Water cooling..

[Cobra88GT]

I am interested in doing a water cooled upgrade when I buy my new case. I am looking into the Acrylic Clear ATX. I also figured since I was getting a new graphics card (again) I would go with water cooling.

Couple of questions, is it worth it? Has anybody had any accidents meaning any leaks?

Thanks

[borbosha]

I have been running water cooling since about 2002 or 2003. As long as you build it correctly it is well worth it.

My processor stays far cooler with water cooling than with air cooling and overall my case is quieter (dual 7800gt's being the loudest part).

If you are looking for some very good insight into water cooling then check out http://www.ocforums.com

They have a huge board dedicated to water cooling with all kinds of reviews and results from different water cooling systems both pre-built and home made.

If you really want to go crazy, and can afford it, then check out the extreme cooling board. They have everything there from peltier cooling to phase change cooling which can get your processor temps down to -20°C.

Oh and in the 3+ years that I have been running water cooling I have only seen one incident with a friends computer where his water got on the back of his vid card while it was running. He was using de-ionized water which prevented anything bad from happening since de-ionized water has the lowest conductivity of any water (almost none if it's good quality).

Good luck if you decide to go with this form of cooling. Once you get to the point of trusting it completely it is a great method of cooling and will keep your gear in great shape for a long time.

[Cobra88GT]

Thanks for the info. I will probably do it when I get my new case.

[Paradigm Shifter]

You could try using Flourinert instead of water (it's non-conductive)... I think I'll try that route, when I watercool... :)

[borbosha]

There are alternatives but for the most part they are too expensive.

Water cooling systems don't really have issues unless you don't know how to clamp down hoses. The biggest problem with water cooling is if you don't add some sort of additive like anti-freeze or water wetter then you can start to grow algae in your system.... not good.

[Paradigm Shifter]

Indeed - my lab has just experienced that from a particularly hardy bug that can grow even when there are anti-algae/anti-bacterial agents in the water. :evil: Bloody thing...

After that, I thought that Flourinert might solve problems - nothing can grow in it, and it won't knacker hardware if it does leak. However, it's also less viscous than water, so if there any leaks, then it'll find 'em - no worries. :lol:

[borbosha]

lol

I always go with de-ionized water with water wetter to keep algae from growing and to add to the viscosity of the water. Seems to work pretty well and it give the water a nice little pinkish red glow that reacts to UV.

[FramerateUK]

Id love to go watercooled (i cant stand noisy PC's, hence the XPC :)) but ive got one more year of uni left, and with travelling back and fore with the PC, im afraid it would end up getting damaged.

[Gilly]

my input on the WC... the best CPU block for mid to high flow is the swifty storm rev2, you dont need a fancy bix (black ice extreme) radiator like mine - a heater core will perform very well. GPU blocks, the Silverprop is best for GPU alone, then the MCW60 swifty, then MCW50 then maze4 (from what i have seen). I would also like to point out, i am running 25% antifreeze, 75% distilled water, working like a champ when it was installed, on my backup rig for now to allow me to assemble the gamer ;) :)

HTH, Gilly

[borbosha]

I personally use only danger den blocks. I prefer the way they look and the options you have with them. Though they aren't the best performers they are very nice looking and when you have a window and can see the block it helps.

The maze 4 is a very nice CPU block. Great performance.

Also, with the water pumps, don't look for the highest GPH but rather the amount of head that it puts out. I recently learned this and will be upgrading to a small pump that has a lower GPH but has a very high PSI so it will out performe my current pump.

[Cobra88GT]

All great information, thanks! I figured that it would be great to have it when I upgrade my graphics card/case/power supply. Obviously it will be the power supply and graphics card. The case is last on the list.

[Paradigm Shifter]

Given the price and performance of the Accelero X2 and the Freezer 64 Pro (by Arctic Cooling) I'm tempted to try them as my last air cooled setup - if it isn't quiet enough, I'll go water cooling in the summer.