Question about water cooling

[Elenril]

I've heard of water cooling, but how does it work? Can anyone tell me in simple terms? I'm probably a lot more of a computer n00b that everyone else here...

I'm doing a case mod, here is the link to the thread: http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7815

I was hoping to add a pond onto the 'garden' area on the top, and it was suggested that I could make it into a water cooling reservoire. It sounds like a great idea, but the only problem is, I don't know what a water cooling reservoire is.

Can anyone help me out here?

[MaxOC]

ah okay yeah that project, water cooling is basically well ill try to explain it

okay a water cooling system consists of 4 basic parts,
the resivoir, the part that holds the water, it can also be used as a radiator, the part that cools the water
http://www.gen-x-pc.com/images/Thermaltake_BigWater_Radiator.jpg
the pump, the device that moves the water through the tubing system
http://deron.meranda.us/casemod/avocet/water-pump/pump-side_s.jpg
the water blocks, the parts that you put on what ever part you are trying to cool, ex: cpu, video card, NB, SB
http://www.quietpc.com/uk/images/res_cpu2.jpg
and of course the tubing, that shouldnt need explaining just carries water from component to component

okay now to how it works, the entire system is filled with water with no air bubbles whatsoever, makes for bad cooling
the liquid goes from the resivior/radiator to the pump, the pump then pushes the liquid to the cpu/vga/ w/e block, there it collects the heat from the block and transfers it to the liquid coolant the coolant is now semi hot so and gets pushed up to the resivoir/radiator, at that point the rad/res cools the liquid by having air pass through fins cooling them down, these fins are internally connected to the passing water and take the heat out of the liquid and transfer it to them selves thereby dissapating the heat into the surrounding passing air.

hope that's enough of an in depth description, if not just type liquid cooling into wikipedia.org

[Bucko]

Put simply water cooling is a system much like a car uses to cool the engine.
It has an enclosed system that has the coolant flowing through.
On the CPU a thing called a waterblock in put on top instead of a fan and heat sink.
The water is pumped through this copper waterblock and it transfers the heat with the coolant to the radiator and the liquid is cooled there before being pumped around again.
The water pump is just that, a small electric pump to keep the liquid flowing.
The reservoir is there to allow the system to have some extra coolant in the system.
Having it as a pond on top is not a good idea if you are thinking of having it open.
If it had some perspex over it, so none could spill out and also stop things falling in the coolant, maybe it might work.
Water cooling isn't cheap though and it will add a lot of extra time setting it up for you project.

[MaxOC]

lol i think me and bucko combined should have that covered,
HAHA mine has pics:) lol

[Zephik]

This might help you understand it a little more.

Beginners Guide to Watercooling (http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/03/28/a-beginners-guide-for-watercooling-your-pc/) - By TomsHardware.com

[MaxOC]

oh fine then just post a link to the professional point of view lol yeah tom's hardware is a realy reliable source so if he says it its true

[Elenril]

hmm alright, thanks for your help guys, I think I understand it better now =] I guess if I have leftover money and time at the end of the project I'll add water cooling.. just for interest purposes, i dunno. My PC doesn't really need water cooling, because all the components are from the stone age.. Thanks again!

[MaxOC]

yeah itd look real cool though, all you gotta do is seal off that pond with some plexiglass and use blue coolant, and if you position the tubes right itll look like an actual pond