which EK nickel blocks are dodgy? (dont hurt me :))

DarkSlayer1666 · 9th February 2012, 5:16 PM

at the risk of being hammered for bringing up an old and well-worn topic, im asking this.

QUESTION: Which EK blocks were affected by the nickel plating issue?

Reason why im asking is ive just bought a used 6970 with an EK nickel-acetal block. ive searched and searched and cant find any reference of when the issue was completely resolved.
Ive read about people having issues with 480 blocks, 4870 blocks, 5870 blocks.
but nothing on 6970 or any 6900-series blocks.

i havent had the chance yet to open my block and see what the insides are like (i work away so havent even seen the card yet) but i just wanted to find out if there is a chance that my shiny new graphics card may have a potential timebomb attached to it.

FatBoyNotSoSlim · 9th February 2012, 5:18 PM

All of them. Ergo facto never buy an EK block again.

simm · 9th February 2012, 5:26 PM

Guaranteed answer #1: All of them, EK quality control is crap. *see above

*

Guaranteed answer #2: I have EK blocks and haven't had a problem. *see below

*

There were definitely problems and EK definitely handled them poorly. They have made some changes to the manufacturing process (EN blocks) but there have been issues with EN labelled blocks too. It seems to have settled down now but that could be because everyone either stopped buying EK gear or started adding corrosion inhibitors to their loops.

I wouldn't call it completely resolved but there hasn't been a new report of failing EK nickel in at least a month or two.

BlueRaven · 9th February 2012, 5:28 PM

FC6970 should be the newer electroless plating, but people have reported failures of those too.

My 5870 nickel/plexi block still looks fine, and it has run swiftech hydrx, distilled water+silver and nulon/tectalloy automotive coolant at various times.... most of its life has been under anti-corrosive coolant (the hydrx/nulon) though, only ran di+silver for a couple of months.

Open it up immediately and check for signs of flaking/pitting/corrosion. If it's pristine, you should be ok as long as you run Liquid Utopia or a similar anti-corrosive treatment, or premixed coolant such as EC6. Avoid straight distilled water+silver.

Note that I said should be ok....

EDIT:.... yeah..... what ^those guys^ said.

Even if it does flake that won't affect the performance, just the looks. Most pumps wouldn't like sucking up little bits of nickel though. Maybe PM the seller and ask what coolant he was using, and if he's seen any powdery/flaky residue in his res or toobs.

radeon_freak · 9th February 2012, 5:37 PM

Theres no 100% answer on which blocks or batch were defective. I've had several EK blocks and they were all 100% fine, even when using nothing but distilled water and silver. Only time and use will tell, but I wouldnt be overly concerned.

DarkSlayer1666 · 9th February 2012, 6:08 PM

hmm ok thanks for that guys. im planning on only running distilled+LU

i asked my housemate to have a look if it has an EN sticker which it does apparently.
does this mean that its one of the newer electroless plating ones?
according to the seller the card was about a year old (I bought it in Jan this year). not sure if the block was on since day 1.

ah well. as long as it doesnt kill the card or my other WC bits, i can live with it and just buy a new block if its fubar.
thanks for the replies

ex4n · 9th February 2012, 6:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkSlayer1666

hmm ok thanks for that guys. im planning on only running distilled+LU

i asked my housemate to have a look if it has an EN sticker which it does apparently.
does this mean that its one of the newer electroless plating ones?
according to the seller the card was about a year old (I bought it in Jan this year). not sure if the block was on since day 1.

ah well. as long as it doesnt kill the card or my other WC bits, i can live with it and just buy a new block if its fubar.
thanks for the replies

EN will mean its got the newer plating I think. Either way before you put it in your rig just crack it open and have a quick look. Chances are it will be fine. I wonder what the actual failure rate was, I'd imaging something like 1% or a few batches and was just massively blown out of proportion.

Ka0sX · 9th February 2012, 6:26 PM

Void EK blocks like the plague.......................

Spyfox · 9th February 2012, 6:28 PM

just buy copper blocks
or a koolance block

DarkSlayer1666 · 9th February 2012, 6:48 PM

the main reason i bought that particular 6970 is cos it came with wc block preinstalled by the seller.

that was before i started to actually research watercooling and came across the EK issue.

Spyfox · 9th February 2012, 6:50 PM

how long did the original owner run it under water?
if its been under water a while and it has no signs of flaking then you might be lucky

DarkSlayer1666 · 9th February 2012, 7:05 PM

he said that it was running 24/7 so i assume its been running since he got it originally
hopefully itll be ok when i pull it apart

Moptimus · 9th February 2012, 7:14 PM

EK are fine now, don't run any loop without a corrosion blocker.

