Why are waterblocks so expensive?

[spartaman64]

There is obviously less materials going into making a waterblock and I think overall its less time consuming and less complicated than a air cooler. Like sure the microfins probably require a pretty expensive machine to make but air coolers need heatpipes etc which are not easy to make either especially if they are grooved etc. 

[Cyracus]

 

 

[AlwaysFSX]

Air coolers are way easier to manufacture I'd imagine? Slapping some fins to easy to make heat pipes that were soldered on to a metal plate doesn't sound nearly as difficult as laser modeling a 3d surface with incredibly tight tolerances and then milling it.

[Arrogath]

2 minutes ago, spartaman64 said:

There is obviously less materials going into making a waterblock and I think overall its less time consuming and less complicated than a air cooler. Like sure the microfins probably require a pretty expensive machine to make but air coolers need heatpipes etc which are not easy to make either especially if they are grooved etc. 

due the significantly lower number of water blocks being produced they don't benefit from massive scaling the same. When it comes to gpu waterblocks they are even lower per sku parts being made, and due to complexity may require some rather involved milling

[spartaman64]

6 minutes ago, AlwaysFSX said:

Air coolers are way easier to manufacture I'd imagine? Slapping some fins to easy to make heat pipes that were soldered on to a metal plate doesn't sound nearly as difficult as laser modeling a 3d surface with incredibly tight tolerances and then milling it.

yeah but isnt a waterblock just two pieces attached together. id imagine the most complicated part is the microfins and those are just done by a machine. it seems like making heatpipes and then attaching fins to them would be more complicated 

6 minutes ago, Cyracus said:

 

 

 

[Moonzy]

i'd reckon it's due to less demand, thus driving up the per cost unit

[Jurrunio]

People are willing to pay for the high end stuff, that's why. 

[Deli]

Better ask EK. Why most of the CPU waterblocks from different brands are around $60-70. While the EK Quantum Magnitude series is $200+ a piece.

[dizmo]

Supply and demand. Plus you have to realize a product is so, so much more than simply a BOM.

[Cyracus]

46 minutes ago, spartaman64 said:

-SNIP-

I'm sorry, I forgot you can get cheap blocks intel(or am3) am4 compatible   I'm sure aliexpress has similar cheap options 

[Airdragonz]

You could ask the same question for almost any product out there, not just waterblocks. Same reasoning applies though; you got a niche market with buyers willing to pay exponentially more for diminishing returns. Basically supply and demand.

[Guest]

One pound of copper is about 20 bucks. The rest is manufacturing, shop supply (o-rings screws lighting ect) packing shipping... it all adds up. The HeatKiller block is almost 1 pound of copper. Figure at least another 20 bucks in parts and labor to make the block. Sells between 80-90 bucks for AM4. Looking for 100% profits in a niche market.

[Lipe123]

Lower volume of sales, VERY few people watercool/liquid cool computers.

Expensive CnC equipment required to make the blocks.

Blocks don't always fit universally so you need to invest in more hardware for different mounting options.

[SpaceGhostC2C]

2 hours ago, Arrogath said:

due the significantly lower number of water blocks being produced they don't benefit from massive scaling the same. When it comes to gpu waterblocks they are even lower per sku parts being made, and due to complexity may require some rather involved milling

That's on the supply side. There has to be the demand to match, though.

1 hour ago, Airdragonz said:

You could ask the same question for almost any product out there, not just waterblocks. Same reasoning applies though; you got a niche market with buyers willing to pay exponentially more for diminishing returns. 

... and that there is the demand side  

Basically, people building custom loops are not going for value, so they are not as sensitive to prices as other PC part buyers.

[AlwaysFSX]

2 hours ago, spartaman64 said:

yeah but isnt a waterblock just two pieces attached together. id imagine the most complicated part is the microfins and those are just done by a machine. it seems like making heatpipes and then attaching fins to them would be more complicated

There is so much more that goes in to milling a water block that I already explained.

[Mick Naughty]

They are actually pretty cheap. Not sure what ones you are looking at.

[Dissitesuxba11s]

You also have to take into account labor rates at the countries where the blocks are made. Blocks made in China would be cheaper than the ones made in Slovenia (EKWB) and the US (Optimus).