Quote Originally Posted by JVS View Post
Indigo Xtreme seems like a very interesting product indeed. I would definitely go for that one, but it doesn’t seem to be available for LGA1156? Any news on a release for Indigo Xtreme for this socket?

I can’t make up my mind about full cover GPU block vs. Swiftech MCW60. What are the best performing FC blocks out there, in terms of temperature and water restriction?

These ones seem interesting based on their price:
- Danger Den DD-5870 (which seems to fit 5850 aswell)
- Watercool HEATKILLER® GPU-X³ 5870 (which seems to fit 5850 aswell)
- XSPC Razor 5870 (this one is the cheapest, but it doesn’t specify 5850 as compatible)

Also, is my Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 a reference board or is it possible that I might get compatibility problems with full cover blocks?
AFAIK, the 58x0 series is all reference right now.

My general recommendation with FC blocks is EK. They tend to have the best or around the best performance in every comparison, and are built like brick houses, but personal preference varies wildly, so go with what appeals to you.

TBH, though, when it comes to FC blocks, and GPU blocks in general, differences tend to be a degree or two (or less), and restriction numbers are pretty close as well. The only FCs that give me questions are Swiftech (looks restrictive, but I haven't seen numbers), Bitspower (I've seen some very bad performance figures), and XSPC (because of top cracking issues that appear to have been sorted- I'm just paranoid).

Keep in mind a 5c increase in GPU temps, is TOTALLY worth a 20c+ vReg drop over air cooled (or 50c+ in the case of my GTX280 with Swifty unisink). These modern GPUs are designed to run extremely hot, and the minor differences we see in temps between blocks don't tend to translate well into MHz.