Water cooling radiator. How to choose a liquid cooling system

In this article I will try to talk about my attempt to make a water cooling system for a processor at home. At the same time, I will describe the main points and technical subtleties using the example of my own experience. If you are interested in a detailed illustrated guide to the manufacture, assembly and installation of such a system, then welcome to cat.

Traffic, lots of pictures! Video of the manufacturing process at the very bottom.

The idea of ​​​​creating more efficient cooling for my home computer arose while searching for a way to increase the performance of my computer by “overclocking” the processor. An overclocked processor consumes one and a half times more power and heats up accordingly. The main limiter for buying ready-made products is the price, buying in a store. finished system water cooling is unlikely to cost less than a hundred dollars. Yes, and in the reviews there are budget systems liquid cooling not particularly praised. So it was decided to make the simplest SVO independently and at minimal cost.

Theory and assembly

Main details

• Water block (or heat exchanger)
• Centrifugal water pump (pump) with a capacity of 600 liters/hour.
• Cooling radiator (automotive)
• Expansion tank for coolant (water)
• Hoses 10-12 mm;
• Fans with a diameter of 120mm (4 pieces)
• Fan power supply
• Consumables

Water block

I wasn't trying to make anything complicated so I started making a simple water container with two holes for the tubing. The basis was a brass pipe connector, and the base was a copper plate 2 millimeters thick. Two copper tubes of the same diameter as the hose are inserted into the same plate from above. Everything is soldered with tin-lead solder. When making a larger water block, at first I didn’t think about its weight. Assembled with hoses and water on motherboard will hang more than 300 grams, and to make it lighter I had to use additional hose mounts.

• Material: copper, brass
• Connection diameter: 10 mm
• Soldering: Tin-lead solder
• Mounting method: screws to the store cooler mount, hoses are secured with clamps
• Price: about 100 rubles

Sawing and soldering

Pump

• Maximum productivity - 650 l/h.
• Water rise height – 80 cm
• Voltage – 220V
• Power – 6 W
• Price - 580 rubles

Radiator

• Tube material: copper
• Fin material: aluminum
• Size: 35x20x5 cm
• Connection diameter: 14 mm
• Price: 100 rubles

Airflow

• Material: Chinese plastic
• Diameter: 12 cm
• Voltage: 12V
• Current: 0.15 A
• Price: 80*4 rubles

Note to the hostess

power unit

• Tools and soldering iron
• Radio components
• Chip
• Wires and insulation
• Price: 100 rubles

Installation and testing

Hardware

• CPU: Intel Core i7 960 3.2 GHz / 4.3 GHz
• Motherboard: ASUS Rampage 3 formula
• Power supply: OCZ ZX1250W
• Thermal paste: AL-SIL 3

Software

• Windows 7 x64 SP1
• Prime 95
• RealTemp 3.69
• CPU-z 1.58

I didn’t have to test it for a particularly long time, because... the results did not even come close to the capabilities of an air cooler. The radiator of the air cooler has so far been blown by only two Chinese fans out of 4 possible, and they have not yet been spread wider than the plates for better ventilation. So, in energy saving mode and zero load, the processor temperature in air is approximately 42 degrees, and in a homemade air cooler it is 57 degrees. Running the prime95 test on 4 threads (50% load) warms up to 65 degrees in air and up to 100 degrees in 30 seconds in the air cooler. When overclocking, the results are even worse.

An attempt was made to make a new water block with a thinner (0.5 mm) copper base plate and almost three times more spacious inside, albeit from the same materials (copper + brass). The plates in the radiator were moved apart for better ventilation and two more fans were added, now there are 4 of them. This time, in power saving mode and zero load, the processor temperature in the air is approximately 42 degrees, and in a homemade air cooler it is approximately 55 degrees. Running the prime95 test on 4 threads (50% load) warms up to 65 degrees in air and up to 83 degrees in CBO. But at the same time, the water in the circuit begins to heat up quite quickly and after 5-7 minutes the processor temperature reaches 96 degrees. These are readings without overclocking.

Assembling the SVO was, of course, interesting, but using it for cooling modern processor failed. In older computers, a stock cooler works great. Maybe I selected low-quality materials or made the water block incorrectly, but it doesn’t seem possible to assemble a water block for less than 1000 rubles at home. After reading reviews of budget ready-made air coolers available in stores, I did not expect that my homemade product would be better than a good air cooler. I concluded for myself that it is not worth saving in the future on components for the air defense system. When I decide to buy an SVO for overclocking, I will definitely assemble it myself from separate parts.

Video

Water cooling of a computer can reduce the temperature of the processor and graphics card by about 10 degrees, which increases their durability. In addition, by reducing heat, the system is subject to less stress. This also allows you to relieve the fan, significantly reducing its speed, and thus obtain a virtually silent system.