I keep harping on about it in these threads, but does anyone remember the koolance 370 that corroded in someone in this forums loop?

MDewMadOScar · 9th February 2012, 7:27 PM

All this hate on EK.
I have owned/Currently own.
2 GTX 480 Fullcovers
2 GTX 470 Fullcovers
1 GTX 460 Full cover
2 9800 Fullcovers
2 GTX 285 Fullcovers

And never had I had a single problem.
never.

ex4n · 9th February 2012, 7:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moptimus

EK are fine now, don't run any loop without a corrosion blocker.

I keep harping on about it in these threads, but does anyone remember the koolance 370 that corroded in someone in this forums loop?

http://forums.overclockers.com.au/sh...9&postcount=45
that one? could only see the one pic. came from the machine in that build afaik.
apparently koolance rejected warranty on it too :/

edit: not trying to resurrect a shit storm.

9th February 2012, 5:26 PM	#3
simm Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Perth Posts: 298	Guaranteed answer #1: All of them, EK quality control is crap. see above Guaranteed answer #2: I have EK blocks and haven't had a problem. see below There were definitely problems and EK definitely handled them poorly. They have made some changes to the manufacturing process (EN blocks) but there have been issues with EN labelled blocks too. It seems to have settled down now but that could be because everyone either stopped buying EK gear or started adding corrosion inhibitors to their loops. I wouldn't call it completely resolved but there hasn't been a new report of failing EK nickel in at least a month or two. __________________ ~~six~~ seven billion points of view. Last edited by simm; 9th February 2012 at 5:33 PM.

9th February 2012, 5:28 PM	#4
BlueRaven Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sydney 2068 Posts: 2,068	FC6970 should be the newer electroless plating, but people have reported failures of those too. My 5870 nickel/plexi block still looks fine, and it has run swiftech hydrx, distilled water+silver and nulon/tectalloy automotive coolant at various times.... most of its life has been under anti-corrosive coolant (the hydrx/nulon) though, only ran di+silver for a couple of months. Open it up immediately and check for signs of flaking/pitting/corrosion. If it's pristine, you should be ok as long as you run Liquid Utopia or a similar anti-corrosive treatment, or premixed coolant such as EC6. Avoid straight distilled water+silver. Note that I said should be ok.... EDIT:.... yeah..... what ^those guys^ said. Even if it does flake that won't affect the performance, just the looks. Most pumps wouldn't like sucking up little bits of nickel though. Maybe PM the seller and ask what coolant he was using, and if he's seen any powdery/flaky residue in his res or toobs. __________________ When you're in over your head, the first thing to do is close your mouth. - Anonymous GOOD TRADES WITH: chrispychipS, s3kemo, Graham.Abbott, TerminalVeloCD, dayvud7, gnasher666, Bomber01, Echo Man, Mikio, MorgzMods, Guts, RoryK, Benno1988, Spirit76, Creekin, kazen, Lothar_Wolf, zzgundam, Nobita88 Last edited by BlueRaven; 9th February 2012 at 5:33 PM.

9th February 2012, 5:37 PM	#5
radeon_freak Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Sydney Posts: 2,210	Theres no 100% answer on which blocks or batch were defective. I've had several EK blocks and they were all 100% fine, even when using nothing but distilled water and silver. Only time and use will tell, but I wouldnt be overly concerned. __________________ *trades/sales:* Hung Mung01, arnica, goodguy82, pshnfry, Pic, XTREME OC'ER, lui_gough, alexanderino, phil_is_mrx, Noonoo, lionman, snoozeys, callen_1, iCrunk, craigoss, CHemical, V1C7012, mtot, Miggod, protecon, Chop92per, Copie, stedyedy, Pipster, sanjay, Peteodeath, Blue_muppet, dingdong555, baby_ute, fredhoon, WuzzA21, ElBeasto, lostdude, endo, disa1377,TwistedTripper, SoniQx, MorgzMods, gigabyte123, lostdude, vinnie, iNoob, colinskies, Wombycat, jamieyn, Linkin, aln, Little Man, linsi

9th February 2012, 6:08 PM	#6
DarkSlayer1666 Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: NOR, Perth Posts: 41	hmm ok thanks for that guys. im planning on only running distilled+LU i asked my housemate to have a look if it has an EN sticker which it does apparently. does this mean that its one of the newer electroless plating ones? according to the seller the card was about a year old (I bought it in Jan this year). not sure if the block was on since day 1. ah well. as long as it doesnt kill the card or my other WC bits, i can live with it and just buy a new block if its fubar. thanks for the replies __________________ Intel i5 2500K, 16GB 1800MHz DDR3, Asrock Fatal1ty Z68 Pro Gen3, EVGA GTX680 SuperClocked, 24TB in SNR RAID using Synology DS1810+, Xigamtek Elysium case

