vantec water system

[flybye444]

Don't buy this unless you are prepared to mod the n/b and the video blocks as neither one of these blocks make contact with the chips. Bad engineering job even worse management job to allow this product to be produced. I have fixed my problem but takes alot of sanding the flange on these blocks to allow the brackets to be higher then the core of block so it makes contact with the chips. After that annoyance and really stupid first time water system from vantec I have achieved good results > idle/ full load cpu=32c/40c video 1900xtx=39c/48c n/b=30/36 on dfi. Now i think thats pretty good temps but like i said u will have to modify these blocks , the only one that doesn't require modding is the cpu block.

[Brando]

Hi

 

The mistake that has been made can't really be laid at the foot of the designers - rather it's at the behest of whoever decided to have the templates chrome-plated, thereby screwing-up the tolerances. As designed, using the original gauge of plain steel, they would have been fine. It sounds as though the decision to chrome was taken independent of any advice from the designer (an engineer, I imagine), probably by some marketing-type who once changed the spark-plugs on his Mazda and thinks he's a goddam mechanic!

 

I laughed when I saw one of the reviews for this kit, where the reviewer stopped testing at 3 minutes (an eternity imo) because the VGA chip-temp was reading 127*C !!! He was bright enough to spot an imperfection in contact between the sink & core, by shining a torch through the assembly, but didn't identify the need to lay a straight-edge across the made-up block. He wrongly ascribed the problem to weak push-pin springs and omitted the VGA cooler from the review

 

The second reviewer did spot the true problem of the securing screws not sinking fully flush due to the countersunk recesses being decreased in size (by a good layer of chrome) and went ahead with enlarging them, with a Dremel and a grindstone (ouch!)

 

The very simple way of solving the problem is by first clamping the mounting plates to a table-top. Best to put a flat piece of wood in there somewhere, rather than fill the kitchen table with small conical indentations. It needs to be done well away from the PC because of the metal swarf that will be produced.

Get an electric drill - I used a battery-operated Bosch, the kind pro carpenters use - and insert an ordinaryHSS bit, broader than the top edge of the recess in the template. Although a pillar drill would be optimum it wasn't hard to keep the drill fairly vertical and just buzz the chrome plate and a few thou of the plate away. Once the countersink is deep enough to accomodate the screwhead the job is done. A few quick wipes with a fine flat file , checking with a steel ruler across the assembly, and it all fits together as the original design must have required.

 

Note: Don't use a 'countersinking' bit. The exact bevel is that of an HSS (high speed steel) drill-bit. The countersink bit is usually more 'pointy' and would open out the recess too much at the bottom thereby ruining the job

 

 

I agree that there's an evident management lapse. I was going to make an un-PC joke about the guy with the white stick working in Quality Control - but I realised a blind person would have spotted the fault probably quicker than most people. It would certainly be a better solution than having NOBODY at all, which seems the case

All in all, that small snafu must have cost Vantec quite dearly. Quite a few dealers discontinued stocking the line and I've read of a lot of RMAs. It might have been OK if they hadn't claimed it as the perfect kit for new and vet watercoolers alike - and if they'd acknowledged the problem and distributed new shims. They just left the phone off the hook

 

That said, I'm pleased with the reduced & steady temps I was getting with my nF-2 rig - and I'm looking forward to seeing how it works with my upcoming build.

 

I hope my rant will help anyone decide on whether to take on this 99% well-crafted cooling kit. Maybe they'd like me to write them a coherent manual too! :nod:

 

B.