Any idea how the water cooling for PC works? I know there is pipes only, but i need more details.

I want upgrade this year PC, and got dilemia to invest for water cooling or not?

6 years ago

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If you're just starting out with water cooling, you can get self-contained liquid cooling systems. I got this one when I built my PC last May: Corsair - H55 57.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler. It's worked quite well so far, and it was a relatively simple installation.

Maybe next time I build a rig I'll have a bit more time and money to invest in putting a custom liquid cooling system in, but I'm happy with this.

6 years ago
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how long do self-contained systems last typically? i havent looked into it for a long time, but the last time i DID (years ago) they felt like a relatively temporary kinda deal... i think thats whats mostly put me off of water cooled systems is the maintenance and how long the stuff lasts.. compared to traditional fan cooling which is really really low maintenance and lasts pretty much forever.

6 years ago
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I have the Cooler Master - Nepton 240M and haven't needed to touch it since I installed it 3 years ago.

6 years ago*
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Pretty much as long as the pump lives. Usually in the 3-5 year range, but if you are lucky, it can last as long as a simple air cooler.

Of course, when a traditional cooler's fan dies, the heatsink can still keep the CPU cool enough to let you save everything and shut down the computer. If the water pump dies, it reaches the temperature threshold in seconds and the motherboard shuts itself off.

6 years ago
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I've had a Corsair H80 now for about 6.5 years and still going strong, needs a clean now n then to make sure fans n radiator don't get dust build up.

6 years ago
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6 years ago
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Nowdays water cooling uses liquids wich have 0 conductance.

6 years ago
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After a while the coolant becomes conductive simply because it comes in touch with the metals inside the loop.

6 years ago
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It just uses water to take heat from place its hard to handle (middle of your motherboard) to a place its easy to disperse eg outside the case. Water heats/cools easily so its pretty simple to do.

Unless you have extreme overclocking plans or high silence requirements don't bother. You will add complexity to your computer and expose it to flooding risk for little gain (not to mention price).

6 years ago
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Water cooling is a stone age now.)

Usualy WC using entusiasts who do extreme overclocking or just want to reduce noise from air cooling, or want to make custom PC with good look. It is expencive and need to be more careful in maintance.)

6 years ago*
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3M liquid

6 years ago
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As far as I know normal fan-cooling nowadays is basically as effective as water cooling - there ain't that much of a difference anymore in terms of effectivity. (Correct me if I'm wrong)

6 years ago
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Eh, almost. It used to be that where the effectiveness of fan cooling ended, the water-cooling has just started. Now they overlap, but the most expensive fan cooling is nowhere near in effectiveness of the most expensive water-cooling. Granted,high-end water-cooling is expensive as fuck too.
Generally, water is recommended for overclocking enthusiasts and for those who really want a quiet PC, or if they have room for a small case.

6 years ago
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oh, alright - thanks for the clarification, i didn't know that.

So you can basically say for "normal" gaming fan-cooling gets the top considering price-performance?

6 years ago
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Since the Cryorig H-series of fan coolers exist, yes.

6 years ago
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thanks again for the info :P
I personally "only" use an i5-7600 - so I never really bothered looking for a lot of CPU-fans ... got a cheap one "just-in-case" which seems pretty unnecessary tho

6 years ago
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I don't like the Intel stock coolers, they are small, but noisy and ineffective. The AMD Ryzen stock ones are waaaaaaaaaaay better. I'd buy some decent cooler for an Intel even if it is not overclockable.

6 years ago
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hmm gotta consider that when I buy my next cpu - even though that could take a bit more time since currently this one ain't giving me any problems yet :P
Like I said, I have a cheap cooler anyways (Alpenföhn Ben Nevis)

6 years ago
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The Maintenance for Water Cooling is so not worth it tbh x.x

6 years ago
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Closed-circuit pre-built kits should require no maintenance, in theory. Since nothing can get in the system, the pump could go on as long as the bearings last.

6 years ago
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Do i need replace the water? i never clean it for 2 year lul

6 years ago
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Depends from water you use. Some water can cause scum in system, it decrease effectivness.
Some water can errode tubes, rubber and valves and water will flow away or vaporise.

6 years ago
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  • If your aircooling system fails your computer might be slow or crash, but once you fix it you shouldn't have any lasting damage.
  • If your watercooling system fails everything in your computer is dead and you have to buy all new parts.

Watercooling is only for extreme overclocking and people who like to constantly mod their system and work on it. If you have to ask on a forum how it works you probably shouldn't spend money on it.

(You CAN use prebuilt selfcontained systems like some people have posted with slightly less risk and effort, but unless you NEED them you really shouldn't.)

6 years ago
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better use multiple fans

6 years ago
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Take the money you would spend on water cooling and spend it on a better graphics card/ another graphics card/ faster processor/ second (or third monitor)/ better monitor/ better case/ new keyboard/ whatever. Liquid cooling should only really be used if you are doing serious overclocking, so unless you already have the best of everything else and are desperate to get more FPS, or just want to do overclocking as a hobby, then there's other places to spend the money that will bring you more immediately gratifying results.

6 years ago
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+1

6 years ago
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You pour that water on heaty pc and that heat will stop heating boi

6 years ago
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Not worth It if you're starting in PC gaming. Cooler Master Hyper series (air) are cheap and a great option to swap the stock coolers, specially the ones that don't use copper.
Unless you're very limited with space. Then an AIO water cooler is a good option.

6 years ago
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If you're into gaming chances are your GPU will be the loudest thing in the system. Aftermarket CPU aircoolers can be really quiet and effective and you still need airflow going through the case to cool all the parts on your motherboard. A watercooler/radiator still needs airflow to get the heat away and in some cases the pumps are louder than a good fan or have an audio signature that can be annoying.
Generally it's just not worth the expenditure.

6 years ago
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Thanks for the opinions, yep i forgot mention i'm into gaming so that's why i asked.

Gonna then pass with water cooling.

6 years ago
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