I really hope Enermax has resolved the poor quality coolant they used in these. I have seen pictures of the organic crap & corrosion on the waterblock and pump after a few months on the first release of these. It was pretty disgusting. For those that don't know Enermax uses a solid copper cold plate and aluminum radiator. Veterans like myself that liquid cool know that you don't mix an anodic metal (copper) and a cathodic metal (aluminum) in the same loop due to galvanic corrosion. To combat that you need a very strong corrosion inhibitor and biocide in the coolant to keep the organic growth down.
Enermax used aluminum for the fins, not necessarily for the radiator itself. There are several radiators that are designed exactly like this. Water does not run through the fins. What you said about the liquid coolant used is true however.
A copper cold plate and an aluminum radiator is a combination used in a vast amount of Asetek manufactured AIO's. The fluid used in these are formulated for anti corrosion, thus why most are bright green in color if you drain them. The first gen Liqtech didn't go so well as far as reliability goes but from Gamers Nexus' tear down it doesn't seem to be from doing things differently then most other AIO's. https://youtu.be/5i4_kI_FTG8
All the CLCs, even the popular Asetek ones, have a copper cold plate and an aluminum radiator. That's exactly why the CLCs can hit aggressively low pricepoints to have near parity value to tower air coolers.
You can use an aluminum fin radiator and copper cold plate for several years without major issues. I'm not saying the first Enermax Liqtech TR4 was devoid of issues, but simply blaming copper coldplate + aluminum fin radiator as the problem isn't really accurate since there are plenty of other copper coldplate + aluminum fin radiator asetek CLCs on the market without those issues.
Sadly, I can almost guarantee that they will be. I went through quite a few of them before I gave up.
Maybe it's the fluid they used but whatever the cause is, they all corrode and/or form organic material. The system clogs up and it fails to cool the CPU.
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cyberguyz - Monday, August 13, 2018 - link
I really hope Enermax has resolved the poor quality coolant they used in these. I have seen pictures of the organic crap & corrosion on the waterblock and pump after a few months on the first release of these. It was pretty disgusting. For those that don't know Enermax uses a solid copper cold plate and aluminum radiator. Veterans like myself that liquid cool know that you don't mix an anodic metal (copper) and a cathodic metal (aluminum) in the same loop due to galvanic corrosion. To combat that you need a very strong corrosion inhibitor and biocide in the coolant to keep the organic growth down.eek2121 - Monday, August 13, 2018 - link
Enermax used aluminum for the fins, not necessarily for the radiator itself. There are several radiators that are designed exactly like this. Water does not run through the fins. What you said about the liquid coolant used is true however.rpg1966 - Tuesday, August 14, 2018 - link
Is the coolant conductive?UnNameless - Tuesday, August 14, 2018 - link
If water doesn't touch the different metals how is galvanic corrosion taking place then?!megadirk - Tuesday, August 14, 2018 - link
A copper cold plate and an aluminum radiator is a combination used in a vast amount of Asetek manufactured AIO's. The fluid used in these are formulated for anti corrosion, thus why most are bright green in color if you drain them. The first gen Liqtech didn't go so well as far as reliability goes but from Gamers Nexus' tear down it doesn't seem to be from doing things differently then most other AIO's. https://youtu.be/5i4_kI_FTG8JoeyJoJo123 - Tuesday, August 14, 2018 - link
All the CLCs, even the popular Asetek ones, have a copper cold plate and an aluminum radiator. That's exactly why the CLCs can hit aggressively low pricepoints to have near parity value to tower air coolers.You can use an aluminum fin radiator and copper cold plate for several years without major issues. I'm not saying the first Enermax Liqtech TR4 was devoid of issues, but simply blaming copper coldplate + aluminum fin radiator as the problem isn't really accurate since there are plenty of other copper coldplate + aluminum fin radiator asetek CLCs on the market without those issues.
Spatty - Tuesday, August 14, 2018 - link
In the process of returning my 2nd set of the 1st version...these will probably be junk too.glavatron - Wednesday, September 19, 2018 - link
Sadly, I can almost guarantee that they will be. I went through quite a few of them before I gave up.Maybe it's the fluid they used but whatever the cause is, they all corrode and/or form organic material. The system clogs up and it fails to cool the CPU.
glavatron - Wednesday, September 19, 2018 - link
Hopefully, Liqtech II fixes this.