Integrating water cooling is quite simple. We will tell you how to do this in our step by step guide. This article describes the installation water cooling using the example of a ready-made Innovatek Premium XXD kit and a Tower Silverstone TJ06 case. Installation of other systems is carried out in a similar way.

Water cooling installation

To successfully install a cooling system, you will need tools. We chose an extremely convenient swiss knife Victorinox Cyber ​​Tool Nr. 34. In addition to the knife itself, it includes pliers, scissors, a small and medium Phillips screwdriver, and a set of attachments. In addition, prepare wrenches 13 and 16. They will be needed to tighten the connections.

During the cooling cycle, the radiator ensures stabilization of the water temperature, usually at around 40° C. The heat exchanger is assisted by one or two 12 cm fans, which rotate quite quietly, but at the same time ensure that heat is transferred from the inside to the outside. When installing the fan, make sure that the arrow on the fan frame points towards the radiator, and also that the power wires converge towards the middle.

It's time to screw the corner tube connectors to the radiator. For reliability, tighten the union nuts with a 16mm wrench. Tighten firmly, but not all the way. After this, the radiator is mounted to the body. A single radiator (that is, with only one fan) can be installed below the front panel, in the place where the normal air supply is provided. In some types of cases, the space behind the processor may also be suitable for this.

Our dual dual radiator requires several more space, so we place it on the side wall. We recommend that only experienced craftsmen make the necessary sockets and holes themselves. If you do not consider yourself one of those, it is best to use a specially designed case for a specific type of cooling. Innovatek offers cooling systems complete with the housing - even in the assembled state if desired. For our project we chose the Silverstone TJ06 model with an Innovatek prepared sidewall.

Figure A: Place the side wall in front of you on your desktop with the narrow parts of the fan holes facing you. After this, place the radiator on the holes with the fans facing up. The corner connections of the hoses should be directed in the direction that will later be connected to the front panel of the housing. Now turn the side wall along with the radiator and connect the holes made on the body with the threads on the radiator.

Figure B: For added beauty, place two black plugs on top of the fan sockets and secure them with the eight included black Torx screws.

A standard fan is powered by 12 V. At the same time, it reaches the rotation speed specified in the specification and, thus, maximum volume. In a water cooling system, part of the heat is absorbed by the radiator cooler, so 12-
Voltage power supply for a couple of our fans is probably not needed. In most cases, 5-7 V is enough - this will make the system almost silent. To do this, connect the power connectors of both fans and connect to the included adapter, which will later be connected to the power supply.

Now we will talk about the graphics card, the main source of noise in most computers. We will equip the ATI All-in-Wonder X800XL model with water cooling for PCI Express. The cooling system is installed in a similar way on other models of video adapters.

Two more notes before you begin assembly. First: upgrading the graphics card will void the warranty, so before installation, check that all functions of the device are working. And second: when a person walks on a carpet, he is charged with static electricity and discharged when he comes into contact with metal (for example, a door handle).

If you run out of power on the graphics card, under certain circumstances it may die for a long time. Since you, like most non-professional assemblers, are unlikely to have an antistatic mat, place the video adapter only on antistatic packaging and periodically discharge it by touching the radiator.

Figure A: In order to disconnect the fan from the X800 series model we have chosen, you need to unscrew six screws. The two small screws holding the tension spring optimize the cooling block's pressure on the GPU, while the other four carry the full weight of the cooler. Even after all six screws are removed, the cooler will still be fairly firmly attached with heat transfer paste. Disconnect the cooler by smoothly turning it clockwise and counterclockwise.

Figure B: After you remove old system cooling, remove any remaining thermal paste from the GPU and other chips. If the paste doesn't come off, you can use a little nail polish remover. Naturally, the water cooling system also needs heat-conducting paste, so you need to apply a new one. The basic rule here is: less is more! A small drop distributed in a thin layer over the surface of each part is quite enough.

In fact, thermal conductive paste is a fairly mediocre heat conductor. It is designed to fill microscopic surface irregularities, since air conducts heat even worse. You can use an old business card as a miniature spatula to apply the paste.

Figure C: After applying the paste, put new cooler onto the work surface so that the connecting tubes are on top, and align the holes on the graphics board with the threads on the cooling block. The tension spring is replaced with a square plastic plate. To protect surrounding contacts, stick between printed circuit board and a plate, more precisely, directly to the 3D processor, a foam pad.

The new cooler is held in place by three supporting screws. Tighten them first, and, as when replacing a car wheel, do not tighten the screws all the way at first, and then tighten them one by one. This will help avoid distortions. After this, tighten the screws on the plastic plate in the same way.

