OCLabs Waterblock Review

When shopping for a waterblock you will run across many shapes and sizes, some are very ornate in design while others are simple, square, and to the point. OCLabs appears to be following the less is more approach and appears to be working quite well. Companies such as PolarFlo, and Danger Den tend to extend their designs to not only include the cooling channels but the waterblock its self. Even our own line of waterblocks went a step beyond any of these in terms of design by turning the block into a piece of art that could also be considered a weapon.

Installation of the OCLabs Plexiblock was not without minor problems. To install any sort of heatsink on the 775 platform you need to anchor the device using the 4 mounting points around the processor socket. The trouble came when trying to align the mounting clip since the holes provided were just large enough for the bolt to pass thru. Under perfect conditions this should pose no problem however a minor warp in the motherboard and mounting clip made the task rather impossible. The quick fix was enlarge the holes found on the mounting clip and reinstall.

Performance was great and overall styling was exceptional. Given the simplicity of the Plexiblock design we went into this review figuring the worst but were pleasantly surprised to discover how well the Plexi block performed. We can attribute some of this performance to the capacity of our cooling system however much can be attributed to the additional material found in the base of the Plexiblock itself.

For modders out there looking to add some plated bling to their custom rig the OCLabs line of waterblocks might be a good choice and while the mounting hardware could use some improvement the overall implementation does lend itself well to being a truly universal waterblock design.

Now for the ever popular list of Good things and Bad things.

Simple design
Clear Top
Chrome plating
Good performance
Italian manufacturing

Heavier than most blocks on the market
Chrome plating could inhibit thermal transfer
Mounting hardware required a few "Tweaks"
Need to order from Italy

I would like to thank OCLabs for helping to make this review possible.