External water cooling of the processor. Water cooling of computers

If you bought a powerful new computer, then it will consume quite a lot of electricity and also make loud noise, which is a very unpleasant and very significant drawback. Quite bulky system units (for air circulation), with large coolers, in this case not the most best option, so today we will tell you about an alternative option - water cooling for a computer (specifically about its types, features and, of course, advantages).

Why is water cooling necessary?!
As we have already said, conventional computer fans create a lot of noise, and in addition, even despite their high power, they are not able to rationally remove heat generated by computer components from the system unit, which in itself increases the risk of failure, any element from overheating.

In these conditions, manufacturers turned their attention to systems liquid cooling computer parts. A check of many such systems generally shows that a liquid computer cooling system has a right to exist due to a number of indicators that distinguish it favorably from an air system.

Advantages and operating principles of water cooling

Also, in addition to the high noise level, air cooling of a computer leads to a large accumulation of dust: both on the cooler fans themselves and on other components. In turn, this has a very negative impact both on the air in the room (when a stream of air containing dust comes out of the system unit), and on the performance of all components on which all the dust settles.

Types of water cooling by cooling location

• Of greatest importance in any such system is CPU heatsink. Compared to traditional coolers, a processor radiator with two tubes connected to it (one for the liquid inlet, the other for the outlet) looks very compact. This is especially pleasing, because the cooling efficiency of such a radiator is clearly superior to any cooler.


• Graphics chips of video cards They are cooled in the same way as processors (in parallel with them), only the radiators for them are smaller.


• Liquid cooling is no less efficient hard drive. For this purpose, very thin water radiators have been developed, which are attached to the upper plane of the hard drive and, thanks to the largest possible contact area, provide good heat dissipation, which is impossible with conventional airflow.

The reliability of the entire water system depends most of all on the pump (pumping pump): stopping the circulation of liquid will instantly cause a drop in cooling efficiency to almost zero.

Liquid cooling systems are divided into two types: those with a pump, and those without it - pumpless systems.

Type 1: liquid cooling systems with pump
There are two types of pumps: those that have their own sealed housing, and those that are simply immersed in a reservoir of coolant. Those that have their own sealed housing are certainly more expensive, but also much more reliable than those immersed in liquid. All liquid used in the system is cooled in a heat exchanger radiator, to which a low-speed cooler is attached, creating an air flow that cools the liquid flowing in the curved radiator tubes. The cooler never develops a high rotation speed and therefore the noise from the entire system is much less than from powerful coolers used in air cooling.

Type 2: pumpless systems
As the name implies, they do not have any mechanical supercharger (i.e. pump). The circulation of the liquid is carried out using the evaporator principle, which creates a directed pressure that moves the coolant. A liquid (with a low boiling point) continuously turns into steam when heated to a certain temperature, and steam turns into a liquid when it enters the radiator of the condenser-heat exchanger. Only the heat generated by the cooled element causes the liquid to move. The advantages of these systems include: compactness, simplicity and low cost, since there is no pump; minimum moving mechanical parts – ensures low noise levels and a low likelihood of mechanical breakdowns. Now about the disadvantages of this type of computer water cooling. The efficiency and power of such systems is significantly lower than that of pump-action systems; the gas phase of the substance is used, which means that high tightness of the structure is needed, because any leak will lead to the system immediately losing pressure and, as a result, becoming inoperable. Moreover, it will be very difficult to notice and correct this.

Is it worth installing water cooling on your computer?

It is likely that after some time in computer technology there will be a transition from air cooling systems to liquid systems, because apart from the difficulties in installing such structures on today’s system unit cases, they do not have any other fundamental disadvantages, and their advantages over air cooled very, very significant. With the advent of suitable cases for system units on the market, the popularity of these systems is likely to grow steadily.

Thus, the site’s experts have nothing against these cooling systems, but on the contrary, they advise giving preference to them if circumstances require it. Only when choosing this or that system you don’t need to save money so as not to get into trouble. Cheap water cooling systems have low quality cooling and a fairly high noise level, which is why, when deciding to install water cooling, expect a fairly high amount of waste.

Water cooling systems have been used for many years as a highly efficient means of removing heat from hot computer components.

The quality of cooling directly affects the stability of your computer. With excess heat, the computer begins to freeze and overheated components may fail. High temperatures are harmful to the element base (capacitors, microcircuits, etc.), and overheating hard drive may result in data loss.

As computer performance increases, more efficient cooling systems have to be used. An air cooling system is considered traditional, but air has low thermal conductivity and a large air flow creates a lot of noise. Powerful coolers They produce a rather loud roar, although they can still provide acceptable efficiency.

In such conditions, water cooling systems are becoming increasingly popular. The superiority of water cooling over air is explained by the heat capacity (4.183 kJ kg -1 K -1 for water and 1.005 kJ kg -1 K -1 for air) and thermal conductivity (0.6 W/(m K) for water and 0.024-0.031 W/(m K) for air). Therefore, all other things being equal, water cooling systems will always be more efficient than air cooling systems.

On the Internet you can find a lot of materials on ready-made water cooling systems from leading manufacturers and examples homemade systems cooling (the latter are usually more efficient).

Water cooling system (WCS) is a cooling system that uses water as a coolant to transfer heat. Unlike air cooling, which transfers heat directly to the air, in a water cooling system, heat is transferred to the water first.

Operating principle of the SVO

Cooling a computer is necessary to remove heat from a heated component (chipset, processor, ...) and dissipate it. A conventional air cooler is equipped with a monolithic radiator that performs both of these functions.

In the SVO, each part performs its own function. The water block removes heat, and the other part dissipates thermal energy. An approximate diagram of the connection of the SVO components can be seen in the diagram below.