The greatest amount of heat is most often produced CPU. Therefore, the cooling system, protecting it from overheating, is quite noisy. Replacing an air cooler with a water cooler is quite simple. First, carefully remove the air cooler from the processor. It is also necessary to overcome the resistance of the thermal paste with soft rotational movements left and right, otherwise the processor may jump out of the socket. After this, remove all old thermal paste.

Then unscrew the existing socket frame and replace it with a suitable frame for this type of processor from the water cooling kit. Before installing the cooler, apply a thin layer of thermal paste to the processor. Finally, secure the mounting brackets on both sides of the socket frame and flip the clamp.

The pump is a very important part of the system, so it must be placed on a pedestal - in the truest sense of the word. To do this, screw four rubber feet into the aluminum board. Rubber is used here to isolate the vibrations of the pump. Place the pump on these legs and secure it with the four washers and nuts provided. Tighten the nuts with small pliers.

Now it is necessary to equip the pump and compensation tank with connecting pipes. Tighten the connection with a size 13 wrench to secure the connection. Finally, connect the compensation tank to the rounded side of the pump. The pump is attached from the inside to the front panel of the housing, attached with adhesive tape so that the compensation tank “looks” outward (see Fig. 11).

After completing the installation of all components inside the housing, you need to connect them with hoses. To do this, place the open case opposite you and place the side wall with the radiator in front of it. The hose should go from the compensation tank to the graphics card, from there to the processor, from the processor to the radiator, and the circle ends with a connection between the radiator and the pump.

Measure the required length of the hose to be installed and cut it straight. Unscrew the union nut on the connection and bring it to the end of the hose being put on. After the hose is pushed onto the connection up to the thread, secure it with a union nut. Tighten the nut with a 16mm wrench. Your system should now look as shown in Figure 11.

9. Preparing the pump for filling with water

As shown in our picture, connect the pump to the power socket for hard drives. On at this stage Nothing else should be connected to the power supply. Now we are preparing the pump for filling with water. Other components cannot be connected without water in the cooling system, otherwise they risk instant overheating.

Since power supplies do not work without being connected to the motherboard, you must use the included jumper. The black wire is used to “deceive” the motherboard’s power supply. Thus, after turning on the toggle switch, the pump will start working. If you don't have a jumper at hand, short-circuit the green and adjacent black wires of the power supply (pins 17 and 18).

Fill the compensation container with liquid up to the bottom edge of the thread and wait until the pump pumps out the water. Continue the filling procedure until the bubbling in the system stops.

Check the connections for tightness. If a drop forms on any of them, it most likely means that the union nut is not tightened properly. If the system is filled with a sufficient amount of water, but bubbling continues, the following trick will help: take the side wall of the case with the radiator with both hands and shake it as if it were a frying pan over which you want to distribute hot oil. If after 15 minutes of operation all connections remain dry and no problems have arisen extraneous sounds, close the compensation container.

Now you can remove the jumper from the power supply and begin connecting the computer components. Installing a side wall with a radiator will require some skill. The gaps here are very small, and even a slightly incorrectly installed hose connection can interfere. In this case, you just need to turn the connection in the desired direction. Also, when closing the housing, pay special attention to the hoses so that none of them are kinked or pinched.

Quite recently, I wrote in some detail about assembling a new system unit. The resulting stand looked like this:

A thoughtful study of the list suggests that the heat dissipation of some devices is not just high, but VERY high. And if you connect everything as is, then inside even the most spacious case it will be at least hot; but as practice shows, it will also be very noisy.

Let me remind you that the case in which the computer is assembled is, although not very practical (although every time I am convinced of the opposite), but very presentable Thermaltake Level 10– he has his drawbacks, but for his appearance alone he can be forgiven a lot.

At this stage, the motherboard was installed in the case, a video card was installed in it - first in the topmost PCI slot.

Radiator/pump/tank installation

The water cooling system is very similar to the one used in cars, just a little larger - it also has a radiator (usually more than one), cooler, coolant, etc. But the car has one advantage - a solid oncoming flow of cold air, which plays a key role in cooling the system while driving.

In the case of a computer, heat must be removed by the air in the room. Accordingly, than larger sizes radiator and the number of coolers are better. And since you want a minimum of noise, effective cooling will be achieved mainly due to the surface of the radiator.

