9800GX2 Water Blocks...

[gmcg]

I am a machinist by trade, and I can tell you just by looking at the pictures that the EK block is about ten times flatter than your old MCW60. If you don't like the non shininess, get some eagle metal polish and a few hours of spare time.

(the machining marks won't hurt)

I was talking about the surface finish, not about the flatness, of course it is good with machine cutting. Also I didn't pay attention to make the picture looking flat, as you can see, it is a macro shot - it distorts the flatness.

regarding eagle metal polish you are absolutely right, I have to spend some time with it ... that's what I said in the beginning. I don't understand why I have to do it though, such as I expect a top quality of my WB from the manufacturer paying top $ for it.

I really don't think those small surface marks are going to make a damn bit of difference in your temps or overclock. The Evga block @ $250 is just too much. The Ek at a lower price point looks much stronger to me now.

Why don't we all read this:
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.ph...1&limitstart=8
Surface Finish Impact

"Here's the part I've been waiting to reveal... the importance of surface finish in relation to the impact on thermal conductivity. CPU coolers primarily depend on two heat transfer methods: conduction and radiation (heat-pipes also add convection). This being the case, let's start with conduction as it related to the mating surface between a heat source and a cooler.

Because of their density, metals are the best conductors of thermal energy. As density decreases so does conduction, which relegates fluids to be naturally less conductive. So ideally the less fluid between metals, the better heat will transfer between them. Ultimately, this means that the perfectly flat and well-polished surface (Noctua NH-U12P) is going to be preferred over the rougher and less even surface which required more TIM to fill the gaps (Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme).

Heat radiation is different however, and requires exactly the opposite. Because gases (air) are naturally poor heat conductors, surface area is key to the performance of cooling through radiation. This type of cooling is what you commonly see automobile radiators, which utilize large arrays of metal fins to radiate heat to be drawn away by a fan. The same is true for the CPU cooler, which needs as much surface area as possible to optimize it's radiative effects. OCZ and others have recognized that the surface of a heatsink does not have to be the sum of its overall size. By adding dimples and bends, the surface area is increased without growing the overall size.

To sum it all up, science teaches us that a smooth flat mating surface is ideal for CPU coolers so that less Thermal Interface Material is used. Because these coolers are using fans to force air over the heatsinks fins, the overall surface area of those fins should be as large and uneven as possible. In the next section we'll find out just how well all of these principals worked for our collection of test products."

I don't know how someone else wants to use his WB, but I want to over-clock to the max, and at that point our GPUs require as much attention for thermal conductivity as CPUs ... therefore such marks which make 50% of contact through TIM layer, even if it is 200 micron thick, instead of direct copper-copper contact, are inappropriate for me, IMO.