Water blocks can be connected to the circuit in parallel or in series. The first option is preferable if there are identical heat sinks. You can combine these options and get a parallel-serial connection, but the most correct would be to connect the water blocks one after the other.

Heat removal occurs according to the following scheme: liquid from the reservoir is supplied to the pump, and then pumped further to the units that cool the PC components.

The reason for this connection is a slight heating of the water after passing through the first water block and effective heat removal from the chipset, GPU, and CPU. The heated liquid enters the radiator and cools there. It then goes back into the tank and a new cycle begins.

According to the design features, the SVO can be divided into two types:

1. The coolant circulates through a pump in the form of a separate mechanical unit.
2. Pumpless systems that use special refrigerants that pass through the liquid and gaseous phases.

Cooling system with pump

The principle of its operation is efficient and simple. Liquid (usually distilled water) passes through the radiators of cooled devices.

All components of the structure are connected to each other by flexible tubes (diameter 6-12 mm). The liquid, passing through the radiator of the processor and other devices, picks up their heat, and then through the tubes enters the heat exchanger radiator, where it cools itself. The system is closed, and the liquid constantly circulates in it.

An example of such a connection can be shown using products from CoolingFlow. It combines the pump with a buffer tank for liquid. The arrows show the movement of cold and hot fluid.

Pumpless liquid cooling

There are liquid cooling systems that do not use a pump. They use the evaporator principle and create a directed pressure that causes the movement of the coolant. Liquids with low boiling points are used as refrigerants. The physics of the ongoing process can be seen in the diagram below.

Initially, the radiator and lines are completely filled with liquid. When the temperature of the processor heatsink rises above a certain value, the liquid turns into steam. The process of turning liquid into vapor absorbs thermal energy and increases cooling efficiency. Hot steam creates pressure. Steam, through a special one-way valve, can exit only in one direction - into the radiator of the heat exchanger-condenser. There, the steam displaces the cold liquid towards the processor heatsink, and, as it cools, turns back into liquid. So the liquid-vapor circulates in a closed pipeline system while the radiator temperature is high. This system turns out to be very compact.

Another version of such a cooling system is possible. For example, for a video card.

A liquid evaporator is built into the radiator of the graphics chip. The heat exchanger is located next to the side wall of the video card. The structure is made of copper alloy. The heat exchanger is cooled by a high-speed (7200 rpm) centrifugal fan.

SVO components

Water cooling systems use a specific set of components, mandatory and optional.

Required components of the SVO:

• radiator,
• fitting,
• water block,
• pump,
• hoses,
• water.

Optional components of the water supply system are: temperature sensors, reservoir, drain valves, pump and fan controllers, secondary water blocks, indicators and meters (flow, temperature, pressure), water mixtures, filters, backplates.

• Let's look at the required components.

Waterblock is a heat exchanger that transfers heat from a heated element (processor, video chip, etc.) to water. It consists of a copper base and a metal cover with a set of fasteners.

The main types of water blocks: processor, for video cards, for the system chip (north bridge). Water blocks for video cards can be of two types: covering only graphics chip(“gpu only”) and covering all heating elements - fullcover.

Water block Swiftech MCW60-R(gpu-only):

Waterblock EK Waterblocks EK-FC-5970(Fulcover):

To increase the heat transfer area, a microchannel and microneedle structure is used. Water blocks are made without a complex internal structure if performance is not so critical.

Chipset water block XSPC X2O Delta Chipset:

Radiator. In SVO, a radiator is a water-air heat exchanger that transfers heat from the water in the water block to the air. There are two subtypes of SVO radiators: passive (fanless), active (blown by a fan).

Fanless ones can be found quite rarely (for example, in the Zalman Reserator air conditioner) because this type of radiator has lower efficiency. Such radiators take up a lot of space and are difficult to fit even in a modified case.

Passive radiator Alphacool Cape Cora HF 642:

Active radiators are more common in water cooling systems due to better efficiency. If you use quiet or silent fans, you can achieve quiet or silent operation of the air cooler. These radiators can be the most different sizes, but mostly they are made as multiples of the 120mm or 140mm fan size.

Radiator Feser X-Changer Triple 120mm Xtreme

SVO radiator behind the computer case:

The pump is an electric pump, responsible for the circulation of water in the water supply system circuit. Pumps can operate on 220 volts or 12 volts. When there were few specialized components for air conditioning systems on sale, aquarium pumps operating on 220 volts were used. This created some difficulties due to the need to turn on the pump synchronously with the computer. For this purpose, a relay was used that turned on the pump automatically when the computer started. Now there are specialized pumps with compact sizes and good performance, operating on 12 volts.

Compact pump Laing DDC-1T

Modern water blocks have a fairly high coefficient of hydraulic resistance, so it is advisable to use specialized pumps, since aquarium pumps will not allow a modern water cooler to operate at full capacity.

Hoses or tubes are also essential components of any water treatment system, through which water flows from one component to another. Mostly PVC hoses are used, sometimes silicone. The size of the hose does not greatly affect overall performance; it is important not to use hoses that are too thin (less than 8 mm).

Fluorescent Feser Tube:

Fittings are special connecting elements for connecting hoses to water supply components (pump, radiator, water blocks). The fittings must be screwed into the threaded hole located on the SVO component. You don't need to screw them in very hard (no wrenches are needed). Tightness is achieved with a rubber sealing ring. The vast majority of components are sold without fittings included. This is done so that the user can select the fittings for the desired hose. The most common types of fittings are compression (with a union nut) and herringbone (fittings are used). Fittings are straight and angled. Fittings also differ in the type of thread. In computer SVOs, threads of the G1/4″ standard are more common, less often G1/8″ or G3/8″.

Computer water cooling:

Herringbone fittings from Bitspower:

Bitspower Compression Fittings:

Water is also an obligatory component of SVO. It is best to refill with distilled water (purified from impurities by distillation). Deionized water is also used, but it has no significant differences from distilled water, it is only produced in a different way. You can use special mixtures or water with various additives. But using tap or bottled water for drinking is not recommended.

