Quote Originally Posted by dejanh View Post
I'd be careful jumping to the "obsolete" train. Differences equal to fractions of 1C can be more of a statistical error than anything and are hardly enough to call one product vastly superior to another product. At the end of the day it's the temperatures that matter and nobody here will see any difference between a block that runs 65C, 65.2C, and 65.5C. It's just silly. I would call the HF clear winner in the flow area, and basically tied with the rest of the popular blocks for temperature performance.

As other have said, I appreciate all the work that has been put into this, but I just find that there is a little too much "vastly superior" and "so much better" and "the best thing since sliced bread" going on when the reality is that you have three blocks that are basically tied for 1st place.

I see the three blocks like this...

Swiftech XT - budget conscious option, average aesthetics, high performance, very good mounting mechanism, average build quality
Supreme HF - mid-range price, aesthetically weak, high performance, weak mounting mechanism, good build quality
HeatKiller Rev3.0 CU - high-end price*, aesthetically very strong, high performance, average mounting mechanism, very good build quality

* if you throw the LT into the mix then I think things change drastically. Since the LT can be bought for ~$60 and it performs basically on par with the CU version, and therefore the XT and the HF the HK LT really becomes the overall winner for $/performance/looks/mounting/quality in the high-end segment.

Edit: Before I get rotten tomatoes thrown at me, this is my opinion only and you are free to constructively agree or disagree with me
When I talk about superiority, I don't think about people upgrading...I think about people who are choosing between the various blocks for a fresh build. Upgrading has to take into account value, which is very subjective (for some, $80 for 1C and a chance to rebuild their system again is worth it....for others, $80 is a huge pill to swallow for 1C and the hassle of rebuilding their system). Obviously I'm unable to assess a block from everyone's perspective--so I choose the most straightforward one: the perspective of someone who looking at the market offerings and trying to decide and maybe needs some help.

That said, in a fight between the HK3.0 and the Supreme HF (where only things that can be objectively measured are counted), it's really not a fight at all.

Thermal performance: Supreme HF wins (and ultimately wins big if you discount the rarely used silicone mod).
Restriction: Supreme HF wins.
Mounting flexibility: Supreme HF wins big (comes with a backplate and is compatible with every major socket....HK3.0 does not come with a backplate and new mounting kits and backplates [which add up to be expensive] must be bought each time you switch sockets, whether or not you upgrade your system or relegate the block to a secondary system).
Fitting compatibility: Supreme HF wins (works with large compressions out of the box, HK3.0 requires adapters that aren't cheap).
Board compatibility: Supreme HF has no known compatibility issues....HK3.0s have issues with Gigabyte boards (and any other board with caps tall enough and close enough to interfere with mounting).
Manufacturer support: I suppose both prefer you go through the reseller for RMA/etc., so a tie? Eddy does come on XS a lot though, so that's a big plus.

In terms of things that are psuedo-objective:
Mounting system use: Supreme HF gets a 2.5/10, HK3.0 gets a 2/10 (in my book). Both are horrible, piecemeal mounting kits, but the Supreme at least uses thumb-tightening parts for the final assembly steps.
Build quality: both have issues (all blocks do)...Supreme HF's structural screws can rust easily (but are non-wetted parts so while they shouldn't, they still can). HK3.0's base has machine marks, the head of the structural screws strip really easily, internal o-rings are hard to replace if they fall out (they're slightly oversized). I'm still flushing out copper shards from the tapping on the HK3.0 Cu here that's on loan from a forum member....he used it extensively before me, I used it for a full suite of a tests, and it's still 'shedding.'

In terms of objective things, the only place the HK3.0 is superior to the Supreme HF is in price and you have to get the LT with no backplate for that to be true (and at that point, it's only a few dollars between a Supreme HF and an HK3.0LT + backplate).

In terms of looks, the Supreme HF is a little stale in my book, but that's a totally subjective thing. It's not a bad look, just indistinguishable from its predecessor.

So again, it's Clottey vs. Pacquiao in my mind....not a knockout performance by the Supreme HF, but it's still a clear win overall.