Optimus Foundation CPU Block - AMD

[lorry]

Does anyone know of, or had an experience using their new blocks for Ryzen 3000? They make some pretty bold claims on their site, not only of the material that they use, but also the machining, electroless nickel, Spartech Cast acrylic, 6061-T6 Aluminium, MIL-A-8625 TYPE II ANODIZATION, etc. Reports of 4 - 6C less than Heat Killer IV etc, yet there seems to be a dearth of information about this product online. I know that it was going to be reviewed on here but I don't see anything? They state that their fin design and machining is generations ahead of anyone else ?

Foundation CPU Block - AMD (AM5, AM4)

Optimus CPU water block for AMD Ryzen 7950x and 7000 series CPUs (Zen 4 generation, AM5 socket).

optimuspc.com

There was also talk about some (majority?) blocks not being optimized at all for Ryzen 3000, as their fin area did not fully cover the positioning of the new chiplets and I/O die. I wasn't sure just how true that might be, as although the fins may not cover the entire chiplet areas, the block as a whole does and surely that is where the thermal paste / liquid metal / heat spreader come into play?

Ryzen 3000 perfect cooling - a practical test series in search of the best water block for asymmetrical design with interesting results | Page 2 | igor´sLAB

The asymmetrical arrangement of the chiplets on the one side and the I/O die on the other side of the Ryzen CPUs of the third generation has it quite in itself. In a first video I had already captured…

www.igorslab.de

 

[Bones]

I'm not so sure - Any good CPU block is typically made from copper, not aluminum.
I can't say it woudn't work at all but the performance vs air at least is kinda expected. Probrably good for most typical desktop builds ran with a mild OC used for gaming, anymore would probrably be pushing things under load depending on the final setup itself.
It's just that copper is the better material to use for a block, hands down like most are.

TBH I'd have to have one in hand and try it myself to really know but that's how I see it from here based on my years of using watercooling for competitive benching.

 

[lorry]

I'm not so sure - Any good CPU block is typically made from copper, not aluminum.
I can't say it woudn't work at all but the performance vs air at least is kinda expected. Probrably good for most typical desktop builds ran with a mild OC used for gaming, anymore would probrably be pushing things under load depending on the final setup itself.
It's just that copper is the better material to use for a block, hands down like most are.

TBH I'd have to have one in hand and try it myself to really know but that's how I see it from here based on my years of using watercooling for competitive benching.

?
The cold plate is copper or electroless nickel copper, it's the bracket that is aluminium
"The Foundation block uses a 1/4" (6.3mm) CNC aluminum mounting plate, rather than stamped steel. This allows high pressure and accuracy when securing the block "

 

[Bones]

Ah - That's good to hear then, it sounded like the entire thing was aluminum at first.
With that it should be OK.
BTW I haven't had my coffee yet.....

 

[lorry]

BTW I haven't had my coffee yet.....

I've had loads and i still have no excuse, lol.

 

[eidairaman1]

I'm not so sure - Any good CPU block is typically made from copper, not aluminum.
I can't say it woudn't work at all but the performance vs air at least is kinda expected. Probrably good for most typical desktop builds ran with a mild OC used for gaming, anymore would probrably be pushing things under load depending on the final setup itself.
It's just that copper is the better material to use for a block, hands down like most are.

TBH I'd have to have one in hand and try it myself to really know but that's how I see it from here based on my years of using watercooling for competitive benching.

Aluminum is cheaper...

 

[lorry]

Aluminum is cheaper...

The block is copper, it is the bracket that is made from cnc'd alluminium

 

[sneekypeet]

Hard to say...seems to good to be true.

"Reviews" or "quotes" about performance were from a forum thread, where for all we know, they got free blocks to say something nice about them.

I did not look, but until professionally reviewed, and compared head to head in a non-normalized environment, I would take anything outside of the block descriptions and specs with a huge block if salt.

 

[mrthanhnguyen]

I’m using the v2 signature for Intel and I don’t know if its much better than other blocks or not but its heavy and good.

 

[lorry]

it does seem too good to be true, but maybe this is the age of 'old' champs' being usurped? First Noctua, now heat Killer?
yes i have searched and not found any review of it that looks anything halfway 'professional' and unbiased. I did see in a thread on Bitspower premium block that @VSG might have got one to review but I've not seen that in a search. The spec looks impressive but a lot of that may well be down to a good PR dept. it's a reasonably expensive part and then adding $24 shipping on top doesn't help, hence my seeing if anyone knows anything.

I’m using the v2 signature for Intel and I don’t know if its much better than other blocks or not but its heavy and good.

yes, their Intel block looks far beefier, being made from a single piece of brass.

 

[Optimus Water Cooling]

Hey guys, Optimus here. Happy to answer any questions.

Yes, we're working on reviews. The word of mouth has been really strong, so we haven't been able to make enough blocks to justify reviews just yet.

And, yeah, big performance claims. Really, we avoided making specific claims, rather letting users who bought the blocks give their experiences. The crowd over at OCN is pretty serious. If you read through the thread, there were lots of super skeptical people who bought blocks and saw the gains.

The reason we're able to have better performance is entirely up to surface area. Like the difference between a 120mm and 360mm radiator -- surface area matters. For blocks, it's all about the fins. It took approx 4 years to develop the fins, not easy stuff. We spent zero time on LEDs, DRGBs, whatever. Just raw performance. And reliability., which is just as big for us.