Optional components are components without which the SVO can operate reliably and do not affect performance. They make the operation of the SVO more convenient.

The reservoir (expansion tank) is considered an optional component of the water cooling system, although it is present in most water cooling systems. Reservoir systems are more convenient to refill. The volume of water in the reservoir is not important; it does not affect the performance of the water treatment system. There are a variety of tank shapes and they are selected based on ease of installation.

Magicool Tubular Tank:

The drain tap is used to conveniently drain water from the water supply system circuit. It is blocked at normal condition, and opens when it is necessary to drain water from the system.

Koolance drain tap:

Sensors, indicators and meters. Quite a lot of different meters, controllers, and sensors for air defense systems are produced. Among them there are electronic sensors for water temperature, pressure and water flow, controllers that coordinate the operation of fans with temperature, water movement indicators, and so on. Pressure and water flow sensors are needed only in systems designed to test components of the water supply system, since this information is simply unimportant for the average user.

Electronic flow sensor from AquaCompute:

Filter. Some water cooling systems are equipped with a filter included in the circuit. It is designed to filter out a variety of small particles that have entered the system (dust, soldering residues, sediment).

Water additives and various mixtures. In addition to water, various additives can be used. Some are designed to protect against corrosion, others to prevent bacteria from growing in the system or discoloring the water. They also produce ready-made mixtures containing water, anti-corrosion additives and dye. There are ready-made mixtures that increase the productivity of the water treatment system, but the increase in productivity from them is possible only insignificantly. You can find liquids for water treatment systems that are not water-based, but use a special dielectric liquid. This liquid does not conduct electric current and if leaked to PC components will not cause short circuit. Distilled water also does not conduct current, but if it spills and gets on dusty areas of the PC, it can become electrically conductive. There is no need for a dielectric liquid, because a well-tested SVO does not leak and is sufficiently reliable. It is also important to follow the instructions for the additives. There is no need to pour them in excess, this can lead to disastrous consequences.

Green fluorescent dye:

A backplate is a special mounting plate that is needed to relieve the PCB of the motherboard or video card from the force created by the waterblock fastenings, and to reduce the bending of the PCB, reducing the risk of breakage. The backplate is not a mandatory component, but is very common in SVO.

Branded backplate from Watercool:

Secondary water blocks. Sometimes, additional water blocks are installed on low-heating components. These components include: RAM, power transistors, power supply circuits, hard drives and south bridge. The optionality of such components for a water cooling system is that they do not improve overclocking and do not provide any additional system stability or other noticeable results. This is due to the low heat generation of such elements and the ineffectiveness of using water blocks for them. The positive side of installing such water blocks can only be called the appearance, but the disadvantage is the increase in hydraulic resistance in the circuit and, accordingly, an increase in the cost of the entire system.

Water block for power transistors on the motherboard from EK Waterblocks

In addition to the mandatory and optional components of the CBO, there is also a category of hybrid components. There are components on sale that represent two or more CBO components in one device. Among such devices are known: hybrids of a pump with a processor water block, radiators for air coolers combined with a built-in pump and reservoir. Such components significantly reduce the space they take up and are more convenient to install. But such components are not very suitable for upgrade.

Selecting a water heating system

There are three main types of CBOs: external, internal and built-in. They differ in the location of their main components relative to the computer case (radiator/heat exchanger, reservoir, pump).

External water cooling systems are made in the form of a separate module (“box”), which is connected using hoses to water blocks that are installed on components in the PC case itself. The housing of an external water cooling system almost always includes a radiator with fans, a reservoir, a pump, and, sometimes, a power supply for the pump with sensors. Among external systems, Zalman water cooling systems of the Reserator family are well known. Such systems are installed as a separate module, and their convenience lies in the fact that the user does not need to modify or alter the case of his computer. Their only inconvenience is their size and it becomes more difficult to move the computer even short distances, for example, to another room.

External passive CBO Zalman Reserator:

The built-in cooling system is built into the case and is sold complete with it. This option is the easiest to use, because the entire SVO is already mounted in the housing, and there are no bulky structures outside. The disadvantages of such a system include the high cost and the fact that the old PC case will be useless.

Internal water cooling systems are located entirely inside the PC case. Sometimes, some components of the internal cooling system (mainly the radiator) are installed on the outer surface of the case. The advantage of internal air defense systems is ease of portability. There is no need to drain the liquid during transportation. Also, when installing internal SVOs, the appearance of the case does not suffer, and when modding, the SVO can perfectly decorate the case of your computer.

Overclocked Orange Project:

The disadvantages of internal water cooling systems are that they are difficult to install and require modifications to the chassis in many cases. Also, internal SVO adds several kilograms of weight to your body.

Planning and installation of the SVO

Water cooling, unlike airborne, requires some planning before installation. After all, liquid cooling imposes some limitations that must be taken into account.

During installation, you should always keep convenience in mind. It is necessary to leave free space so that further work with the SVO and components does not cause difficulties. It is necessary that the water tubes pass freely inside the housing and between the components.

In addition, the flow of liquid should not be limited by anything. As the coolant passes through each water block, it heats up. To reduce this problem, a circuit with parallel coolant paths is being considered. With this approach, the water flow is less stressed, and the water block of each component receives water that is not heated by other components.

The Koolance EXOS-2 kit is well known. It is designed to work with 3/8″ connecting tubing.

When planning the location of your SVO, it is recommended to first draw simple diagram. Having drawn a plan on paper, we begin the actual assembly and installation. It is necessary to lay out all the parts of the system on the table and approximately measure the required length of the tubes. It is advisable to leave a margin and not cut it too short.