And the essence of the problem was as follows. On Skype, we previously agreed on the opinion “we’ll hang it on the back of the radiator in 2-3 sections - it’s more than enough!”, but as soon as we looked at the body, it turned out that everything is not so simple. Firstly, there really wasn’t enough space there for a three-section radiator (if you attach the radiator to the hole where the blow-out cooler of the case is supposed to be installed), and secondly, even if there was enough space, there would be no way to open the case itself - it would get in the way "door" of the system compartment :)

In general, we counted at least four options for installing a radiator in the Thermaltake Level 10 case - all of them are possible, each would require different quantities time and each would have its own pros and cons. I'll start with those that we considered, but which did not suit us:

1. Installation of the radiator on the rear (from the user) side, that is, on the removable door.
Pros:
+ Possibility of horizontal and vertical installation of any radiator, even for 3-4 coolers
+ The dimensions of the case would not increase much

Cons:
- You would have to drill from 4 to 6-8 holes in the door
- Removing the door would be very inconvenient
- With a horizontal arrangement, a radiator with a non-standard location of the hole for filling the liquid would be required
- If installed vertically, the hoses would be very long and with a large bend
- The case will be on my left (on the windowsill), and I don’t need warm air from the coolers in my face :)

2. Installing the radiator on top, on the “casing” of the power supply compartment. Pros and cons are identical

3. Installation of a two-section radiator inside the system compartment

Pros:
+ Ease of solution
+ Externally there would be no changes
+ The system compartment door would open without problems

Cons:
- Only a 2-section radiator would be suitable (this is not enough for the hardware config)
- In this case, there would be no place for the cold air to come from, and I didn’t want to push warm air back and forth.
- There would be difficulties in “arranging” the pump and reservoir
- Even if you use ultra-thin coolers, all SATA connectors would be blocked (if they were brought out to the user, and not to the side, then this problem would not exist)

In general, we tried all these options to one degree or another - we spent a lot of time searching for the necessary components, trying them on, etc.

The very last option was sufficient unusual solution- may not be the most beautiful at first glance, but really practical. This is the installation of a radiator on the back side of the case through a special adjustable adapter with a scissor-type mechanism.

Pros:
+ Didn't have to drill anything
+ Possibility to hang ANY radiator
+ Excellent airflow
+ Access to motherboard connectors was not blocked
+ Minimum hose length, minimum bends
+ The design is removable and transportable

Cons:
- Not the most presentable appearance :)
- Opening the system compartment door is no longer so easy
- Quite an expensive adapter

Why did we come to this option last? Because during the search for the previous three options, we completely accidentally found an adapter that everyone had forgotten about, and it wasn’t available in the online store) Looking at the only (last) copy of the mounting frame Koolance Radiator Mounting Bracket, I thought “Whatever they won’t come up with!” The point is this: 4 “cone nails” are inserted into the holes for attaching the rear blow-out cooler to the body, onto which a special frame is hung.

The design of this frame is such that its length can be changed by twisting the clamps, and it is removed by mixing two parts of its body (so that the holes open up and it can be removed from the “studs”) - I bent it!) It’s much easier to understand everything from the photo.

The frame is metal and very durable - I was convinced of this when we tested a 3-section (for 3 coolers) radiator. Nothing dangles or sways, everything hangs tightly, but in the “unclamped” case the door opened quite well - this option completely suited me!

There were a huge number of radiators to choose from - black, white, red... What surprised me most in this matter was the 4-section TFC Monsta, capable of removing up to 2600W of heat (this is apparently an SLI of four 480s)! But we are much simpler people, so we decided to stick with the radiator we tried on - Swiftech MCR320-DRIVE. Its advantage is that it combines three components at once - a radiator (MCR320 QP Radiator for three 120mm coolers), a liquid reservoir and a pump high pressure (MCP350 Pump, complete analogue"regular" pump Laing DDC). In fact, with such a piece of hardware for the SVO, you will only need to buy additional water blocks, hoses and other little things that we already had. The pump operates from 12V (from 8 to 13.2), producing a noise of 24~26 dBA. The maximum pressure created is 1.5 bar, which is approximately equal to 1.5 “atmospheres”.

There were three candidate coolers for the radiator: Noctua, Be Quiet And Scythe. As a result, we settled on Indonesian ones (with Japanese roots) Scythe Gentle Typhoon(120mm, 1450 rpm, 21 dBA) – these turntables have been in great demand among many users for several days. They are very quiet, and the quality of balancing of the bearings is simply amazing - the cooler will spin for an unnaturally long time even with the lightest touch. The service life is 100,000 hours at 30°C (or 60,000 hours at 60°C), which is enough to obsolete this system unit.

There was a review of these “typhoons” on the FC Center - I advise you to read it. On top of the coolers were placed protective grilles so that the child does not put anything vital into the ventilators.

Let's try the resulting design on the system unit - it looks very unusual) But look how convenient it is - to get inside the case (or remove the cooling system), you just need to press one “button” and the entire structure is, in fact, already disconnected. We compress the mounting frame and we have full access to the insides - it’s more than spacious, because we didn’t pile anything in there. Maybe I didn't describe the best convenient option, but... if you consider that after assembling the computer you will practically not have to climb inside, and good cooling is much more important, then I consider our decision to be correct.

