Koolance VID-428 (GTX 280/260)

[Grendel66]

Replacement card seems to be fine (on air). I still don't like the Koolance block, seems to be made sloppy. Didn't even care to mount the replacement block after checking its fit.

Probably getting a more serious block. My preference would still be the Innovatek block since its copper core is nickel plated. 2nd choice would be the aquagraFX G200 (german engineering again, best looking block for sure !!) but guess what -- can't get it in the US

So I'm eyeballing the EVGA block, kinda like the backplate. Price is a nightmare tho..

[santiagodraco]

Why do you say the Koolance block "seems to be made sloppy." That's a curious statement as they seem to be among the best built out there. The machining quality is second to none.

So the card is fine "on air". Are you implying it would be worse with the Koolance block?

[Grendel66]

Why do you say the Koolance block "seems to be made sloppy." That's a curious statement as they seem to be among the best built out there. The machining quality is second to none.

As you say, "they seem to be among the best built out there". The block is not polished before the nickel plating is applied (unlike their CPU blocks) -- plenty of cut marks, far from a smooth surface. The base of the replacement block isn't flat either, even tho it's slightly less concave than the 1st one. There's a noticable gap between the main cooling area and the G200 IHS. IMHO the height of the posts responsible for holding the cooler on the PCA is about 1/10 - 2/10mm too much, the distance betw. the RAM/Vreg chips hovers right around 0.5mm, ei. you can't use the 1mm white TIM (too much stress on the PCA) and the 0.5mm TIM pads barely connect, you risk loosing contact if you don't support the whole assembly in the case. Not what I would call "precision", but to be expected -- you get what you pay for and this block is fairly cheap.

Edit: BTW, the 200 series of Koolance blocks seem to be manufactured more carefully, I never had these problems w/ my VID-28X blocks.

So the card is fine "on air". Are you implying it would be worse with the Koolance block?

No, just saying the the new card isn't broken like the 1st one was. If the block would make good contact I'm sure it would work ok. Since it doesn't I'm looking for alternatives.