Bloodrage northbridge block failed yesterday...

[PiLsY]

Whilst gaming yesterday my monitor went off. Could still hear sound etc so it hadnt locked. All of a sudden sparks and smoke and everything went off. Opened the side panel and the nb block has failed along the solder joint at the baseplate. This sprayed water all over my top gtx470. Upon inspection its been leaking slowly for a while as ive found dried deposits from where it has been running under the pcie slots, but finally failed totally yesterday. Without the pump running there was a small drip every 10 seonds. I notice a while ago the paint had cracked along the join between the baseplate and the waterblock housing but thought nothing of it.

I don't doubt this is an isolated incident but it's probably worthwhile that anyone running the waterblock has a glance at it once in a while to look for the paint cracking - this was the first sign of a problem with my block. Have been using the block problem free since first build two years ago.

Despite the soaking and carnage EVERYTHING has actually survived the ordeal, though its taken a few years off my life .

If anyone in the UK or Europe isnt using their waterblock i'd be happy to take it off their hands for a small fee + postage.

Few small pics below, full res album here. Will take a few pics of the block at the fail point in macro mode once the camera is charged and the watercooling is back together. Its on air at the moment and working fine. Have found an old 845 chipset block that fits so I can even watercool the chipset for the time being .









Counting my lucky stars everything works still. I was hopeful the second 470 and the board would survive but had written off the top 470 (MSI) and power supply (which got thoroughly soaked in the bottom of the case).

I'll repeat again - I'm not trying to scare monger, I believe this is an isolated incident. With the benefit of hindsight the cracking paint was an obvious sign of failure and I noticed that some 12 months ago. A simple visual check every few months is enough for complete peace of mind.

[Mescalamba]

Actually, its not isolated incident. I thought some time ago, when someone wanted to use this block, to warn him, but I didnt (cause I thought, its "isolated" incident too).

So, advice is.. dont use it. Third case as far as I know. Though BR is apparently build better than this watercooling block, cause it survived always.

[mocker]

Just discovered small cracks near the screws, too... contacted foxconn support NL and they said, they gonna send me a new block...again great sevice!

Thanks for the hint

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[saaya]

are you sure it leaked from the block and not the fitting or clamp???
the manufacturer of the block told us they pressure test all the blocks... mhhh...
ive unmounted and mounted several blocks and i usually put too much pressure on things
so im surprised ive never seen this... and my block is perfectly fine, no paint cracks, nothing...
did your block have paint cracks from the start? or they developed later?

sounds like poor quality control from the maker of the blocks, sorry guys! :S
or could it be that they use a bad solder that slowly dissapears in water?
or maybe foxconn should pressure test the blocks when they are mounted on the board, since screwing the block onto the heatpipe array could put pressure on the block? but... not really, the screws put pressure on the base plate, and there is no pressure on the block cover at all when mounting it hmmm...

[PiLsY]

Many remountings caused mine. The crack developed in the paint after 5 or 6 remounts, it actually runs around half the wb. Don't forget i've been using this for 2 years now and its been through a ridiculous amount of rebuilds. The base has been pulled away from the block cover over time. The crack through the paint is 1-1.5mm wide but I don't doubt the solder failure is no more than a pinhead at a single point.

[chawks2]

Many remountings caused mine. The crack developed in the paint after 5 or 6 remounts, it actually runs around half the wb. Don't forget i've been using this for 2 years now and its been through a ridiculous amount of rebuilds. The base has been pulled away from the block cover over time. The crack through the paint is 1-1.5mm wide but I don't doubt the solder failure is no more than a pinhead at a single point.

Wowser PiLsY. Sorry about your loss, SB upgrade time?

[therager]

Many remountings caused mine.

So, now you're planning to use alternative chipset wb, no chipset wb at all or to change the whole mb with something fresh ?

SB upgrade time?

I suppose it's a joke but - definitly no - as usual, too many problems with brand new P67 mobos and bioses. At least I tried to OC 2600K ES and 2600K retail on GB P67 UD7 and AsRock P67 Extreme 4. On UD7 it was pain in the ass and still there's no successful bios version to do OC with - no matter what you may read on the Internet forums. Only one modded beta (F6x) is partially good. Extreme 4 was a lot better in OC, but still you need to flash modded bios versions with "cpu internal pll overvoltage" option added and some more changes. So, if someone wants P67 mobo - just wait 2-3 months for more mature and stable bios versions. And maybe for some mobos - new hw rev to fix what is needed to fix on hw level .

[Mescalamba]

I wont upgrade until there will be Foxconn BloodRage II.