The assembled structure weighs 2.25 kilograms, and with liquid and fittings, probably all 3 - looking ahead, the frame from Koolance was able to handle even this weight, for which it deserves respect and respect :)

Finish line

In addition to the fittings, special plugs were installed in two holes of the video card water block:

After that, we thought about the route along which the water would flow. The rule is simple - from less heated to more heated. Accordingly, the “output” of the radiator is connected first to the water block of the motherboard, from there the output goes to the processor, then to the video card, and only then back to the input of the radiator to cool. Since there is the same water for everyone, the temperature of all components will be approximately the same as a result - it is for these reasons that multi-circuit systems are made and it is for this reason that it does not make sense to connect all sorts of other ones to one circuit hard drives, RAM, etc.

The role of the hose went to red Feser Tube(PVC, operating temperature from -30 to +70°C, burst pressure 10 MPa), for cutting which a special predatory tool was used.

Cutting the hose straight may not be that difficult, but it is very important! Almost all hoses were equipped with special springs against bends and kinks in the hose (the minimum radius of the hose loop becomes ~3.5 cm).

On each hose (on both sides) in the fitting area you need to install a “clamp” - we used beautiful Koolance Hose Clamp. They are installed using ordinary pliers (with brute force), so you need to act carefully so as not to accidentally hit something.

It's time to work on connecting the "inner world" with the "outer world." In order to be able to remove the radiator-reservoir-pump (for example, to open the case or for transportation), we installed so-called “quick release valves” (quick-release valves) on the tubes, the principle of operation of which is outrageously simple.

When we turn the connection (like with BNC connectors), the hole in the tube closes and opens, thanks to which we can disassemble the “dropsy” in less than a minute, without any puddles or other consequences. A couple more expensive but great looking pieces of hardware:

Expenses

Such a high price in in this case caused by the fact that fullcover water blocks were used for VERY hot pieces of iron, all the heat from which must be dissipated by an appropriate radiator. For more simple systems such solutions are simply not needed, you can also do without decorative overlays and any quick-release valves - in such cases you can easily meet half the cost. The price of the average dropsy is 12-15 thousand rubles, which is 4-5 times higher than the cost of a really good processor cooler.

Switching on and working

The guy in the habramike is filling up the radiator)

Because It is impossible to exclude the possibility that something was connected to the computer components incorrectly; it was decided to separately check the operation of the water cooling system itself. To do this, all the wires (from the coolers and from the pump) were connected, and a paperclip was inserted into the 24-pin connector of the power supply - for “ idle speed" Just in case, we put napkins underneath to make the slightest leak easier to detect.

Press a button and... everything is as planned) Honestly, before this I had only seen dropsy (besides the Internet) at various exhibitions and competitions, where it was very noisy; therefore, I subconsciously prepared for the “murmur of a stream,” but the noise level was pleasantly surprising - for the most part, only the pump’s operation could be heard. Initially, there were “hissing” sounds - due to air bubbles located inside the circuit (they were visible in some places in the hoses). To solve this problem, the plug of the radiator tank was opened - the air gradually came out from the flow circulation and the system began to work even quieter. After adding fluid, the plug was closed and the computer worked for another 10 minutes. Noise was heard from the power supply cooler and the three on the radiator, although their air flows made themselves felt.

Having made sure that the system is fully operational, we decided to finally assemble test bench. Connecting the wires took no more than a minute - it took much longer to look for the monitor and the wire to connect it, because... everyone worked on laptops;) The phrase “ Reboot and select proper boot device or insert boot media in selected boot device and press a key" became a balm for the soul - we inserted one of the "working" SSD drives (with Windows 7 on board) - it’s good that new computer accepted this option. For complete happiness, we just updated the drivers for the chipset and installed the drivers for the video card.

Launching the diagnostic monster Everest, where on one of the tabs we find the temperature sensor readings: 30°C was valid for all system components - CPU, GPU and motherboard - well, very pleasant numbers. The equality of the numbers led to the assumption that cooling in idle mode is limited by room temperature, because the temperature in ordinary dropsy cannot be lower than this. In any case, it is much more interesting to see what the situation will be under load.

15 minutes " office work"and the video card temperature rose to 35°C.

