Aqua Computer Questions

[lemmy]

I'm thinking of buying an aquero and i want to know the difference between the types of aqueros out, and i would also like to buy the ram sink water coolers from Aqua, but i'm wondering should i buy from sharka or from aqua computer directly?

 

[topcat989]

I'm thinking of buying an aquero and i want to know the difference between the types of aqueros out, and i would also like to buy the ram sink water coolers from Aqua, but i'm wondering should i buy from sharka or from aqua computer directly?

if you are in the states then buy from sharka.

I don't know much about the aquero so maybe top nurse or others with that info will pop in and help out- good luck

 

[Happy Hopping]

I'm thinking of buying an aquero and i want to know the difference between the types of aqueros out, and i would also like to buy the ram sink water coolers from Aqua, but i'm wondering should i buy from sharka or from aqua computer directly?

Before you buy a water cooler from Aqua, have a look at this thread:

http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=105855

this AC customer bought a video card water cooler from Aqua, and also has a 2nd video card water cooler on his other video card. The Aqua is 10 degree C hotter, and the other water block was on "Warmer Water". If it were only 1 video card w/ a AC water cooler, it would be easily 20 degree C hotter than the other brand name.

 

[BellaCroix]

Innova blocks are "flat" as far as temperature goes with added flow... meaning they do not benefit considerably from added water flow. Basically, they are true low-flow blocks and perform very well on low flow systems. When people have tested them with higher flow rates the graphs remain fairly constant.

AC blocks (from my understanding and the analysis I've seen of the apparent design) work differently. If you're set on AC I'd suggest swapping out the fittings and hose for (at least) Innova's 8x10. The added flow will benefit AC temps and bring them more in line with Innova performance.

My personal opinion (no slam on any particular build here)... 8mm ID is as low as I'd ever go... 6mm ID or 4mm ID really starts getting to the VERY low flow high restriction area. AC will still work acceptably using those connections but they should benefit from increased flow rates.

Fortunately, you can now get most AC gear with Innova fittings from Sharka.

Also (again, my personal, untested opinion), I trust compression fittings more than the "plug-n-cool" fittings used by AC. I used compression fittings on high performance race engines without problem. I've never used plug-n-cool connections so I have absolutely nothing to base my opinion on except that I've had great experience with compression fittings and figure if it ain't broke, I'm not gonna fix it.

As far as the Aquaero... I assume you're asking about the display.

The VFD version is much easier to read and the characters look a lot better... that being said, the characters do not match ANY light theme I've ever seen used in case lighting. It's not really blue or even green... some kind of wierd teal color. People tell me that's easily corrected using colored film but I can't seem to find exactly what I'm looking for.

If you're trying to match something like a Cystalfontz blue blacklit display, stick with the LCD version. Personally, I wish I had gotten the LCD version instead of the VFD version... but again, that's just my opinion.

You'll notice a lot of "my opinion" disclaimers... most of that is because when you start talking about AC... much of it is based on opinion. I'm a low-flow fan myself but go Innova. I think AC looks better (almost without doubt) but still prefer to go with Innova just because.

 

[Happy Hopping]

But there is also the absurd profit margin to consider: here's a thread from Pro Cooling, read the comments from Cathar, "$55 worth of material, but selling for $171", now that's over 300% profit margin on a doesn't make sense sterling silver design, because "Sterling Silver doesn't offer real advantage over C101 copper for thermal conduction, they are both about the same"

http://forums.procooling.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=9315&highlight=aqua

LOL - I was reading further and noticed that they're charging $171US extra for the silver over the copper one. Crap! There's less silver by weight in one of these things than there is in a Cascade SS by the looks of the design, and I was able to import 99.998% pure silver into the country, and after all taxes, shipping charges, and other overheads, pass it on to people for $88 US.

Methinks that someone is out to make a tremendous amount of profit from what probably amounts to about $55US worth of Sterling Silver cost value.

 

[lemmy]

hrmmmm i think i will try that, i alreadyh have aqua gear, i just never put my comptuer together till now which is about 12 months later lol, but yeah i'm almost done building it now

 

[Top Nurse]

Hi lemmy..