 

[lorry]

Hey guys, Optimus here. Happy to answer any questions.

Yes, we're working on reviews. The word of mouth has been really strong, so we haven't been able to make enough blocks to justify reviews just yet.

And, yeah, big performance claims. Really, we avoided making specific claims, rather letting users who bought the blocks give their experiences. The crowd over at OCN is pretty serious. If you read through the thread, there were lots of super skeptical people who bought blocks and saw the gains.

The reason we're able to have better performance is entirely up to surface area. Like the difference between a 120mm and 360mm radiator -- surface area matters. For blocks, it's all about the fins. It took approx 4 years to develop the fins, not easy stuff. We spent zero time on LEDs, DRGBs, whatever. Just raw performance. And reliability., which is just as big for us.

Whats the turn around time now then, do you have much stock in?

 

[Optimus Water Cooling]

Yes, we can ship out everything (except Threadripper and GPU, those are still in the works). When we get reviews we get a lot more publicity and orders, and we want to make sure everyone can get the blocks in those situations

 

[lorry]

@Optimus Water Cooling i've msg'd you

Well, I've just grabbed one, I'll let folk know of course how I get on

 

[ZenZimZaliben]

I think it is probably not true. Notice on their web page they do not show the actual contact patch for the CPU, there is a reason for that.

I haven't look into much into this brand but I had many different block on my loop. Currently a HeatKiller on my GPU and a EK on my CPU. Those are 2 brands that have always been solid performs(there are also others). Before I ordered my Heatkiller for my GPU I got the new Corsair XG7 for my 2080ti just to try it out as the reviews and images were good. It was IMO junk compared to the craftsmanship and component quality of HeatKiller and EK.

Look at the EK block on https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-velocity-str4-d-rgb-nickel - now that is a nice contact point.

 

[lorry]

That's a threadripper though ?

 

[ZenZimZaliben]

That wasn't my point. It was the craftsmanship and quality that I was pointing out.

 

[Deleted member 185158]

Is there any of these made without the acrylic top? Is there a version thats all copper??

 

[ZenZimZaliben]

Yes, most Block manufactures have a full coverage all copper version that is usually cheaper. But I would always suggest getting the nickel coated copper to avoid tarnished copper and mixing metals in the water.

 

[Optimus Water Cooling]

Our cold plates and fin areas are absolutely massive compared to typical blocks. We designed it that way to handle the increase thermals of modern CPUs. For example, our AM4 Foundation block has more fin surface area than the top Threadripper block on the market.

The all metal block is our Signature block. It's a massive monolithic block machined out of a single piece of brass. Brass is better than copper for top blocks and tight tolerances (copper is softer but much better thermal properties).

Our cast acrylic isn't like typical acrylic. It's the same stuff as bulletproof "glass" and giant public aquariums. It's incredibly strong and won't crack.

After the Absolute Threadripper, we'll probably do a more expensive all-metal Signature block. Possibly with a copper finish if people really want it.

 

[Deleted member 185158]

No the reason for the inquire was not about the acrylic cracking at all. It's an insulator and I don't typically purchase waterblocks in this design.

I really like the size of the cold plate. Nice and heavy. Just as any decent waterblock should be.

The fins, well the surface area only carries to far. We know this from the many various designs through the years.

I run a lot of Lid-Less processors (all of them actually) since AMD Phenom and AMD 6400+ AM2 days. I've always needed a nice heavy waterblock with plenty of mass.

Not on the market to purchase a waterblock at this time, but would definitely be interested in the full copper block for my particular uses which does include TEC cooling and direct die cooling.

 

[VSG]

it does seem too good to be true, but maybe this is the age of 'old' champs' being usurped? First Noctua, now heat Killer?
yes i have searched and not found any review of it that looks anything halfway 'professional' and unbiased. I did see in a thread on Bitspower premium block that @VSG might have got one to review but I've not seen that in a search. The spec looks impressive but a lot of that may well be down to a good PR dept. it's a reasonably expensive part and then adding $24 shipping on top doesn't help, hence my seeing if anyone knows anything.



yes, their Intel block looks far beefier, being made from a single piece of brass.

Nothing here yet, I did email them again to see.

 

[lorry]

Nothing here yet, I did email them again to see.

Thanks.
They are on this thread now, maybe ask them direct?

 

[phill]

Definitely worth keeping an eye on as I love the look of the Heatkiller block in silver (I'm not such a fan of the RGB stuff just yet) so definitely looking forward to hearing all about these blocks, Threadripper ones included.

@lorry when you receive yours through, please do let us know what you think I need a water block for my AM4 build (currently a 3900X, would have preferred a 3950X in there but never mind...) If these blocks are better than the current EK and Heatkiller, I'd be very interested

 

[lorry]

Definitely worth keeping an eye on as I love the look of the Heatkiller block in silver (I'm not such a fan of the RGB stuff just yet) so definitely looking forward to hearing all about these blocks, Threadripper ones included.

@lorry when you receive yours through, please do let us know what you think I need a water block for my AM4 build (currently a 3900X, would have preferred a 3950X in there but never mind...) If these blocks are better than the current EK and Heatkiller, I'd be very interested

I have a 3900x myself