9th February 2012, 6:28 PM	#9
Spyfox Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: SWSydney 2173 Posts: 1,265	just buy copper blocks or a koolance block __________________ WWW.JDMWHEELS.COM.AU WWW.DUSTYCARTRIDGE.COM

9th February 2012, 5:16 PM	#1
DarkSlayer1666 Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: NOR, Perth Posts: 41	which EK nickel blocks are dodgy? (dont hurt me :)) at the risk of being hammered for bringing up an old and well-worn topic, im asking this. QUESTION: Which EK blocks were affected by the nickel plating issue? Reason why im asking is ive just bought a used 6970 with an EK nickel-acetal block. ive searched and searched and cant find any reference of when the issue was completely resolved. Ive read about people having issues with 480 blocks, 4870 blocks, 5870 blocks. but nothing on 6970 or any 6900-series blocks. i havent had the chance yet to open my block and see what the insides are like (i work away so havent even seen the card yet) but i just wanted to find out if there is a chance that my shiny new graphics card may have a potential timebomb attached to it. __________________ Intel i5 2500K, 16GB 1800MHz DDR3, Asrock Fatal1ty Z68 Pro Gen3, EVGA GTX680 SuperClocked, 24TB in SNR RAID using Synology DS1810+, Xigamtek Elysium case

9th February 2012, 5:18 PM	#2
FatBoyNotSoSlim Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Melbourne - 3149 Posts: 12,490	All of them. Ergo facto never buy an EK block again. __________________ Desktop: 3770K 4.5Ghz \| GB Z77X-UD5H \| 16GB Samsung DDR3 \| Crucial M4 256GB \| SLI GTX 580s \| Lian Li P80B \| AX1200W \| Catleap Q270s \| Ducky DK9008 Shine \| Razer Mamba \| Custom WC \| Other: Norco 4224 NAS \|\| Panasonic TH-P50V20A \| PS3 Slim 500GB \| SGS3 16GB, ASUS Transformer, Samsung Galaxy Tab 7" \|

9th February 2012, 6:26 PM	#8
Ka0sX (Banned or Deleted) Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Canadian in Australia Posts: 2,786	Void EK blocks like the plague.......................

9th February 2012, 6:48 PM	#10
DarkSlayer1666 Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: NOR, Perth Posts: 41	the main reason i bought that particular 6970 is cos it came with wc block preinstalled by the seller. that was before i started to actually research watercooling and came across the EK issue. __________________ Intel i5 2500K, 16GB 1800MHz DDR3, Asrock Fatal1ty Z68 Pro Gen3, EVGA GTX680 SuperClocked, 24TB in SNR RAID using Synology DS1810+, Xigamtek Elysium case

9th February 2012, 6:50 PM	#11
Spyfox Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: SWSydney 2173 Posts: 1,265	how long did the original owner run it under water? if its been under water a while and it has no signs of flaking then you might be lucky __________________ WWW.JDMWHEELS.COM.AU WWW.DUSTYCARTRIDGE.COM

9th February 2012, 7:05 PM	#12
DarkSlayer1666 Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: NOR, Perth Posts: 41	he said that it was running 24/7 so i assume its been running since he got it originally hopefully itll be ok when i pull it apart __________________ Intel i5 2500K, 16GB 1800MHz DDR3, Asrock Fatal1ty Z68 Pro Gen3, EVGA GTX680 SuperClocked, 24TB in SNR RAID using Synology DS1810+, Xigamtek Elysium case

9th February 2012, 7:14 PM	#13
Moptimus Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Nambour-by-the-Sea Posts: 827	EK are fine now, don't run any loop without a corrosion blocker. I keep harping on about it in these threads, but does anyone remember the koolance 370 that corroded in someone in this forums loop? __________________ Trades: koitech; bricktop; Mr DOHC; Bertross; Nerdbox87; Vantec; Rory K; i0Nic, Creepin, trash, Unr3strictable, EpicPCcases, omaraa, madaimer, pakka, mkusanagi, mrflay, illuminati, OnGsTa, doodz, interlopr.

9th February 2012, 7:27 PM	#14
MDewMadOScar Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Mildura, Australia Posts: 75	All this hate on EK. I have owned/Currently own. 2 GTX 480 Fullcovers 2 GTX 470 Fullcovers 1 GTX 460 Full cover 2 9800 Fullcovers 2 GTX 285 Fullcovers And never had I had a single problem. never. __________________ Go Extreme with the OCAU HWBOT Team G Skill Competition BabyMountain i7 950 - Gene III - GTX 480+EK Fullcover - 12GB 1600 XMS3 - 64GB Crucial M4 - OCZ ZX 850 - Modded NZXT Vulcan MountainDewCooled has a dead mobo