When the preparatory work is done, you can begin installing the water blocks. On the back side of the motherboard behind the processor there is a metal bracket for securing the Koolance cooling head for the processor. This mounting bracket is equipped with a plastic gasket to prevent short circuits with the motherboard.

Then the heatsink attached to the north bridge of the motherboard is removed. The example uses motherboard Biostar 965PT, in which the chipset is cooled using a passive radiator.

When the chipset heatsink is removed, you need to install the water block fastening elements for the chipset. After installing these elements, the motherboard is placed back into the PC case. Remember to remove old thermal paste from the processor and chipset before applying thin layer new.

After this, the water blocks are carefully installed on the processor. Do not press them with force. Using force can damage components.

Then work is done with the video card. It is necessary to remove the existing radiator and replace it with a water block. Once the water blocks are installed, you can connect the tubes and insert the video card into the PCI Express slot.

When all the water blocks are installed, all remaining pipes should be connected. The last tube to be connected is the one leading to external unit SVO. Check that the direction of water flow is correct: the cooled liquid must first flow into the processor water block.

After all this work is completed, water is poured into the tank. The tank should only be filled to the level specified in the instructions. Carefully monitor all fasteners and at the slightest sign of leakage, fix the problem immediately.

If everything is assembled correctly and there are no leaks, you need to pump the coolant to remove air bubbles. For the Koolance EXOS-2 system you need to close the contacts on the block ATX power supply, and supply power to the water pump without supplying power to the motherboard.

Let the system work in this mode for a while, and you carefully tilt the computer to one side or the other to get rid of air bubbles. Once all bubbles have escaped, add coolant if necessary. If air bubbles are no longer visible, you can start the system completely. Now you can test the effectiveness of the installed SVO. Although water cooling for PCs is still rare for ordinary users, its advantages are undeniable.

A water cooling system for a computer allows you to most effectively eliminate the problem of strong heating central processor.

Such a device does not have a strictly defined structure. It can vary and consist of different structures at once.

The essence of a liquid cooling system

In all cases, a computer's liquid cooling system consists of a combination of the following types of circuits:

• Scheme with parallel connection components that are subject to cooling ( parallel circuit work). The advantages of such a structure: simple implementation of the circuit, easily calculated characteristics of the nodes that need to be cooled;

• Sequential block diagram– all cooled components are connected to each other in parallel. The advantages of this scheme are that the cooling of each of the nodes is more efficient.
  Disadvantage: it is quite difficult to direct a sufficient amount of refrigerant to a specific unit;

• Combined schemes. They are more complex, as they contain several elements with both parallel and serial connections.

Components

In order for the CPU to cool quickly and efficiently, each cooler must have the following elements:

1. Heat exchanger – this element heats up, absorbing heat from the central processor. Before using again, wait until the heat exchanger has completely cooled down;
2. Water pump– liquid storage tank;
3. Multiple pipelines;
4. Adapters between units and pipelines;
5. Expansion tank- designed to provide the necessary space for the heat exchanger expanding during the heating process;
6. Coolant filling the system– an element that fills the entire structure with liquid: distilled water or a specialized liquid for water treatment;
7. Water blocks– heat sinks for those elements that generate heat.

Note! The liquid cooling system is low noise compared to fans. Some noise is still present, since its coefficient cannot be zero.

The best water cooling systems for a computer

The main purpose of PC cooling systems is to ensure uninterrupted and stable operation the computer itself and creating normal conditions for its user.

This means minimal noise during operation.

These devices remove heat from elements such as the processor and power supply, preventing them from overheating and subsequent failure.

There are 2 options for the cooling system - passive and active.

The second type, in turn, is divided into air, suitable for ordinary PCs, and water, which is required for systems with very powerful or overclocked processors.

Liquid cooling is characterized by its small size, low noise level and high heat dissipation efficiency, which makes it very popular.

To select such a system, you should consider some nuances, including:

• Price;
• Compatible with processors or video cards;
• Cooling parameters.

Below is a list of the most popular water cooling systems from the popular online catalog Yandex Market.

List of popular water cooling systems from market.yandex.ru/catalog/55321.

The original-looking DeepCool Captain 240 is equipped with two branded black and red fans with notches on the blades.

Each impeller is capable of rotating at speeds of up to 2200 rpm, creating noise of no more than 39 dB.

At the same time, the system has a splitter that allows you to install 2 more fans.

The service life, which is guaranteed by the manufacturer, is about 120 thousand hours.

At the same time, the operational life of the device, compatible with processors such as Intel (S775, S1150, S1356, S2011) and AMD (AM2, AM3, FM2), reaches 160 thousand hours.

The maximum rotation speed of the blades is 2000 rpm, the weight is 1.323 kg, and the noise during operation does not exceed 39 dB.

You can purchase such a system online for a price starting from 6,200 rubles.

The Maelstrom 240T system, designed for Intel 1150–1156, S1356/1366 and S2011 processors, as well as AMD FM2, AM2 and AM3, is distinguished by blue fan lighting, which allows not only cooling the computer, but also modding it.

The service life of the device is within 120 thousand hours, weight is 1100 g, noise level is up to 34 dB.

You can buy the device on the Internet for 4400–4800 rubles.

The Corsair H100i GTX system, a universal and fairly simple-to-design system, has been used to cool most of the products produced over the past few years. AMD processors and Intel.

The weight of the assembled equipment is 900 g, the noise level is about 38 dB, and the fan rotation force is up to 2435 rpm.

The average cost of a card online is about 10 thousand rubles.

Features of using the system Cooler Master Seidon 120V is the ability to install it both inside and outside the housing.

At the same time, fans rotating at speeds of up to 2400 rpm operate very quietly - with a noise level of up to 27 dB.

Device Compatibility – modern processors Intel and AMD (up to LGA1150 and Socket AM3, respectively).

