty hole with something other than air.

Also, thanks Victor for taking your time to show us this. Even if it's not my cup of tea, I appreciate your work and willingness to share.

I like the asthetics! Seems like it performs as well. Looks like four viable GX2 blocks now available tho one is GPU vendor-tied.

looks good, the pins could have been smaller or tapered to help reduce resistance though...

so Victor are you saying performance is increased/decreased or same with the D5 top?

im very curious

Quote:

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Originally Posted by septim

looks good, the pins could have been smaller or tapered to help reduce resistance though...

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Yeah, the only thing I don't like about that block is the pins, should have gone with the tapered triangular pins they use in their CPU blocks. It would have given more surface area and kept the restriction low.

Victor i have run into corrosion.

And ive used only innovotek coolant.

Also Phelan ran into corrosion on the mil spec GTX. :T

Mix Alu ,and your playing russian roulette. You may get lucky, however when you dont, it comes out bad.

:T