Water Cooling

[Viper-Inc]

Hey guys. I am thinking of getting this.

http://www.gamedude.com.au/prod_show...=coTHbig_water

But do not know a few things.

A) how to go about installing
B) usage (how it all works, how to setup the water n special stuff.)
C) how long (hours/days roughly) the Thermal Conductivity Fluid lasts
D) if Thermal Conductivity Fluid has an expire date
E) if you mix some Thermal Conductivity Fluid with water of you just use straight Thermal Conductivity Fluid.

Cheers guys, just wanna make my new pc awesome n want to cool it with this rather than 8 fans.

EDIT: Also. how would i go about changing the colour of the water to say a red?

[Malignus Wingnut]

So I'm not a total expert on water cooling, but I'll give it a shot:

A) The installation involves mounting the radiator somewhere, unless it's the kind that just sits off to the side of the computer. Then you will need to mount the water reservoir and pump - sometimes inside the case if it can fit, or you can put it on top of the case. Then you have to mount the waterblocks, on top of the Processor and video card, for the video card you will remove the heatsync / fan from the card and replace it with the waterblock. For the processor, you will remove the heatsync/fan and replace w/ waterblock. Some watercooling kits have attatchments for hard drives / ram, read the manual for how to install that. Finally comes the installation of the tubes connecting the water blocks to the pump and to eachother and to the radiator.

B)The water cooling works like this: The point of fans in your computer is to move the hot air away from your components and eventually, outside of the case. Water is extremely good at absorbing heat, better than air. The pump circulates the water through the waterblocks on your processor and video card. The water absorbs the heat, and then travels to the radiator, which works like the radiator on a car, and transfers the heat from the water back to the air / metal of the radiator. The water is now cool(er) again and returns to the pump. The water is just plain water to my knowledge, some people use distilled water. You can also use liquids that are non-conductive instead of water if you're afraid of it breaking somehow and destroying your computer. I've never looked into these liquids, so you'd have to do some research.


--I AM ASSUMING THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY LIQUID = What is used for the liquid part of liquid cooling--


C) Probably forever, since it will not get dirty in it's trip around your computer, and all it does is heat up and cool down.

D)Probably not.

E)Well, ideally the stuff you want going around your computer should be completely non-conductive, as if for some reason it cracks, your computer is destroyed if it's real water. So if you mix water with whatever this liquid you're talking about it, you will have just made the stuff conductive.

F) To change the water color - add dye. You can also do something cool - mount a blacklight in your computer, and put tide (yeah, the stuff you clean clothes with) in the water. Tide has fluorescent dyes in it and will glow under a blacklight.



And a note - I noticed from the picture the kit ONLY has a processor waterblock. I don't know if that's truly all it has, but you really want one that has a video card water block as well, otherwise it kinda defeats the purpose of the cooling.

Anyway, if anyone can answer the questions better than me, go for it, just wanted to help out. Good luck man.

[Rankenphile]

As far as changing the color goes, don't expect dark colors - I've never seen a passable red that looked any good, and dark blues are about the same. Most reds come out rather pink.

I'm very happy to be proven wrong, however.

[Viper-Inc]

ok, thanks guys.

On my case i am pretty sure it has 2 intake, 1 @ side, 1 @ front and two outtake at the back.

I do not really want to touch the video card as i have never worked with/dismounting any cards before and seeing as it is a 7800GTX i might wait a while before touching it if u know what i mean.

I mainly want it for the CPU so i don't need so many more fans running around clogging up the case and therefore causing more heat than necessary.

Will the 2 intake and 2 outtake cool the video card enough? because the video card has it's own as well.

How would i go about testing the tubing for leaks when i get it?
Just run water through it and block both ends with fingers and see if any leaks out the sides. or is there a better way.

Wont the water get dirty and have to be replaced after a period of time? If so, how long. This is my main concern. i run out of fluid not knowing when to get another 1 (i am getting a spare bottle when i buy pc n gear)

[Malignus Wingnut]

As far as testing goes Hook it all up and let it run (not attatched to PC at all), and just let it sit for a couple days, then look at the results.

Heh I understand your concern about video card. If you just examine the card you can see the places where the sync come off - it's really not hard, and as long as you're grounded when touching it you're not endangering it.

Depending on what brand of 7800gtx you have, the fans should be enough. Don't expect to overclock it too much though, although some stock coolers on certain brands are actually pretty good.

Well, the liquid will be confined inside the tubes and equipment of the cooling system. Presumably when you buy something it should be clean...so it really shouldn't pick up any sort of dirt at all. If you ARE using water however, and not whatever cooling liquid you plan on buying, algae will grow in it, BUT since you are planning on using a special non-water fluid, you should be fine. Read the bottle and see what it says though.