The VFD is the one you want if you will be needing different colors than are available from the standard LCD version. The other big difference is the side viewing angle as the LCD's are pretty much line of sight and they get fuzzier the more of an angle they are viewed at. The VFD devices are also very much brighter because only the letters light up where as the LCD is backlighted. The other newer display is the OLED (Organic LED) and it only comes in green. I would suggest you stay away from the OLED's as there seems to be an issue with screen longevity.

It's lucky you waited a while to buy one as the price dropped from like $300 to about $170 here in the states for the VFD. I think Sharka sells the LCD versions for about $130. However, they recently brought in 15 of the VFD's and 5 of the Blue/White LCD's and the LCD's sold out in about two weeks. So the only one they have now in stock is the VFD version. I assume they will be importing more in the next few weeks, but I would call them to be sure.


Edit: Take your pick of their distributors.

 

[Top Nurse]

Personally, I wish I had gotten the LCD version instead of the VFD version... but again, that's just my opinion.

If I buy an LCD version would you be willing to swap displays?

 

[Erasmus354]

Innova blocks are "flat" as far as temperature goes with added flow... meaning they do not benefit considerably from added water flow. Basically, they are true low-flow blocks and perform very well on low flow systems. When people have tested them with higher flow rates the graphs remain fairly constant.

AC blocks (from my understanding and the analysis I've seen of the apparent design) work differently. If you're set on AC I'd suggest swapping out the fittings and hose for (at least) Innova's 8x10. The added flow will benefit AC temps and bring them more in line with Innova performance.

Blasphemy! Larger than 6mm tubing on AC gear! You shall burn for that comment. ( for the love of god )

Seriously though, that was a good post. The difference in temps could probably largely be a cause of the two blocks having a very different design. Also lets not forget the fact that the innaccurate temperature probes could have a part to play in the temperature disparity as well. Dont use this as proof that AC gear performs poorly (just as using similar "tests" to prove that AC gear performs well is wrong). So Happy Hopping....I think you may be undeserving bashing on AC, if your going to target them for a reason you dont like them....take the price as an issue

The micro-channel / micropin array design has been proven in other tested waterblocks (MP-05, Nexxxos XP) to be a very restrictive design. This design has also been shown to benefit greatly from increased flow, especially when compared to blocks like the mcw-6000 or the Innovatek blocks which are generally flow agnostic. Most of the aquacomputer blocks are using essentially the same baseplate (not sure about the full cover blocks), which means that their performance curves should be very similar.

 

[Top Nurse]

Blasphemy! Larger than 6mm tubing on AC gear! You shall burn for that comment. ( for the love of god )

Seriously though, that was a good post. The difference in temps could probably largely be a cause of the two blocks having a very different design. Also lets not forget the fact that the innaccurate temperature probes could have a part to play in the temperature disparity as well. Dont use this as proof that AC gear performs poorly (just as using similar "tests" to prove that AC gear performs well is wrong). So Happy Hopping....I think you may be undeserving bashing on AC, if your going to target them for a reason you dont like them....take the price as an issue

The micro-channel / micropin array design has been proven in other tested waterblocks (MP-05, Nexxxos XP) to be a very restrictive design. This design has also been shown to benefit greatly from increased flow, especially when compared to blocks like the mcw-6000 or the Innovatek blocks which are generally flow agnostic. Most of the aquacomputer blocks are using essentially the same baseplate (not sure about the full cover blocks), which means that their performance curves should be very similar.

Well believe it or not...a lot of AC sales are sold with 3/8" hose barbs per Wes. Now that he has in stock the 8mm compression fittings in G 1/8 and G 1/4 I think we will see more 8mm hoses used as it is a nice compromise in hose size. I think the issue with the Innovatek coolers has more to do with the copper insert that they have in the block as well as the different card temp sensor variations. It would have been more interesting to have seen them add the copper insert into the 7800 AC block they were using to give a better comparison of apples to apples. Here is the AC cooper insert that can be added to the AC combo coolers:

Not sure if it will fit the 7800 coolers, but I think it will. I have a pair of 6800 Ultras coming next week with the AquagraFX 6800 rev 2 coolers attached. They also have the copper inserts and I understand it makes a big difference in heat transfer, but you have to be make sure you use a good anti-corrosive additive or you will see beaucoup dissimilar metal corrosion.

