Water cooling, pro's and con's

[Terryl]

OK just as the title says, water cooling....Do I need it?

Well it all depends on what your trying to do, if your a gamer then it may be a good idea, as some gaming PC's get quit hot, or if you do a ton of data processing, or handle and do a lot of video data it also would help.

The first thing to do is see if your computer's motherboard has any sort of CPU temperature indicators, I use Intel motherboards, they come with software and hardware to monitor the CPU temperatures.

The more data you crunch the hotter the CPU can get, most systems come with a standard CPU heat-sink and fan, in some cases this stock fan and heat-sink may not be enough to cool the system's CPU, when the CPU gets too hot it may slow down or even lock up.

Adding extra fans or a bigger CPU heat-sink can help, it all depends on what your doing with that system.

A standard water cooling setup would consist of a water block for the CPU, this replaces the fan and heat-sink, a pump to move the water around and a heat exchanger, this could be a passive one that uses convection to cool the water, or a fan assisted radiator like in a car or truck, and tubing to pass water back and forth.

Other items would be a water reservoir or expansion tank to hold more water, (it does over time evaporate) a flow indicator, (tells you that something is amiss, like a lack of water) and temperature sensors.

So lets look at the individual items.

First the CPU water block.

There are many types available for many types and brands of CPU's, I would not go with a cheap one as if it leaks your mother board could be ruined beyond repair. (I had one leak, it was covered under a warranty not to leak, so I got a new mother board)

Now these may also come with different sizes of hose options, it all depends on how much heat you need to dissipate, I went with 1/2 inch (12.7 mm) connectors and tubing, this kept things real cool even during the summer heat.(water cooled server is in the garage, it is a bit noisy)

The better water blocks can come with a pure copper CPU contact surface, some of the bigger $$$ ones can come with a silver CPU contact block, these cost a bit.(I went with the copper)

If your into the internal lighting of the case then some even come with LED lighting.

 

[Terryl]

Tubing, there are several sizes and types, I again would not skimp on the quality of the tubing, use good stuff, and good quality clamps, you don't want any leaks, and use stuff that will not kink, if you get a restriction with a kink you may have a CPU failure.

Pumps......Again many types and brands, some are quiet, some are high volume, the high volume types may not be as quiet as some of the lower volume pumps. It's again best to look at how much heat you need to dissipate and how fast. There are continuous duty pumps that will run forever and some that will turn on and off with the computer, it all depends on your application.

Heat exchangers...Or radiators.

Again several types, there are passive cooling towers that use convection cooling, these are very quiet but you may need several if you need to dissipate a lot of heat, then there are the forced air type, these can be mounted in a front slot where a CD rom drive would go, or back mounted where a fan would go, others are external and with fan forced cooling, these can get noisy if you use a lot of fans, you can get a single, dual or triple radiator, again it all depends on the heat.

So these are the 4 components of most water cooling systems, now for the extras.

Water reservoirs or expansion tanks.

Needed if your system is not going to be close by (in a closet) or in a remote location,(out in a garage or shed) the expansion tank will serve as a reservoir, so both would not be needed, but an expansion tank would only be needed if the water cooling system is a pressurized one.(some systems are some are not)

Flow indicators.

A nice thing to have as some will give you a visual indication that the water is there and flowing, also if your system is a bit low on water, this would show up as foaming in the flow if you use an additive coolant enhancer, some of this additive stuff comes with a dye, and also acts as an anti-freeze. (several colors to choose from)

Temperature indicators.

These can be mounted again where a CD rom would mount, others can be monitored by software, many types many options.

Cases.

Some PC cases are fitted out with water cooling input and outputs, you can look around for one to suit your needs.

Other items to cool.

Other heat sources in the computer like the RAM, Video card, hard drive and yes even the PC's power supply can be water cooled. all this depends on how much you want to spend, and if you can live without lights and food for a month or two.

Here is a good place to start with a water cooling system.

http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l1/g30/Liquid_Cooling.html

The cons.

Expensive, needs regular maintenance, can leak if not careful with the install, water cooling tubing can be munched on if you don't protect it, it can freeze if not used all the time and if the location gets cold enough, this is where you need to use the additive/anti-freeze.

You also have to be careful not to get air into the system, this can cause a total melt down, all air MUST be removed before starting up the system.

 

[battenfan]

I've found a used kit specially made for my motherboard for £50. It has 2 cpu blocks, a reservoir, a pump, a radiator, a radiator fan plus a small 50 mm fan that I'm not sure what it's for. Cooling the pump maybe?
It's an enclosed system so I can't refill it or even tell the liquid level but as I shake the reservoir it makes a squishing sound. Should I suspect that air is trapped? I can't see any leaks anywhere. Can I install it as it is and see what happens (monitoring the cpu temps) or should I take it apart and refurbish everything to make sure it's alright. As I don't have the original case, the radiator frame might not fit anyway.

 

[Terryl]

I would replace the hose with clear stuff, that way you can see if any air is getting pumped through the system.

Then replace the coolant with fresh stuff, and if your in an area that it could freeze if the heat in the building should fail replace it with stuff that has anti-freeze in it.

A web site called "Frozen CPU.com" has flow indicators that will tell you whats going on with the pump, if the pump fails your CPU is dead.

So I would try it out without installing it first, also make sure the resivore is a bit higher then the pump intake, this way it cant suck air if the fluid level gets low.

Here is one I setup, the reservoir is a bit higher then the pump, the blue thing at the front is the flow/level indicator, the silver box has the radiators inside, with fans at back sucking air through them.

The green stuff is the coolant, the spiral stuff on the hose is to keep it from kinking.

 

[Terryl]

It then enters the computer through a special card slot mount (this one is in a rack mount) and into and out of the water block.



This system has been online for about ten years without a single problem due to heat.