We start by checking the CPU, for which we use the program OCCT 3.1.0– after enough for a long time in 100% load mode, the maximum processor temperature was 38°C, and the core temperature was 49-55°C, respectively. The motherboard temperature was 31°C, north bridge- 38°C, southern - 39°C. By the way, it is very remarkable that all four processor cores had almost the same temperature - apparently, this is the merit of the water block, which removes heat evenly from the entire surface of the processor cover. 50+ degrees for 4-core Intel Core i7-930 with a TDP of 130W – hardly any stock air cooler is capable of achieving such a result. And even if it is capable, then hardly anyone will like the noise from its operation (the Internet says about the temperature of this processor at 65-70 degrees with the Cooler Master V10 cooler - the one with the Peltier element).

Out of habit, the video card was warmed up with the program FurMark 1.8.2(in common parlance “bagel”) - it was hardly possible to whip up something more resource-intensive and informative.

In addition to Everest, the program was also installed EVGA Precision 2.0. At the maximum available resolution (with maximum smoothing), we ran a stress test with temperature logging - after just 3 minutes, the video card temperature settled at 52 degrees! 52 degrees under load for top-end (at at the moment) NVIDIA video cards GTX 480 on Fermi architecture is not just great, it's wonderful!)

For comparison, the temperature of a video card under load with a standard cooler can reach up to 100 degrees, and with a good non-reference cooler - up to 70-80.

In general, the temperature regime is in perfect order - under load, the coolers blow almost cold air out of the radiator, and the radiator itself is barely warm. I won’t talk about overclocking potential in this article, I’ll just say that it exists. But something completely different is much more pleasant - the system works almost silently!

The end

I forgot to write about another important plus - interestingness. This is probably the most interesting thing I've ever done with hardware - no other computer building has brought me so much pleasure! It’s one thing when you collect ordinary “soulless” computers, it’s a completely different thing when you understand all the responsibility and approach the matter with all your heart. Such work takes far from 5 minutes - all this time you feel like a child playing with an adult construction set. And also an engineer-technologist-designer-plumbing-designer, and just a geek... in general, the interest is greatly increased!

Greetings, dear reader!

If you have just recently learned about or heard about them before and would like to install them for yourself, but did not know where to start, then this article is just for you. In it we will talk about the most basic concepts, the main components of the SVO, as well as the nuances that will accompany the choice of certain components.

So, a complete set of components for a custom water cooling system consists of:

Let's take a closer look at them.

RADIATORS

There are a lot various types radiators, differing in size, structure, material of manufacture, but in general they are all very similar - and perform the same function - heat dissipation.

Radiators are made from two materials - aluminum and copper. Copper ones are more expensive than aluminum ones, and they are certainly better. But aluminum ones are not far behind them in the quality of heat dissipation, so large financial costs are not always justified. If your budget is limited and you don’t chase every degree of cooling or you have two or more 45mm thick radiators designed for 3 coolers, then you can choose aluminum options. Please note that the most famous companies mainly produce only copper options. If you still decide take copper, then one of the options is products from Alphacool, which probably has the most wide range copper radiators among all manufacturers specializing in air-conditioning components.

We've sorted out the materials, now it's time to talk about the main ones technical parameters any radiator - size and FPI.

The more radiator dimensions, the more ribs are present in its design. And this means that it increases heat dissipation area and the efficiency of the radiator increases. In most cases, larger radiators require less powerful fans, but to draw final conclusions, you need take into account FPI.

Parameter FPI characterizes the number of edges radiator per inch (density), which also affects the overall heat dissipation area. Radiators with high FPI are more difficult to move air through, which means they require more powerful fans. But if The radiator is big enough and it has a large number of densely spaced ribs, then this nuance is not so important, since in this case, most of the time the CBO is operating, fans may not be needed at all. You don’t need to look far for an example - my work computer at the beginning of the working day does not start the fans at all for about 2 hours, as this contributes to liquid temperature, which circulates along the system circuit.

WATER BLOCKS

This SVO element is issued for each PC component, one way or another exposed to heat during operation. The most common are water blocks for and. Basics difference between all water blocks among themselves lies in the main technical parameters: type channel system, way fluid supply, and also base material.

If you don't plan to fight for every fraction of a degree, then it's fine you can buy inexpensive ones, but proven, Chinese water blocks - the SVO with them will cool much more productively than any air cooler. For example, you can pay attention to models from Bykski, reviews and tests of which you can find on our website. If you need maximum performance and beautiful appearance, then it is preferable to choose something similar to new model water block from Alphacool, which is also on our website.

PUMP

Given water cooling system component is, in fact, its heart. That is, a vital element for work.

The main characteristics of a pump when choosing are: performance, measured in liters per hour, well, noise. Often, the more efficient the pump, the louder it runs. In the design of some pumps there is a PWM connector, allowing you to control the speed engine operation, thereby regulating performance and, accordingly, noise.