(j/k .. waiting for X68)

[PiLsY]

Couple of macro pics of the crack on the block.

[ProStock]

I had the same issue NorthBridge water block crack at the same place i try epoxy on the crack same result leaking call foxconn USA no water block avail for replacement
send the block for repair at a welding shop for brassing and the hole block split apart from the bottom contact plate after aplying somes heat spend $20 for repair end up with a none functional WB garbage was the last time i saw the block anyway that thing stab me so many times i mean the logo of death RIP Logo

[PiLsY]

I'll be getting an i5 2500k and the QF P67 when it hits .

However, everything has been up and running fine since the rebuild. I'm using a really old review sample i845 chipset block (from 2003/4 I think?). Will try to get a pic up later - its a little awkward to get a good angle though . Its actually working a little better than the bloodrage block. Temps are down 2c.

Prostock - that bloody QF logo on the block had me many times. Even had the cheek to give me a deep stab in the thumb taking it off after it leaked.


Wonder what the best way to strip that paint off is? It feels almost like enamel or powdercoat. I'd have a crack at fixing it if I could get it nickel plated...

[PiLsY]

Got 5 passable shots - full res album here. Best 2 resized below:

[saaya]

wow theres even some exposed metal scratch on the corner...
so i wonder what the best way to create a waterblock is then, i guess using an acryllic or plastic top with a seal ring is actually better then than welding two copper/brass parts together...

thanks for the headsup rager!

[PiLsY]

Yeah definitely - copper base, o-ring and plated brass/plated copper/delrin top for the ultimate win. Polycarb or acrylic top second best (can crack with liquid additives such as glycol or by overtightening barbs in threads).

The exposed metal is due to the paint starting to chemically degrade at the leak - it went all flaky/powdery on that corner, guessing something nasty leached out the solder. The small amount of rust staining is from the screw - nothing to do with the block .

[PiLsY]

Replaced today with a Heatkiller SB SLI. Heatkiller NB/SB also fits. Full rebuild album in high res here.

Bare board shot



Rebuilding loop



Finished and running

[ProStock]

Great news Pilsy !!

[saaya]

wow that tubing is sexy!

[Mescalamba]

Thats some "cool" solution. You can even paint it, if you want.

[PiLsY]

Cheers guys .

Paint flip effect on the tubing is from using Masterkleer Black/UV Blue, then uplighting with UV and downlighting with whitelight. Looks better with the side panel on (and in real life without my crap photography) as theres another 2 x 30cm UV strips fixed to it.

Definitely considering nickel plating the top of the Heatkiller to match the other blocks. While not exactly standing out like a sore thumb at the moment in plain copper, it somehow doesnt quite seem to fit in seamlessly.

Next problem is trying to sort out a rounded off bolt on the EK HF - can't take it apart at the moment and I think its gunked. That and the lack of sleeving is really starting to stand out. Will start sleeving this weekend, hope to have it done by the end of Feb.

[saaya]

nickel plate, why the hassle?
just get some silver nitrate paint to fix pcb traces and paint it with your hands
should be cheaper and much faster and look about the same...

then again, that stuff gets greyish after a while and then even black after a long time doesnt it? hmmmm

[PiLsY]

Just so it matches the cpu block, gpu backplates and gpu baseplates. Shouldnt be much for a piece that small either, the baseplate can stay raw copper.

Been sleeving the psu for 2 hours - never done this before now and already never want to again. Going to take forever .

[Mescalamba]

You think that its hard and takes a long time..

..try making chainmail armor. (spend 3 months on that)

Sorry for off-topic.

[therager]

So.... Baby, one more time, but it's not Britney, it's BloodRAGE NB stock waterblock leakage:













Noticed it by chance during a routine cleaning of the pc. You can see some white stuff along the join between the base and the top housing. And how the paint is cracked. About a year and half without any problems and now - bang-bang. All hardware is alive and no problems at all. But it's not a pretty situation, you know. Pilsy considered it's an isolated incident, but it seems clearly that the soldering between the base plate and the top housing is one very weak place and during the exploatation with warm water the soldering is destroyed by electrochemical corrosion.
On the bottom line - I'm not angry and I don't want to blame Foxconn or something like that. The waterblock was one very good idea, but... not so good in the implementation .

ps. Just about to forget - 2 or 3 remountings for a year and half - I believe it's not caused by remounting.

[Mescalamba]

Told you that it wasnt random accident.. But I didnt like that block anyway.

[NKrader]

Told you that it wasnt random accident.. But I didnt like that block anyway.

ewwy.. stock blocks are just asking for problems.

i trust good ole eddy ek with my watercooling needs.