The system weighs only 958 g and is capable of operating for 160 thousand hours.

Purchase is possible at a price of 3,600 rubles.

DIY cooling system

The processor cooling system can be purchased ready-made.

However, due to the rather high cost of the device and the not always sufficient efficiency of the proposed models, it is possible to do it yourself and at home.

The resulting system will not be as attractive in appearance, but quite effective in operation.

For self-made systems should do:

• Waterblock;
• Radiator;
• Pump.

It is unlikely that it will be possible to replicate the design of most commercially produced air defense systems.

However, if you understand a little about computers and thermodynamics, you can try to make something similar, if not in appearance, then at least in principle of operation.

Making a water block

The main part of the system, which accounts for the maximum heat generated by the processor, is the most difficult to manufacture.

To begin with, the material of the device is selected - usually sheet copper.

Then you should decide on the dimensions - as a rule, a 7x7 cm block with a thickness of about 5 mm is sufficient for cooling.

The geometric shape of the device is taken such that the liquid inside washes all elements of the cooled structure as efficiently as possible.

You can choose, for example, a copper plate as the base of the water block, and the working structure can be made from thin-walled copper tubes.

The number of tubes in the example is assumed to be 32 pcs.

Assembly is carried out using solder and an electric furnace heated to a temperature of 200 degrees.

After this, they begin to manufacture the next part - the radiator.

Radiator

Most often, this device is chosen ready-made, rather than made at home.

You can find and purchase such a radiator either at a computer store or at a car dealership.

However, it is possible to independently create the necessary element of the SVO from the following items:

• 4 copper tubes with a diameter of 0.3 cm and a length of 17 cm;
• 18 meters of copper winding wire (d = 1.2 mm);
• Any sheet metal about 4 mm thick.

The tubes are processed with solder, and a mandrel 4–5 cm wide and up to 20 cm long is made from metal.

Holes are drilled in it where the wire is inserted. Now the wire is wound around the winding.

The process is repeated three times, obtaining the same number of identical spirals.

The assembly of spirals and tubes begins by first making the frame. Then a wire is pulled over it.

The final step is to connect the frame to the input and output manifolds of the system. The result is a part that looks like this:

Pump and other parts

A similar device intended for aquariums can be used as a pump. A device with a capacity of 300–400 l/min will be sufficient.

It is equipped with an expansion tank (tightly closing plastic container) and a PVC hose with feed-through pipes made from scrap metal (copper) pipes.

Assembly

Before assembling and installing the system, you must remove the factory device installed on the processor. Now you need:

• Secure the water block on top of the cooled part using a clamping bar;
• Fill the system with distilled water;
• Attach the radiator to the inner surface of the computer cover (opposite the holes). If there are no ventilation holes, you should make them yourself.

The final step should be to first attach the fan to the processor (on top of the water block).

Finally, it is necessary to provide power to the pump by installing its operating relay inside the power supply.

The result is a hand-made water cooling system that quite effectively reduces the processor temperature by 25–35 degrees.

At the same time, funds are saved that could have been spent on purchasing expensive equipment.

Thematic videos:

How to Install a Water Cooling System on a Corsair H100i CPU

Computer water cooling system - Detailed description

Introduction

Don't you think the term "liquid cooling" makes you think of cars? In fact, liquid cooling has been an integral part of the conventional internal combustion engine for almost 100 years. This immediately begs the question: why is it the preferred method of cooling expensive car engines? What's so great about liquid cooling?

To find out, we have to compare it with air cooling. When comparing the effectiveness of these cooling methods, the two most important properties to consider are thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity.

Thermal conductivity is a physical quantity that shows how well a substance transfers heat. The thermal conductivity of water is almost 25 times greater than that of air. Obviously, this gives water cooling a huge advantage over air cooling, as it allows heat to transfer from a hot engine to the radiator much faster.

Specific heat capacity is another physical quantity that is defined as the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of a substance by one kelvin (degree Celsius). The specific heat capacity of water is almost four times that of air. This means that heating water requires four times more energy than heating air. Again, the ability of water to absorb much more thermal energy without raising its own temperature is a huge advantage.

So, we have undeniable facts that liquid cooling is more efficient than air cooling. However, this is not necessarily the best method for cooling PC components. Let's figure it out.

Liquid Cooling PC

Despite the very good qualities Water related to heat dissipation, there are several compelling reasons not to put water in your computer. The most important of these reasons is the electrical conductivity of the coolant.

If you accidentally spilled a glass of water on a gasoline engine while filling the radiator, then nothing bad would happen; water would not damage the engine. But if you poured a glass of water on the motherboard of your computer, it would be very bad. Therefore, there is a certain risk associated with using water to cool computer components.

The next factor is the complexity of maintenance. Air-cooling systems are easier and cheaper to manufacture and repair than their water-based counterparts, and radiators require no maintenance other than dust removal. Water cooling systems are much more difficult to work with. They are more difficult to install and often require maintenance, albeit minor.

Third, PC water cooling system parts cost much more than air cooling system parts. If a set of high-quality radiators and air cooling fans for a processor, video card and motherboard will most likely cost around $150, then the cost of a liquid cooling system for the same components can easily reach up to $500.

Having so many shortcomings, water cooling systems, it would seem, should not be in demand. But in fact, they remove heat so well that this property justifies all the shortcomings.

There are ready-to-install liquid cooling systems on the market that are no longer the aftermarket kits that enthusiasts had to deal with in the past. Ready-made systems are assembled, tested and completely reliable. In addition, water cooling is not as dangerous as it seems: of course, there is always a big risk when using liquids in a PC, but if you are careful, this risk is significantly reduced. As for maintenance, modern refrigerants require replacement quite rarely, maybe once a year. When it comes to price, any piece of equipment that runs at high performance will always cost more than normal, whether it's the Ferrari in your garage or the water cooling system for your computer. For high performance you have to pay.