At minimum configuration of SVO(one water block per processor) and on a small budget, any pump with a declared performance of about 200 l/hour. After all, even in which the pump operates at 100 l/hour, they cope with their task quite well. If you are chasing performance and at the same time want the quietest possible operation, then the most acceptable choice is pump D5, but you need to take into account its relatively high cost. The manufacturer states that its average performance is about 450 l/hour, in fact, in a medium configuration circuit (a water block on the processor and another on the video card) it produces a confident 200 l/hour. The popularity of the D5 engine is supported by the fact that every famous manufacturer produces its own version of this pump, complete it with your top(lid), which brings individuality to the design, but at the same time the engine is the same - and it runs quietly, reliably and efficiently.

RESERVOIRS

Reservoir too is a mandatory element of the SVO. If you look at the above-mentioned maintenance-free SVO, they do not have a tank, but in their case the system is sealed and completely filled with liquid, that is, there is no air there. In custom coolant coolers, the reservoir serves to prevent the formation of air in the circuit, monitor the level of coolant and conveniently fill this same liquid into the circuit.

Tanks are produced mainly acrylic or glass. Glass ones are more expensive, but they are of better quality. For example, an acrylic tank may crack if during its installation apply more force than necessary and strongly twist its structural elements.

If you do not plan to do a modding project, then even the most small acrylic tank, since it can provide the basic functions. The only difference between the small one and the large one is that the small one needs to be filled with coolant.

FITTING

Ta small, but a very important part, without which not a single one would be able to function fully water cooling system. There are a lot of fittings and they differ in design, type of compatible hoses, material, etc. The most common are fittings for tubes 10/13, that is, with an internal diameter of 10 mm and an external diameter of 13 mm. There are fittings with nut(compression), and there are classic herringbone fittings(fittings) onto which the hose is simply put on and clamped with a bracket. In general, there are no special nuances regarding fittings. Just choose the one you need based on design, hose type, and material.

Types of fittings are adapters, which allow you to make a contour of the NWO more beautiful and rid him of the “vermicelli” from the tubes. After all, the tubes have a large bending radius and if a small transition is needed between the components of the CBO that are inconveniently located to each other, then adapters are a good solution.

HOSES

Also very important part liquid cooling systems. Allows you to connect all components of the SVO together. Hoses vary execution, material, diameter, colors. As mentioned above, the most widespread are hoses with diameter 10/13.

As for the material, hoses are made mainly made of PVC or silicone. PVC options are cheaper, but they have bend radius is larger and they will eventually become cloudy. Accordingly, when using silicone hoses you have more to do aesthetically beautiful outline, which is important in various modding projects.

COOLANT

She is coolant in the cooling water circuit. That is, she transfers heat from hot elements (water blocks) to elements that are warm scatter(radiators). Best used in circuit special profile liquid, but even distilled water can be suitable, which transfers heat better due to the lack of chemical additives, although it needs more frequent replacement.

Now you know basic information which will allow you to decide on complete with your first water cooling system. And if you want to know even more, then you can read the tests and reviews on our website And YouTube channel, and we are always open to your questions.

WITH video version This guide can be found below.

Main details

• Water block (or heat exchanger)
• Centrifugal water pump (pump) with a capacity of 600 liters/hour.
• Cooling radiator (automotive)
• Expansion tank for coolant (water)
• Hoses 10-12 mm;
• Fans with a diameter of 120mm (4 pieces)
• Fan power supply
• Consumables

Water block

The main task of the water block is to quickly remove heat from the processor and transfer it to the coolant. Copper is most suitable for these purposes. It is possible to manufacture a heat exchanger from aluminum, but its thermal conductivity (230 W/(m*K)) is half that of copper (395.4 W/(m*K)). The design of the water block (or heat exchanger) is also important. The heat exchanger device consists of one or more continuous channels passing through the entire internal volume of the water block. It is important to maximize the surface of contact with water and avoid stagnation of water. To increase the surface, frequent cuts are usually used on the walls of the water block or small needle radiators are installed.

I wasn't trying to make anything complicated so I started making a simple water container with two holes for the tubing. The basis was a brass pipe connector, and the base was a copper plate 2 millimeters thick. Two copper tubes of the same diameter as the hose are inserted into the same plate from above. Everything is soldered with tin-lead solder. When making a larger water block, at first I didn’t think about its weight. When assembled with hoses and water, more than 300 grams will hang on the motherboard, and to make it lighter we had to use additional fasteners for the hoses.

