Nickle plating and do ionised water

red eye · 10 Jul 2021 at 13:48

Would de ionised water cause nickle plating to bubble and flake off?

My cpu block is flaking so I have sent it for rma, they are now asking if I used Distilled.

I can’t remember if I used de ionised with concentrate or pre mix, both mayhems x1. I’ll have to dig out coolant box and see what’s in there.

surly it don’t matter what water I use as x1 has inhibitors and says on the bottle to mix with DI water and the water block instructions says not to use pure distilled. I know ek had issues with plating In the past but they now use a different plating process that is more resistant.

Mr Mcgoo · 10 Jul 2021 at 14:09

if you used di or distilled they both have ions removed. what i think they mean is did you use just distilled/de0ionised water which you didn't you used a concentrate and di/distilled

Drumroll · 11 Jul 2021 at 19:52

As long you've used some concentrate and added the necessary distilled water, which is what one would expect when ordering a concentrate, you've done what you should.
I would not recommend using pure distilled water.
Many users do, their choice, but as long as you use some decent coolant and nothing fancy to go wrong, usually they're trouble-free and less monitoring required.
I never actually went with the concentrate because I never came across distilled water, only deionized water, and ordering proper distilled water from the shop would negate the benefit of ordering the concentrate instead the ready mix.

But back to your issue, as long you've used a coolant, proper mixed and for that use, I wouldn't expect for the block to flake.
Change colour slightly, happens, flaking, no chance.

red eye · 15 Jul 2021 at 23:15

They gave me a refund, while being a ball ache having to buy another I get full warranty.

now it’s shall I go for a cpu block or a cpu and vrm block for a bit more

Drumroll · 15 Jul 2021 at 23:58

CPU blocks gives you more flexibility.
Some blocks you can rotate, for easier tubing run, not affecting much the block's efficiency.
A monobloc looks great, but the VRM will dump it's heat on the loop too. More aesthetics.

red eye · 16 Jul 2021 at 00:27

Drumroll said:
CPU blocks gives you more flexibility.
Some blocks you can rotate, for easier tubing run, not affecting much the block's efficiency.
A monobloc looks great, but the VRM will dump it's heat on the loop too. More aesthetics.

i hear you on rotating the block, I turned mine 90’ so the outlet fitting is at the top helps get rid of the trapped air that sits there for days.

I don’t think it’ll get me past 4200mhz looks like the 3700x tops out here so mainly for looks.

SirConfused · 16 Jul 2021 at 08:54

Monoblock is definitely not worth it if you're getting anything above a dirt tier mobo. As above, all they do is dump more heat unnecessarily into the loop.

I've kept my cpu block for the last 2 builds and I'm not expecting to have to change it for my next either, definitely worth it for the price of a new mounting kit.

im4gine3 · 16 Jul 2021 at 18:08

Not tried pure distilled water.. i typically thought both deionised and distilled were the same thing.. just known differently depending where you are in the world. I guess not

I been using de-ionised water from Carplan for years.. sometimes with concentrate but mostly just by itself and not had an issue. Buying big bottles of it are cheap as chips.

unless you are a die hard overclocker, vrm block not worth it imo.. like others said, good for aethetics but just duimps more unneccesary heat into the loop.. it also makes loop runs a PITA.