Let's say you're interested in this cooling method, or at least would like to know how it works, what's involved, and what its benefits are.

General principles water cooling

The purpose of any cooling system in a PC is to remove heat from the computer components.

A traditional CPU air cooler transfers heat away from the processor to a heatsink. The fan actively pushes air through the radiator fins, and as the air passes by, it picks up heat. Air is removed from the computer case by another fan or even several. As you can see, air moves a lot.

In water cooling systems, instead of air, a coolant (coolant) - water - is used to remove heat. Water leaves the reservoir through a tube, going where it is needed. The water cooling unit can either be a separate unit outside the PC case, or it can be built into the case. In the diagram, the water cooling unit is external.

Heat is transferred from the processor to the cooling head (water block), which is a hollow heat sink with inlet and outlet holes for coolant. When water passes through the head, it takes heat with it. Heat transfer due to water occurs much more efficiently than due to air.

The heated liquid is then pumped into the reservoir. From the reservoir it flows into a heat exchanger, where it transfers heat to the radiator, which transfers heat to the surrounding air, usually with the help of a fan. After this, the water enters the head again, and the cycle begins again.

Now that we have a good understanding of the basics of PC liquid cooling, let's talk about what systems are available on the market.

Selecting a water cooling system

There are three main types of water cooling systems: internal, external and integrated. The main difference between them is where their main components are located in relation to the computer case: the heat sink/heat exchanger, pump and reservoir.

As the name suggests, the integrated cooling system is integral part PC case, that is, built into the case and sold complete with it. Since the entire water cooling system is mounted in the case, this option is perhaps the easiest to handle, because it remains inside the case more space, and there are no bulky structures outside. The downside, of course, is that if you decide to upgrade to such a system, the old PC case will be useless.

If you love your PC case and don't want to part with it, then internal and external water cooling systems will probably seem more attractive. Components internal system are placed inside the PC case. Since most cases are not designed to accommodate such a cooling system, it becomes quite cramped inside. However, installing such systems will allow you to preserve your favorite case, as well as move it without any special obstacles.

The third option is an external water cooling system. It is also for those who want to keep their old PC case. In this case, the radiator, reservoir and water pump are placed in a separate unit outside the computer case. Water is pumped through tubes into the PC case, to the cooling head, and the heated liquid is pumped out of the case into the reservoir through the return tube. The advantage of an external system is that it can be used with any enclosure. It also allows for a larger radiator and can have better cooling capacity than the average integrated setup. The disadvantage is that a computer with an external cooling system is not as mobile as one with internal or built-in cooling systems.

In our case, mobility is not of great importance, but we would like to keep our “native” PC case. In addition, we were attracted increased efficiency cooling the external radiator. Therefore, we chose an external cooling system for our review. Koolance kindly provided us with an excellent example - the EXOS-2 system.

External water cooling system Koolance EXOS-2.

EXOS-2 is a powerful external water cooling system with a cooling capacity of over 700W. This doesn't mean the system consumes 700 watts - it only consumes a fraction of that. This means the system can efficiently handle 700W of heat output while maintaining a temperature of 55 degrees Celsius at 25 degrees ambient.

EXOS-2 comes with all the necessary pipes and accessories, except for the cooling heads (water blocks). The user will have to buy suitable heads, depending on which PC components he wants to cool.

Cooling multiple components

One of the advantages of most liquid cooling systems is that they are expandable and can cool not only the processor, but also other components. Even after passing through the CPU cooling head, water is still able to cool, for example, the motherboard chipset and video card. This is basic, but you can add even more components if you wish, for example hard drive. To do this, each component that will be cooled will need its own water block. Of course, you'll have to do some planning to make sure the coolant flows well.

Why is it beneficial to combine all three components - CPU, chipset and graphics card - with a good water cooling system?

Most users understand the need to cool the processor. The CPU gets very hot in the PC case, and stable operation of the computer depends on keeping the CPU temperature low. The CPU is one of the most expensive parts of a computer, and the lower the temperature maintained, the longer the processor will last. Finally, cooling the processor is especially important when overclocking.

CPU water block and assembly accessories.

The idea of ​​cooling the motherboard chipset (or rather, the northbridge) may not be familiar to everyone. But keep in mind that a computer is only as stable as its chipset. In many cases additional cooling chipset can contribute to system stability, especially during overclocking.

Chipset water block and assembly accessories.

The third component is very important for those who have a higher-end video card and use a PC for games. In many cases, the GPU on a video card generates more heat than other computer components. Again, the better the cooling GPU, the longer it will last, the higher the stability and the more opportunities for overclocking.

Of course, for those users who do not intend to use their computer for games and have a low-power graphics card, water cooling will be overkill. But for modern powerful and very hot video cards, water cooling can be a profitable purchase.

We are going to install a cooling system on our Radeon X1900 XTX graphics card. Although this video card is not the newest and most powerful, it is still at least as good as it gets, and it also gets very hot. In the case of this model, Koolance offers not only a water block for the GPU/memory, but also a separate cooling head for the voltage regulator.

GPU water block and assembly accessories.

If air cooling systems can maintain the temperature of the GPU within acceptable limits, then we are not aware of similar systems that can regulate extremely high temperature voltage regulators on the X1900, which under load can easily reach 100 degrees Celsius. I wonder how the water block for the voltage regulator will affect the X1900 video card.

Water block for video card voltage regulator and accessories for assembly.

These are the main components that are cooled using water. As mentioned above, there are other components that can be cooled this way. For example, Koolance offers a 1200W power supply with liquid cooling. All electronic components of the power supply are immersed in a non-conducting liquid, which is pumped through its own external heatsink. This is a special example of alternative liquid cooling, but the system does the job just fine.

