Water cooling

Post by **Metis** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 10:08 am

I never used it before but right now my computer is to loud and its annoying. I figured I have 2 choices replace all the fans with ones that will run very quiet or go with water cooling. Like I said I never used it and I don’t know anyone that does so heres my questions:
How difficult is it to install?
Can it also be used on a video card at the same time?
Once installed how many fans should there still be for the HD or can you put those on heatsinks and remove all the fans?
Suggest brands and costs?

So if anyone that uses or knows about it your input would be appreciated.

Post by **shield** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 10:40 am

I've been thinking along these lines too. My main machine is very lound. However since building that one, I've built others with quiter fans and their is a very big difference in noise levels.

Having said that, I've been very tempted by water cooling. You'll have to let me know how it goes if you go ahead. I seen water cooling kits on the web, I've considered these before.

Post by **DM Sun Tzu** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 11:47 am

Although i haven't installed one yet, i've been looking at water coolers for a couple years. There are coolers available for video cards and for the support chips, as well as the cpu itself.

Here is an interesting link, old but still useful.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2001/05/28/a_home/

JesterOI · Post by **JesterOI** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 2:24 pm

Doing some searching through here should no doubt find you some good info: http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/

Be sure to check the archives as well.

kingfatzo · Post by **kingfatzo** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 7:05 pm

personally, i am too paranoid to have water running near/around my computer components

...tho i have heard good things about it from friends...

i just put music on, if the whirring of fans starts to get to me

Aarkon Draco · Post by **Aarkon Draco** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 7:17 pm

alien ware has been a water cooled system line for a coupple years now and i havent heard any negative reports on its effects or performance ... just its price lol 2500 to 4000 for a puter from them

mgrjebbo · Post by **mgrjebbo** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 7:48 pm

i have heard good things about gel cooling aswell.

Liquid submersion cooling
An uncommon practice is to submerse the computer's components in a thermally conductive liquid. Personal computers that are cooled in this manner do not generally require any fans or pumps, and may be cooled exclusively by passive heat exchange between the computer's parts, the cooling fluid and the ambient air. Extreme density computers such as the Cray-2 may use additional radiators in order to facilitate heat exchange.

The liquid used must have sufficiently low electrical conductivity in order for it not to interfere with the normal operation of the computer's components. If the liquid is somewhat electrically conductive, it may be necessary to insulate certain parts of components susceptible to electromagnetic interference, such as the CPU.[1] For these reasons, it is preferred that the liquid be dielectric.

Liquids commonly used in this manner include various liquids invented and manufactured for this purpose by 3M, such as Fluorinert. Various oils, including but not limited to cooking, motor and silicone oils have all been successfully used for cooling personal computers.[2]

Evaporation can pose a problem, and the liquid may require either to be regularly refilled or sealed inside the computer's enclosure.

check this out... http://www.on10.net/Blogs/laura/4352/

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... pNo=664350

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... ?CatId=499

randdo · Post by **randdo** » Wed Nov 15, 2006 9:22 pm

Water coolers use a rad and fan idea. In the end the fans will eventualy wear out. If your computer is getting "loud" that's because the fans are finished. They are all bearingless, so the smaller tha fan the less material there is, the easier it will wear. They need replacement on a semi-regular basis. I have to replace mine on both the video card and main cpu chip about every six to twelve months, because dust builds up so bad that it puts a load on the fan and wears them out that much faster.

Fans cost between $5 to $15 depending on the make. They are easy to replace. Takes but a few minutes and saves on a ton of grief. One of the worst things that can happen to your system is "over heat".

JesterOI · Post by **JesterOI** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 1:08 am

Vantec Stealth fans are cheap and fairly quiet.