So from time to time I get the question; What do I think about water cooling?”
I work in a computer store where my boss, Dean know the level of intelligence of some clients. (Hi Dean!) More than often they come with really unintelligent questions. Water cooling is actually a legit question. About 5 to 10 years ago water cooling was definitely a way to go, due to the fact that manufacturers did not put the best cooling units on their components, but lately they have put more thought into it to increase performance. If you look at the more high-end gpu’s, you’ll see some pretty awesome cooling units. So this brings me to the question: To water cool, or not to water cool?
This discussion can go on for hours, but let’s put it in a nutshell. If your cpu and gpu does not reach temperatures of 80-90 degrees Celsius, then no. If you want a more quiet pc and you have a few bucks to spend then water cooing may work for you. Some closed loop systems offering a 2-year hassle free warranty might be ideal.
On the other hand if you are a high overclocking gaming enthusiast, then you cannot go wrong with water cooling. Open loop water cooling.
On the left is closed loop, and on the right is open loop. (Images just dragged of Google, so credit to those who uploaded it)
Open loop water cooling usually involves custom building your system and also probably losing the warranty on your components. But in return you get a insane looking build that will lower the heat up to 20%, depending on the components.
With the open loop system, you remove all the fans and noise so it will run much quieter. Most of the things you need will be available online. This will include the reservoir for the liquid, pumps, pipes, radiator and of course the blocks.
Like I said, most cooling units on the components it pretty sufficient, but most can be turned into water cooling. This involves removing current heat sinks and fans, then replace them with cooling blocks and brackets to fit the pipes to it.
The more important units will the pump. If the pump is not strong enough it will obviously not do a great job removing the heat from the units. Secondly is the radiator. The bigger and better the radiator, the better the fan can remove the heat. Consider the law of area over effect, with a bigger radiator, a single fan at 800 rpm can do the job. Of course this dependent of the units in your system.
With the open loop system the color management can also be custom build 100% to your taste, with copper units to black and white and even acrylic. Color of the fluid can vary from neon colors with a UV light or any color of your choice. Of course most units will be copper unless indicated that it is nickle. Copper is mainly used to improve heat dissipation and the fact that it is less visible inside a case. With the gpu, there is two different back plates to choose from. The more half plate that just covers the main heat generating part of the gpu, and then the full plate that covers the whole pcb, These boards are created in reference with the gpu manufacturers to fit most boards.
Also when buying the components for the water cooling try to get the same brand, as the brackets will all sync with each other and with that you cannot damage any units, due to the fact that the threads just stop at their limit and you cannot go past it.
So in the end, custom open loop water cooling will be the way to go if you overclock and after-market air coolers just doesn’t cut it. Keep in mind an operation like this can go up to R 5000 on a full water cooling system. But in return you get a super cool, super quiet pc, jealous friends and some cred when you go to lan parties.
Like I said before, when customizing units you will lose the warranty most probably so do enough research with the experts before starting a project like this.
Anyway people, I hope you enjoyed my blog and if so, please hit the like button below.
I hope you all have a great day tomorrow, as I am at work and my boss Dean have his day off.
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