Koolance: 1200W liquid cooled power supply.

Now you can start installation.

Planning and installation

Unlike air cooling systems, installing a liquid cooling system requires some planning. Liquid cooling comes with several limitations that the user must take into account.

First, you should always keep convenience in mind during installation. Water pipes must pass freely into the housing and between components. In addition, the cooling system must leave free space so that further work There were no difficulties with it and the components.

Secondly, the flow of liquid should not be limited in any way. It should also be remembered that the coolant heats up as it passes through each water block. If we designed the system in such a way that water entered each subsequent water block in the following sequence: first to the processor, then to the chipset, to the video card, and finally to the video card voltage regulator, then the water block of the voltage regulator would always receive water heated by all previous system components. This scenario is not ideal for the last component.

To somehow mitigate this problem, it would be a good idea to run the coolant along separate, parallel paths. If this is done correctly, the water flow will be less stressed, and the water blocks of each component will receive water that is not heated by other components.

The Koolance EXOS-2 kit we chose for this article is designed to work primarily with 3/8" connector tubing, and the CPU water block is designed with 3/8" press-in connectors. However, the cooling heads of the chipset and Koolance video cards are designed to work with connecting tubes of a smaller diameter - 1/4". Because of this, the user is forced to use a splitter that divides the 3/8" tube into two 1/4" tubes. This scheme works well when we split the flow into two parallel paths. One of these 1/4" tubes will cool the motherboard chipset, and the other will cool the video card. After the water has absorbed heat from these components, the two 1/4" tubes will reconnect into one 3/8" tube, through which the heated water will flow from the PC case back to the radiator for cooling.

The whole process is presented in the following diagram.

Planned cooling system configuration.

When planning the location own system water cooling, we recommend that you draw a simple diagram. This will help you install the system correctly. Having drawn a plan on paper, you can begin the actual assembly and installation.

To begin with, you can lay out all the parts of the system on the table and estimate the required length of the tubes. Don't cut too short, leave some margin; Then you can always cut off the excess.

After the preparatory work, you can begin installing water blocks. The Koolance cooling head for the processor we use requires a metal mounting bracket to be installed on the back of the motherboard behind the processor. The good thing is that this mounting bracket comes with a plastic spacer to prevent shorting to the motherboard. First, we took the motherboard out of the case and installed the mounting bracket.

Then you can remove the heatsink, which is attached to the northbridge of the motherboard. We used the Biostar 965PT motherboard, whose chipset is cooled using a passive radiator attached with plastic clips.

Motherboard chipset without heatsink. Ready for water block installation.

After the chipset heatsink is removed, you should attach the water block mounting elements for the chipset.

During installation, we noticed that the water block mounting elements for the chipset, in particular the plastic spacer, were pressing on the resistor on the back of the motherboard. This must be carefully monitored during installation. Over-tightening the bolts can cause irreparable damage to the motherboard, so be careful and careful!

After installing the fastening elements for the cooling heads of the processor and chipset, you can return the motherboard to the PC case and think about connecting the water blocks to the processor and chipset. Be sure to remove any remaining old thermal paste from the processor and chipset before applying a new thin layer.

Processor with fastening elements for a water block.

You may want to connect the water pipes to the water blocks before you install them on the motherboard. But be careful: you may not calculate the pressure and force that will be applied to the fragile chipset and processor when bending the tubes. The main thing is to leave a sufficient length of the tubes, because you can cut them to size later.

Now you can carefully install the water blocks on the processor and chipset using the provided mounting hardware. Remember that you don't need to press them down with force: just install them well on the processor and chipset. Using force can damage components.

After installing water blocks on the processor and chipset, you can turn your attention to the video card. We remove the existing radiator and replace it with a water block. In our case, we also removed the voltage stabilizer heatsink and installed a second water block on the card. After the water blocks are installed on the video card, you can connect the tubes. After this, the video card can be inserted into the PCI Express slot.

After installing all water blocks, the remaining pipes should be connected. The last thing you need to connect is the tube that leads to the external water cooling unit. Make sure that the direction of water flow is correct: the cooled liquid should flow first into the processor water block.

The moment has come when you can pour water into the tank. Fill the reservoir only to the level specified in the manufacturer's instructions. As the tank fills, water will slowly flow into the tubes. Pay special attention to all fastenings and have a towel on hand in case of unexpected liquid leakage. At the slightest sign of leakage, fix the problem immediately.

Once all the components are assembled, you can add coolant.

If you did everything carefully and there are no leaks in the system, then you need to pump the coolant to remove air bubbles. In the case of the Koolance EXOS-2, this is achieved by shorting the pins on the ATX power supply to supply power to the water pump, but not to supply power to the motherboard.

Let the system operate in this mode, while you slowly and carefully tilt the computer in one direction or the other so that air bubbles come out of the water blocks. Once all the bubbles are gone, you will likely find that the system needs to add coolant. This is fine. Approximately 10 minutes after pouring, no air bubbles should be visible in the tubes. If you are convinced that there are no more air bubbles and the possibility of a leak is excluded, then you can start the system for real.

Test configuration and tests

All assembly and installation worries are left behind. It's time to see what advantages a water cooling system provides.

In our test configuration, we used the Core 2 Duo platform because the E4300 processor is very easy to overclock. Overclocking allowed us to see how high the temperature would rise and how the standard air cooling system and our new system water cooling.

The technique is simple: overclock the E4300 processor with standard air cooling as much as possible, and then overclock it with water cooling and compare the results. As it turns out, the E4300 is capable of more. We increased the processor frequency from the stated 1800 MHz to 2250 MHz. At the same time, the E4300 processor easily coped with the added 450 MHz without increasing voltage or any other problems. However, the standard cooler did not cope with the job, as under load the processor temperature rose to an undesirable 62 degrees Celsius. Although the core could have been overclocked further, a further increase in temperature could become dangerous, so we stopped, recorded the result and installed a water cooling system.

