Quote:
Originally Posted by ChielScape

whats all the discussion about thermal conductivity anyway?
the reason for a silver(plated) block is the anti-microbial properties of silver.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LeeH

Bingo!!! There have been some recent discussions on xtremesystems regarding this issue. It came up when someone asked when the promised BP fittings in siliver were being released. Some members reported that some silver bar or wire in their Res eleminated all growth and was more effective than any of the other methods. One member went to silver and distilled water only and found it more effective than PT nuke.
It appears you can get .999 bars for about $17.00 to $20.00 and 10 gauge wire for about $30 in 1 oz amounts. I am thining of the wire to give me more surface area (wrapped around a 1/2 inch form.
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That is actually not the reason. It is true that silver kills microbes, but the reason that Cathar and some other companies later on made silver blocks was because silver conducts heat better. It also looked badass. However, later on, it became apparent that the increase in price of materials did not justify the increase in performance. As far as using silver to kill microbes, a simply tiny bar of silver in a reservoir is enough to purify your entire loop so to speak.
Proof:
"The G5 is a geometrical extension of the parent Storm design. It offers an increased density of the internal structure over the G4.
The decision to use silver was made to give the block a bit of extra performance as I felt this was justified by the increased machining time where even the cost of the silver plays a secondary role in the overall cost of getting the block manufactured. I also decided to go for some additional bling factor too, with the universal mounting bracket being polished to a mirror finish. Where the G4 was mostly black with some contrasting silver, the G5 I wanted to be mostly silver with some contrasting black. In the end I was very happy with the final result's appearance and I was also somewhat surprised by its performance during internal testing.
I consider the G5 in silver to be my finest work to date." - Cathar, originator of the Little River GX Series water block