Zalman WB2 water block Modded.

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plywood99

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Dec 25, 2004
Messages
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Well, after having my Zalman block in my system for a couple weeks now, I figured it was time to do some modding. Having read several block discussions and reviews, I noticed turbulence being a theme in the design of many blocks. So, I not being able to leave well enough alone :D , have gone and added what I hope is turbulence to my trusty Zalman. I took a drill bit slightly larger than the slits in the rings of my block and made a series of concaves all around the perimeter of the rings. Here's the pick.

ModdedBlock.jpg


I'm currently doing a test burn to see what kind of results, if any, I will have...
 
How did the Zalman do normally? I think I am going to be picking one up soon...
 
Looks good, but you might want to get some sandpaper or a dremel and clean up those edges a bit... I can just see one of those little copper slivers getting into the pump and tearing up some seals :eek:

BTW - How do you like your pump? Is it quiet? I have the 600 model (160gph) but I experimented with it a bit too much before I actually installed it and its been louder than most people describing their Maxi Jets. I am going to hopefully rebuild my system soon, and would definately upgrade the pump along with the CPU block (A64 time baby :D)
 
Grizzy said:
BTW - How do you like your pump? Is it quiet? I have the 600 model (160gph) but I experimented with it a bit too much before I actually installed it and its been louder than most people describing their Maxi Jets. I am going to hopefully rebuild my system soon, and would definately upgrade the pump along with the CPU block (A64 time baby :D)
Click to expand...

Yeh, I really like my MaxiJet 1200. With my system off I can barely hear a hum coming from the pump. I was gonna go with a Via Aqua but after doing some research I found they were noisy and prone to failure. I have heard only good about the Maxi though.

Oh yeh, Grizzy, I'm in Cincy too. Live in the Avondale area. Nice to see someone from "The Natti" on the forums.
 
Well, looks like my modding may have actually done some good this time... :cool:
Full load temps look like they are lower than before the mod. Around .5 - 1C. I use to hover at 40C during Cpu Burn. Right now I'm at 39.5 - 40C. And that's with ambient temps a couple degrees higher. It's not so cold here in Ohio as it has been. :D

On a side note, I found the importance of cleaning and reapplying compound each time you reseat your block on your cpu. When I first did the mod I just "resmeared" the old compound on the block. Could barely get this thing to run in windows without errors, let alone trying to run Cpu Burn.
Lesson learned. Always clean and reapply compound.... :rolleyes:
 
plywood99 said:
It does really well. Overclockers.com put it between a Maze4 and TDX from Danger Den.

Zalman Review
Click to expand...


Heh kind of misleading, the zalman block is actually quite poor, not to knock your system, it seems like you are getting fine temperatures. Overclockers.com however actually ranks the zalman block 19th out of 25, barely beating out the quite outdated maze4 and not even comparable to blocks like the TDX or Swifty 6000 (ranked 4th and 8th respectively).

Also, I dont really like the way that overclockers.com conducts their reviews, for a better comparison of waterblocks I prefer the charts at www.procooling.com, and the reviews that www.systemcooling.com are very thorough, and they actually take into consideration that you cant consider the performance of a waterblock by testing one value, waterblock performance is more of a curve, depending upon the flow going through the system.
 
Erasmus354 said:
Heh kind of misleading, the zalman block is actually quite poor, not to knock your system, it seems like you are getting fine temperatures. Overclockers.com however actually ranks the zalman block 19th out of 25, barely beating out the quite outdated maze4 and not even comparable to blocks like the TDX or Swifty 6000 (ranked 4th and 8th respectively).

Also, I dont really like the way that overclockers.com conducts their reviews, for a better comparison of waterblocks I prefer the charts at www.procooling.com, and the reviews that www.systemcooling.com are very thorough, and they actually take into consideration that you cant consider the performance of a waterblock by testing one value, waterblock performance is more of a curve, depending upon the flow going through the system.
Click to expand...

I wasn't trying to be misleading, just naming a couple blocks I thought they would be familiar with,...AKA.. Danger Den stuff. That's also why I put the link to the review in my post, So they can read for themselves

Plus there is more to consider in a block than just pure performance. Zalman as a company is known for the quality of their products. Not always the greatest at performance, but they do make a quality product. Here is System cooling's comment:

"However, the ZM-WB1 more than makes up for this small performance deficit in ease of mounting, quality of construction, and appearance. If you’re looking for the absolute highest level of performance available from a water block, you’ll want to look elsewhere, but if you want a water block that performs well, is of absolutely excellent quality, and looks great, look no further than the Zalman ZM-WB1."

That was for the WB1, the Wb2 is of course a slightly revised block.

I kind of like Overclocker's way of providing data. It is simple to give you an idea of how a block would perform in say an average system, but if you look closely, they do provide data for those with a more powerful, or weaker setup. QUOTE:

"Results are presented at one gpm because tests indicate that one gpm is an important "dividing point" for several reasons:

* Most moderate waterpumps (eg, 150-300 gph with 60" head) will deliver one gpm in a fully configured system (one waterblock, radiator with ½" tubing and fittings), with minimal restrictions
* Many waterblocks will show a performance gain of about 1-2 C up to 2-3 gpm
* Many waterblocks will show a performance decrease of about 1-4 C substantially below one gpm

For most systems, considering waterpump cost, one gpm is within reach and a good cost/performance tradeoff. Waterpumps which can achieve higher flowrates are higher cost, much larger and add more heat to cooling fluid than a moderately powered waterpump."

Also comparing a WB2 to a TDX in a system producing say, 100 watts, the TDX would lower temp by about 3C compared to a WB2. Not much of a difference. If you actually look at the list many of the blocks perform the same. The list is not a "ranking" of best to worst.

Take for instance the top block on their list, the Hydro-Stream HS5. To get it to perform decently would require a Serious water pump. Most pumps used in typical water cooling setups don't have the head to make that block perform.

All charts and listings I feel, must be taken with a grain of salt. For instance charts don't mention if a reviewer had trouble installing a block,or if everything needed to install on your system is included or the long term quality of the product. Unfortunately, many today simply go by the numbers, so to speak, and may pass up what could be a quality product. The Zalman WB2 comes with all mounting clips included, to me that's a nice extra for when I upgrade to Athlon64 here in the nere future.

I hope this doesn't sound like a rant, just think people should look at more than just the numbers, so to speak. :)
 
plywood99 said:
Yeh, I really like my MaxiJet 1200. With my system off I can barely hear a hum coming from the pump. I was gonna go with a Via Aqua but after doing some research I found they were noisy and prone to failure. I have heard only good about the Maxi though.

Oh yeh, Grizzy, I'm in Cincy too. Live in the Avondale area. Nice to see someone from "The Natti" on the forums.
Click to expand...

Looks like I might be buying a new pump & waterblock soon :D

Ah Avondale... I live in Springdale/TriCounty area
 
WOOHOO! :) :)

After letting Arctic Silver cook and cure for a few hours I figured it was time to do more testing. Although ambient temp is still 2C higher than before, my load temp has now settled to a rock solid 39C.. :cool:

Now none of this is truely scientific, but it looks like my mod netted me between 1C - 3C improvement in load temps. Oddly, it doesn't seem that my idle temp has changed, I'm just going off memory though, I didn't record my idle temp before doing the mod.

Nonetheless, unlike with my Kingwin AWC which I totally destroyed, this little mod seems to be actually paying dividends.
 
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