Before looking at the processor temperature under load, let's take a look at the temperature when the system is idle.

In idle mode, water cooling gives a decent reduction in processor temperature, by about 10 degrees. However, this is not such a great achievement when you consider that the CPU's own cooler is low-end, and a high-quality air cooler could be more effective. However, it is worth remembering that water cooling cannot reduce the temperature so that it is lower than the ambient temperature, which in our case was about 22 degrees Celsius.

When stressing the system - a ten-minute run through the Orthos stress test - the water cooling setup really showed what it was capable of.

Now this is actually interesting. The stock air cooler can't even keep the processor temperature below an undesirably high 60 degrees, and the water cooling system dropped the temperature to 49 degrees at the lowest fan speed. In addition to lowering temperatures, the water cooling system is much quieter than a stock CPU cooler.

At maximum fan speed in the water cooling system, the processor temperature drops below 40 degrees! This is 24 degrees lower than with a standard cooler under load, and almost the same as what your own cooler produces when idle. The result is impressive, although at high fan speeds the water cooling system produces more noise than we would like. However, the fan speed is adjusted on a 10-point scale, and it is unlikely that in everyday use you will have to set it to full power. Orthos stresses the CPU more than other tests, and we were quite interested to see what the water cooling system could do.

Finally, pay attention to the results obtained for the video card. Usually the X1900 XTX gets very hot, but we had one of the best air coolers at our disposal - Thermalright HR-03. Let's see what advantages water cooling has over this cooler after 10 minutes of Atitool stress test in artifact testing mode.

The temperature maintained by the stock cooler is terrible: 89 degrees on the GPU and over 100 degrees on the voltage regulator! The Thermalright HR-03 cooler did an amazing job of cooling the GPU to 65 degrees, but the voltage regulators were still too hot at 97 degrees!

The water cooling system reduced the GPU temperature to 59 degrees. This is 30 degrees better than with the stock cooler, and only 6 degrees better than with the HR-03, which further emphasizes its efficiency.

A separate water block for the voltage stabilizer shows excellent results. The HR-03 does not have any means to cool the voltage stabilizer, and the water block reduced the temperature to 77 degrees, which is 25 degrees better than with the stock cooler. This is a very good result.

Conclusion

The results obtained from testing using a water cooling system are quite clear: liquid cooling is much more efficient than air cooling.

Water cooling is now available not only to a limited number of professionals, but also ordinary users. Besides, modern systems Water coolers such as the EXOS-2 are very easy to install and are plug and play, unlike older systems that required assembly. In addition, modern water cooling kits with illuminated and stylized cases look very nice.

If you are an enthusiast and have tried all the air cooling systems, then liquid cooling is the next logical step for you. Of course, there is a risk, and water cooling equipment will cost more than air cooling, but the benefits are obvious.

Editor's opinion

For a long time I avoided water cooling because I was afraid it would cause more problems than good. But now I can say with confidence that my opinion has changed: water cooling systems are much easier to install than I thought, and the cooling results speak for themselves. I would also like to express my gratitude to Koolance for providing us with the EXOS-2 kit, which was a pleasure to work with.

Good cooling of the central processor and video card processor has been a a necessary condition their uninterrupted operation. But not only the processor and video card heat up in the computer - the chipset chip may require a separate cooler, hard drives and even memory modules. Case manufacturers add additional fans, increase their power and dimensions, and improve the design of radiators. And of course fluid systems cooling could not be ignored.

Why is the efficiency of the life-saving system higher than that of a simple cooler?

Construction of the life support system

- Water block. Its purpose is to effectively remove heat from the processor and transfer it to flowing water. Accordingly, the higher the thermal conductivity of the material from which the sole and heat exchanger of the water block are made, the higher the efficiency of this element. But heat transfer also depends on the area of ​​contact between the coolant and the radiator - therefore, the design of the water block is no less important than the material.

Characteristics of liquid cooling systems.

Serviced/unattended life support system.

The life support system must support socket motherboard on which it is installed. And if a serviced LSS can still be adapted for another socket by purchasing an additional corresponding water block, then a maintenance-free LSS can only be used with those sockets that are listed in its characteristics.

Maximum air flow measured in cubic feet per minute (CFM) and determines how much air is forced through the fan per minute. The higher this value, the higher the contribution of this fan to the efficiency of the radiator. Dimensions ( length, width, thickness) radiators are no less important - four powerful fans blowing a simple thin radiator with a small plate area will cool the coolant no better than one fan well matched to a radiator with a large plate area.

Water block material, due to its limited size, is more important than the radiator material. In fact, copper is the only viable option. Aluminum water blocks (found in cheap liquid cooling systems) reduce the efficiency of the system so much that there is no point in using liquid cooling.

Maximum noise level depends on maximum fan speed. If the system does not provide speed control, close attention should be paid to this parameter. If there is a speed adjustment, attention should be paid to minimum noise level.

A noise level above 40 dB can already be perceived as uncomfortable (40 dB corresponds to the usual sound background in a living room - soft music, calm conversation). To prevent fan noise from disturbing sleep, it should not exceed 30 dB.

Rotation speed adjustment fans can be manual or automatic. Manual adjustment allows you to change the fan speed according to personal preferences, while automatic adjustment adjusts the speed to the current processor temperature and provides better operating conditions for the equipment.

Power connector type can be 3-pin and 4-pin.
3-pin The connector does not have a separate wire for changing the fan speed. The rotation speed of such a fan can be controlled only by changing its supply voltage. Not all motherboards support this method. If your motherboard cannot control the rotation speed of a 3-pin fan, then the coolers and liquid pump motor with a 3-pin power connector will always rotate at maximum speed. To change the degree of cooling you will have to buy additional