Quote Originally Posted by jayhall0315 View Post
Oh, dont get me wrong, I dont think you are being dishonest. Just that the unknown spring constants between the two blocks makes it nigh impossible to set up each with equal clamping force. Judging the included springs of the XT and HF against springs of almost the exact same proportions with known spring constants gives a rough range of 100 to 200 Newtons, depending upon compression. In this range, the Apogee XT is ahead on temps.

Perhaps tests in the future should all be done with the same set of standard (and known) screws and springs. Even when that negates the nice proprietary setups of some blocks like the XT.

Another interesting thing to note (which does not pertain to Vapor specifically), is that with each new generation (if you want to call it that), the 'best of the best' seems to supersede the previous best by about ~ 0.6 to 3 deg C on average. Which means in the roughly 7 'generations' of the best, the ole Danger Den and Cathar blocks should be behind the Apogee XT by perhaps 11 to 15 deg C. Interestingly, when I put my 9 year old Danger Den MX block (the one with the little 'fins' to cause turbulence) on the i7 920 at about 170 Newtons, the difference was 4.3 deg C. So something is a bit off with the 'best of the best'. It is much more of an e-peen thing than it is a true increase in heat flow transference.

In that regard, we are on a merry go around of five or so larger manufacturers (Swiftech, EK, Koolance, Heatkiller, Alphacool, etc...) who keep trying to one up each other with their latest waterblock penis. As many of you well know, the ability of ~ 200 to 500 grams of copper to dissipate ~ 150 watts can only go so far.

Also, despite some companies claims to use CFD software, I dont see it. It is copycat work from one cycle to the next. The optimum pinned or slot arrangement for a transitionally turbulent flow (that is a flow of around ~ 2800 to 3200 Reynolds) has not been fully realized. However, such a surface (one where the directional vector of a pinned channels' larger surface is normal (in the mathematical sense) to flow direction) will perhaps only net a further gain of 1.5 C over the 'best of the best' today (at least with the head and flow rates of a standard water cooling pump like the 655 or 355). Something to consider in 10 months when another manufacturer releases their 'best of the best', that bests everyone else by 2 deg C.
First of all, great post I'm not taking an offense to what you're saying (if I knew you were someone to attack underhandedly, then I would be, but I would be even if you were complimenting me ).

I think maintaining a constant pressure is a great idea for a separate set of analysis (maybe something I'll utilize for the "Advanced Look" I'll bring in for Round 3, but it would essentially double the amount of work per block). But as my testing is now, it's not to scientifically test the performace of a block, but rather to review the block as a whole product.

For instance, with the D-Tek Fuzion V2 + LGA1366 bracket, its as-delivered performance is abysmal. But with a simple increase in mounting pressure, the block is actually pretty darn good. If I did a standardized mounting pressure, the flaw in the stock mounting system would not be exposed and people would think the product they were buying would be better than it really were.

Although this is a bit of a stretch, there's also the issue of the bow and manufacturers "teaching to the test." Hypothetically, if they know I supply 140N of mounting pressure for my test, they can optimize a bow to be ideal for specifically that much force, when maybe the mounting system "feels right" or even stops at a different amount (ultimately, I'd be misrepresenting the product). (and this entire paragraph is making a lot of assumptions regarding manufacturers, their abilities, their experience with and knowledge of whatever TIM I use for Round 3, how much they think my tests mean to them, etc.)

Regarding long term progress, this is something I've actually wanted to test for awhile and provide a chart with C/W vs. Time to show how the market is progressing. I have a 'fresh' Apogee GT here, I see Jab-Tech has Storms for dirt cheap, and I'm sure I could wrangle up a few other 'classics' as well. I haven't worked through my queue of modern blocks yet though, so it's on hold until indefinitely.