cons to water cooling

The alternative to direct air cooling

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

Post Reply
SungHyun7
Posts: 149
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2002 1:45 pm
Contact:

cons to water cooling

Post by SungHyun7 » Sun Dec 15, 2002 8:46 am

okay... my wait is almost over, and my patience is drying up extremely fast. i start to think this wait isn't really worth $100 or two benzamin's i would save by waiting for post christmas discount.

well before i go spend $300 on cooling system, i like to ask for your general opinion from reading around the web what are the cons to water cooling system?

my only reason for water cooling is only one-fold--noise reduction.

i realize panaflo @ 5v wouldn't be enough to cool my processor 3-5yrs down the line (3ghz++)... so i'm opting for water instead.

cons i've familiarized myself:
1. leak - okay as long as everything is tightly connected with recommended tubes and connector parts from reputable sources.
2. mold - should be okay as long as i mix that commercialized solution into my cooling water.
3. pump noise - completely eliminated as long as i decouple it from the case.
4. radiator fan - thinking of doing it passively with p4 2.4ghz + radeon 9500 pro + drive..

Asmordean
Posts: 36
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2002 10:12 pm
Location: Calgary - Canada

Post by Asmordean » Sun Dec 15, 2002 9:52 am

1. Use metal tube straps and leaks aren't an issue. Make sure you tape the strap with black electrical tape first to prevent the strap from cutting the tube. Zip ties are not a wise choice IMO. Leaks aren't an issue for me.
2. Use a disinfectint in your water. Iodine, chlorine, or a quantinary solution. Chlorine is the cheapest. Use about 20ppm.
3. Submerge and suspend the pump in your resivoir. I've only ever used two but I can tell you that the Hagen Laguna Stat3 is more quite than a ViaAqua 1300.
4. Use a large resivoir. I have a 16L res. With a small heater core and a 5V 92mm fan blowing on it, it makes no noise. It has enough heat capacity for about 10 hours of running my 2400+ and 2.2GHz and a Ti4200. If I kick the fan up to 8v I can run forever but it is noisy. Takes about 5 hours to cool the water back down with the fan/pump running or about 10 without.

Other cons:
1. You can't move your case around a lot.
2. Water isn't a 'do it and forget' system. You need to check up on it every week or two to make sure that everything is good.
3. If you mix metals then you are asking for it. Keep it copper/copper (or brass) or aluminum/aluminum.
4. Coolent might become costly. If you run distilled water with antifreeze and a large res. It could set you back $10-$20 just to get it going. I personally run plain old tap water with a quatinary disinfectent. No nasty bacteria growth but I do get some buildup. Every month I drain the res and fill it to 1/4 with a little CLR. I let it run for about an hour then drain and refill. The insides of my block are still shiny and smooth. Be careful though, CLR is caustic.
5. Last but not least - It becomes almost impossible to use anyone else's PC or other people are green with envy of yours. My PC is so quiet now that my HDD spinning is the only clue that it is on and even that is a Maxtor fluid bearing drive with acustic sendings set on low.

MikeC
Site Admin
Posts: 12285
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:26 pm
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Contact:

Post by MikeC » Sun Dec 15, 2002 9:56 am

My PC is so quiet now that my HDD spinning is the only clue that it is on and even that is a Maxtor fluid bearing drive with acustic sendings set on low.
So what did you do with your PSU?

SungHyun7
Posts: 149
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2002 1:45 pm
Contact:

Post by SungHyun7 » Sun Dec 15, 2002 11:19 am

what seems to be the problem? i figured if i have it setup tight and sealed (i plan to seal up the reservoir as well; i can then run it forever just like i would with a fan.

why clean it every week or evey other week? i think if you add one of those additives, then it should prevent any algae growth or build-up especially in a sealed system...

what definitely requires maintenance? if i must clean it every now and then, water cooling doesn't seem like a viable option for me....

GamingGod
Posts: 2057
Joined: Fri Oct 04, 2002 9:52 pm
Location: United States, Mobile, AL

Post by GamingGod » Sun Dec 15, 2002 2:11 pm

i hear u i dont want a computer that i have to check on either, lazy is the only way to go! :)

Asmordean
Posts: 36
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2002 10:12 pm
Location: Calgary - Canada

Post by Asmordean » Sun Dec 15, 2002 10:06 pm

My PSU? Why I removed one fan (Enermax 365VE) and replaced the other with a slower NMB fan. Runs a little bit warmer but otherwise fine. It hasn't hiccupped in a month now.

Asmordean
Posts: 36
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2002 10:12 pm
Location: Calgary - Canada

Post by Asmordean » Sun Dec 15, 2002 10:10 pm

SungHyun7 wrote:what seems to be the problem? i figured if i have it setup tight and sealed (i plan to seal up the reservoir as well; i can then run it forever just like i would with a fan.

why clean it every week or evey other week? i think if you add one of those additives, then it should prevent any algae growth or build-up especially in a sealed system...

what definitely requires maintenance? if i must clean it every now and then, water cooling doesn't seem like a viable option for me....
If you seal it, you could probably fire and forget.

For me, silence was the goal. A little maintance is worth not hearing my computer.

Even with a sealed system I would still look in on it every so often. Look for signs of leaks, kinks, check to see if the pump is running fine.

Jaeger
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2002 10:11 am

Post by Jaeger » Mon Dec 16, 2002 2:33 am

I got a sealed water cooled system and it has some microscopic leaks that I haven't been able to fix (used epoxy to cover the bolt edges and it still leaks). The waterblocks leak from the locations where the water channels have been drilled.

The leak is so slow that no water actually is seen outside the system but the water level qoes down very slowly. I only found them by using fluoricent additive and an UV light. It means that the system is not totally maintenance free, it causes no problems though.

Oh, and it's good idea to use distilled water in the system. Microbes, etc. don't like it so much and it conducts electricity less than normal water.

Sami

Jaeger
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2002 10:11 am

Post by Jaeger » Mon Dec 16, 2002 2:35 am

If you have any questions about watercooling check this thread at futuremark's forum (was mad onion). Possible the best faq on watercooling.

http://discuss.futuremark.com/forum/sho ... ber=687640

Sami

Post Reply