ALU cpu block experiment

[twwen2]

Cor blimey CM! Those are some of the best pics yet (of corrosion).

To the OP: Ask yourself, do you want to kill that PA for the sake of a test, or would you rather just get an alu rad for peace of mind?

[hellcamino]

Cor blimey CM! Those are some of the best pics yet (of corrosion).

To the OP: Ask yourself, do you want to kill that PA for the sake of a test, or would you rather just get an alu rad for peace of mind?

As long as he is using a heavy antifreeze mix it will likely last decades.

[aspire.comptech]

As long as he is using a heavy antifreeze mix it will likely last decades.

And perform a lot worse than just water.

[BertM]

tx for all the replies.
wow that is some serious corrosion you have there.
that almost (or did ) made that block leak.

nah i dont mind sacrificieng some efficiency from the pa120.3
i keep it running like this for some time.
and lol i guess i was a bit sleepy, i already have 3 full copper radiators.
2 are way to getto (old car radiators) and the other is a XSPC RS120 Black.

i have some distilled water, i will use that later with a corrosion blocker.

[twwen2]

And perform a lot worse than just water.

Yep.

Well Bert, like you said if you're happy to sacrifice some performance/efficiency by using corrosion-inhibitors, then i'm genuinely interested to see how long it will take before the PA starts showing the dreaded signs.

Be sure to share your results after some time.

[hellcamino]

And perform a lot worse than just water.

Yeah it will probably run 1-2c hotter .

[ownage]

Antifreeze FTW!
Who cares about 1-2c lol!

[aspire.comptech]

When it's essentially 2C for free That's a pretty big deal. Especially considering the difference in performance between a $40 block and a $70 block is less than that.

[coolmiester]

I see where you're coming from with that but realistically 2C can be lost / found with a simple remount of the CPU block. (and thats if we are even talking 2C)

You would find a more significant decrease by using a DD CXP Pro rather than a DDC through heat dump alone.

What that would equate to in real time day to day usage would be a better question IMO

[aspire.comptech]

The difference between a DD CPX Pro and a DDC is not 2C.

[hellcamino]

Oh good grief, the OP is just trying to see what it takes to keep corrosion under control. Give it a rest on all the arguments on why he should/shouldn't do it, the bottom line is you cannot stop him but griping in his test thread could alienate him. I am interested in his results myself.

[twwen2]

The difference between a DD CPX Pro and a DDC is not 2C.

Careful now, he might just know what he's talking about!
I'm sure CM doesn't mean 2c exactly, but what he's saying is that by using a weaker pump ala CPX-pro, you get less heat dump and in the right circumstances (like an un-restrictive loop), better temps.

[coolmiester]

The difference between a DD CPX Pro and a DDC is not 2C.

Yeah i know, its more

Results after 3 hours:
DDC 18watt 3.2 = 37.9
CPX-Pro = 29.4

Source - Pump Heat Dump

[Boogerlad]

isn't that test without fans running?

[coolmiester]

isn't that test without fans running?

Sure is.

[RickCain]

I honestly have NEVER had a problem running ALU in a loop as long as the ALU is not touching copper or brass directly. Every time I had ALU bolted to copper (original Dtek GPU block), it ended up with major corrosion.

[HotGore]

Antifreeze FTW!
Who cares about 1-2c lol!

You would be surprised.

[aspire.comptech]

Yeah i know, its more

Results after 3 hours:
DDC 18watt 3.2 = 37.9
CPX-Pro = 29.4

Source - Pump Heat Dump

Ok, fair enough, assuming minimal restriction, and no fans on the radiator a CPX might run cooler than a DDC, but throw a loop like mine on it, and goodbye to whatever lead the heat dump contributed.

[twwen2]

I honestly have NEVER had a problem running ALU in a loop as long as the ALU is not touching copper or brass directly. Every time I had ALU bolted to copper (original Dtek GPU block), it ended up with major corrosion.

Interesting. I don't doubt your experiences one bit, but there are enough people who have had trouble mixing metals for us to discourage the practice.

[Xilikon]

As NaeKuh said, someone with enough knowledge about galvanic corrosion and methods to avoid them can do it. However, not everyone is knowledgeable in this area so it's better to use scarecrows to avoid people touching aluminium at all.

Remember that fluids will become a conductor after it pick up enough ions from prolonged use so even if we don't bolt aluminium and copper together, there is still some galvanic process going.

[Kayin]

Hey, I for one really wanna see how this all tips up. I'm beginning testing of something that will blow minds here, and I think this is very important to what I'm doing.

[RickCain]

Remember that fluids will become a conductor after it pick up enough ions from prolonged use so even if we don't bolt aluminium and copper together, there is still some galvanic process going.

Agreed! Maybe I was lucky or smart enough to use a fluid that prolonged the process longer than the fluid/block was in the loop.

It does seem like we see more problems with alu that is bolted to copper than just alu in the loop though.

[BertM]

if im not mistaken, im using red/pink YG30 coolant that is based on OAT which stands for organic acid technology. i got it for free from a leftover for a new engine.
here is some reading about oat: http://www.peakantifreeze.com/tech/tech_e.html
basicly it has a longer lifespan.

i did not do research on the latest coolants sold for computer systems, maybe that has equal properties.

the ddc does indeed put some heat into the system. im now running without any blowers and the pump is running. the pa120.3 is convection cooled. cpu temp is 30 degree. same as if i turn of the pump and point a blower onto the cpu block. this is under idle cpu conditions. this is nowhere near possible under load.
the idle test with blower pointed on the mobo took 12 hours and the pump on test took 3 hours now. still going.

[BertM]

here are the results of the aluminium cooling block that has been constantly used for 5.5 years.
i turned my computer off only for maintenance few times.
there is no corrosion at all, i have seen worse results from copper coolers.

edit: i did nothing with the fluid, it has been running the same fluid for this time as well.
i added +/- 100ml after 3 years, it seemed the level dropped a bit.

moments after i drained the liquid


immidiatly opened it up and it is now seeing sunlight again after 5.5 years.


and whiped it clean:

[WiSK]

Blast from the past!

I read the thread, but can you confirm exactly which radiator and coolant you used?