• Material: copper, brass
• Connection diameter: 10 mm
• Soldering: Tin-lead solder
• Mounting method: screws to the store cooler mount, hoses are secured with clamps
• Price: about 100 rubles

Sawing and soldering

Pump

Pumps can be external or submersible. The first one only passes it through itself, and the second one pushes it out, being immersed in it. Here we use a submersible one, placed in a container with water. I couldn’t find an external one, I looked in pet stores, and they only had submersible aquarium pumps. Power from 200 to 1400 liters per hour price from 500 to 2000 rubles. Powered from an outlet, power from 4 to 20 watts. On a hard surface the pump makes a lot of noise, but on foam rubber the noise is insignificant. A jar containing a pump was used as a water reservoir. To connect the silicone hoses, steel clamps with screws were used. To make it easy to put on and remove the hoses, you can use an odorless lubricant.

• Maximum productivity - 650 l/h.
• Water rise height – 80 cm
• Voltage – 220V
• Power – 6 W
• Price - 580 rubles

Radiator

The quality of the radiator will largely determine the efficiency of the entire water cooling system. Here we used a car radiator heating system (stove) from a nine, bought an old one at a flea market for 100 rubles. Unfortunately, the interval between the plates in it turned out to be less than a millimeter, so I had to manually move apart and compress the plates several at a time so that weak Chinese fans could blow it through.

• Tube material: copper
• Fin material: aluminum
• Size: 35x20x5 cm
• Connection diameter: 14 mm
• Price: 100 rubles

Airflow

The radiator is blown by two pairs of 12 cm fans at the front and rear. It was not possible to power 4 fans from the system unit during testing, so we had to assemble a simple 12-volt power supply. The fans were connected in parallel and connected according to polarity. This is important, otherwise the fan will most likely be damaged. The cooler has 3 wires: black (ground), red (+12V) and yellow (speed value).

• Material: Chinese plastic
• Diameter: 12 cm
• Voltage: 12V
• Current: 0.15 A
• Price: 80*4 rubles

Note to the hostess

I did not set the goal of reducing noise because of the cost of the fans. So a fan for 100 rubles is made of black plastic and consumes 150 milliamps of current. These are the ones I used to blow the radiator, it blows weakly, but it’s cheap. Already for 200-300 rubles you can find much more powerful and beautiful models with a consumption of 300-600 milliamps, but at maximum speed they are noisy. This can be solved with silicone gaskets and anti-vibration mounts, but for me the minimum cost was decisive.

power unit

If you don’t have a ready-made one at hand, you can assemble the simplest of available materials and a microcircuit that costs less than 100 rubles. For 4 fans, a current of 0.6 A is required and a little in reserve. The microcircuit provides approximately 1 ampere at a voltage of 9 to 15 volts, depending on the model. You can use any model, setting 12 volts with a variable resistor.

• Tools and soldering iron
• Radio components
• Chip
• Wires and insulation
• Price: 100 rubles

Installation and testing

Hardware

• Processor: Intel Core i7 960 3.2 GHz / 4.3 GHz
• Motherboard: ASUS Rampage 3 formula
• Power supply: OCZ ZX1250W
• Thermal paste: AL-SIL 3

Software

• Windows 7 x64 SP1
• Prime 95
• RealTemp 3.69
• CPU-z 1.58

I didn’t have to test it for a particularly long time, because... the results did not even come close to the capabilities of an air cooler. The radiator of the air cooler has so far been blown by only two Chinese fans out of 4 possible, and they have not yet been spread wider than the plates for better ventilation. So, in energy saving mode and zero load, the processor temperature in air is approximately 42 degrees, and in a homemade air cooler it is 57 degrees. Running the prime95 test on 4 threads (50% load) warms up to 65 degrees in air and up to 100 degrees in 30 seconds in the air cooler. When overclocking, the results are even worse.

An attempt was made to make a new water block with a thinner (0.5 mm) copper base plate and almost three times more spacious inside, albeit from the same materials (copper + brass). The plates in the radiator were moved apart for better ventilation and two more fans were added, now there are 4 of them. This time, in power saving mode and zero load, the processor temperature in the air is approximately 42 degrees, and in a homemade air cooler it is approximately 55 degrees. Running the prime95 test on 4 threads (50% load) warms up to 65 degrees in air and up to 83 degrees in CBO. But at the same time, the water in the circuit begins to heat up quite quickly and after 5-7 minutes the processor temperature reaches 96 degrees. These are readings without overclocking.

Assembling the SVO was, of course, interesting, but it was not possible to use it to cool a modern processor. In older computers, a stock cooler works great. Maybe I selected low-quality materials or made the water block incorrectly, but it doesn’t seem possible to assemble a water block for less than 1000 rubles at home. After reading reviews of budget ready-made air coolers available in stores, I did not expect that my homemade product would be better than a good air cooler. I concluded for myself that it is not worth saving in the future on components for the air defense system. When I decide to buy an SVO for overclocking, I will definitely assemble it myself from separate parts.

Video