Is there someway to hybrid liquid cool a CPU?

The alternative to direct air cooling

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WildWhite
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Joined: Mon Sep 04, 2017 8:04 am

Is there someway to hybrid liquid cool a CPU?

Post by WildWhite » Wed Sep 06, 2017 7:48 am

This exist for GPU's the on board fan, or duel fans working in synergy, but its better in my case for a silent build. Im guessing there is some exotic block somewhere that I dont know the term for because I havent found it. Corsair did something they call a hybrid cpu cooling for SFF, but its really more a small water cooling setup.

lodestar
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Re: Is there someway to hybrid liquid cool a CPU?

Post by lodestar » Wed Sep 06, 2017 8:15 am

There is always the issue of pump noise but assuming this can be kept to an absolute minimum the remaining need is for 0db radiator fans. This was hard to do except for certain motherboards and/or fan software combinations. Now however with the recent release of the EK-Vardar EVO ER fans in 120mm and 140mm sizes there is a potentially universal solution. According to the manufacturer "...EK-Vardar EVO ER features a unique Start-Stop function which ensures the user a true 0db noise environment. When fan curve is set with the minimum threshold point below 25-30% PWM duty cycle (depending on motherboard model), the motor and the electronics will turn off and the fan will simply stop spinning. EK-Vardar EVO restarts operation automatically as fan control ramps up its operational duty cycle past threshold start-stop point. This feature is very useful for preventing radiator dust buildup in idling PCs and to prolong the lifecycle of the fan itself. ...".

This review suggests they may be more suitable for lower powered setups. Motherboard fan control capabilities would still be a factor, but the major brands such as Asus, Asrock and Gigabyte should all offer enough BIOS and/or software control to enable the 0db fan feature to be configured for as quiet a system as possible.

Olle P
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Re: Is there someway to hybrid liquid cool a CPU?

Post by Olle P » Thu Sep 07, 2017 12:41 am

I've seen hybrid cooling some (10?) years ago. Somebody made a water block with cooling fins. Test result was that the cooling fins added no extra cooling and it wasn't worth the effort.
When water cooling the CPU you still need some airflow to cool VRMs, chipset, RAM and everything else though. So in some respect even the regular airflow through the case can be seen as using "hybrid" cooling...
lodestar wrote:... the remaining need is for 0db radiator fans.
Why would you put fans on the radiator if you want it to stay quiet? Just use a radiator designed to be used without fans. One huge advantage with water cooling is that there are principally no size constraints for the radiator. Cover half the wall of your room with it, if required to went off several kilowatts of heat from the computer...

WildWhite
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Re: Is there someway to hybrid liquid cool a CPU?

Post by WildWhite » Fri Sep 08, 2017 5:19 pm

Olle P wrote:I've seen hybrid cooling some (10?) years ago. Somebody made a water block with cooling fins. Test result was that the cooling fins added no extra cooling and it wasn't worth the effort.
When water cooling the CPU you still need some airflow to cool VRMs, chipset, RAM and everything else though. So in some respect even the regular airflow through the case can be seen as using "hybrid" cooling...
lodestar wrote:... the remaining need is for 0db radiator fans.
Why would you put fans on the radiator if you want it to stay quiet? Just use a radiator designed to be used without fans. One huge advantage with water cooling is that there are principally no size constraints for the radiator. Cover half the wall of your room with it, if required to went off several kilowatts of heat from the computer...
Did the fins have a fan on them directly like most aircooling setups? You can water cool VRM and ram as well, I hope to do that, vrm in particular.

Im aiming for a small form factor in my setup, and while doing what you say makes since, I really dont know what I am doing.

Olle P
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Location: Sweden

Re: Is there someway to hybrid liquid cool a CPU?

Post by Olle P » Sun Sep 10, 2017 11:05 pm

WildWhite wrote:Did the fins have a fan on them directly like most aircooling setups? ...
Yes. The cooling block was pretty much a standard solid metal heatsink, typical at the time, with holes for the water drilled through the base.

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