 

[lemmy]

i don't plan on ordering from sharka till they get the SLI Aqua Computer Twinplex Pro SLI Type1 Chipset Water Block and aquero LCD in stock again, shipping is too expensive, any idea when those will come in top nurse?

 

[Top Nurse]

i don't plan on ordering from sharka till they get the SLI Aqua Computer Twinplex Pro SLI Type1 Chipset Water Block and aquero LCD in stock again, shipping is too expensive, any idea when those will come in top nurse?

No idea on the LCD as I would check with Wes about that. However, I have a new TwinPlex Pro SLI Typ 1 I would be willing to part with. If your interested PM me.

 

[BellaCroix]

If I buy an LCD version would you be willing to swap displays?

Would that work? If so... yeah, that would be a possibility. I just gave up and mounted it in the prject case but the display has about a grand total of 1 hour use on it (testing, playing with interface, trying to get a colored film over the front of it, etc).

I finally gave up and mounted it just because I was tired of the gaping hole in the front of my case and figured I'd just live with the thing.

Let me know.

BTW: I wasn't bashing AC... I'm impressed with the quality of their build and the overall looks of it. I also respect the performance they ARE able to deliver with 6mm ID hoses. But from some of the (largely untested) observations I've seen, they should show an improvement in performance using 8mm ID hoses.

If I were a richer man and decided to WC everything, I'd use 8mm ID for CPU and GPUs, then use stock 6mm ID hoses for the NBs and Mofsets.

 

[Happy Hopping]

Seriously though, that was a good post. The difference in temps could probably largely be a cause of the two blocks having a very different design. Also lets not forget the fact that the innaccurate temperature probes could have a part to play in the temperature disparity as well. Dont use this as proof that AC gear performs poorly (just as using similar "tests" to prove that AC gear performs well is wrong). So Happy Hopping....I think you may be undeserving bashing on AC, if your going to target them for a reason you dont like them....take the price as an issue

Knowing it is the design different of two blocks, would it be fair to say that the innovatek design is better than the AC design? As to the temperature probe, I was most impressed that guy even go to the extend of swapping both video card to make sure it's not one video card heat up more than the other. As he stated, after he swapped the card, the temp. difference is still 10 deg. C.

 

[Pooky]

I don't think it's fair to say that the Innovatek block designs are better than the AC ones. They both seem to have been founded on providing silent solutions for their customers and they just seem to have taken different paths to reach those goals. It just happens to be that the AC designs improve with flow while the Inno ones don't. Then there's Alphacool and their more performance based approach. I remember the Pro Cooling review of the NexXxos XP had a statement that the Eheim 1046 doesn't provide optimal flow or performance, but Alphacool didn't pair that pump with that block anyway.

I'd love Innovatek's CPU blocks if they didn't use cheap clamps that were super expensive: a clamp is almost $30 and it's kinda flimsy! I do love their HPPS pump though. It's a 12v Eheim 1046 with 5.5' of head and can be over or undervolted for more flow and head or less for silence (it doesn't need any extras to change modes).

I first found Aqua Computer in 2003 and was drawn to them because of their looks. At that time I was using a DTek TC-4, a Criticool Waterplant, a heatercore and an Eheim 1048 with 1/2" ID hose, but it wasn't "doing it" for me. I didn't get into WC to get better temps, just to get into "advanced tinkering" and to get more comfy with my PC. I really think it was the 8mm compression fittings that made me love the stuff.

Now I use a Laing DDC with an attached filltank (made by LICS not Alphacool), an Alphacool NexXxos XP Light and a single 120mm radiator with 8mm ID tubing and it "does it" for me I couldn't fit my core in my V1000*. I have an Innovatek full card x1800 Cooler, but I wish I hadn't bought it (shoulda got the Alphacool copper and plexi version).