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In the pantheon of nerd achievement, water cooling ranks near the top—somewhere between installing Linux and becoming fluent in Klingon. And there’s a reason the hardest of the hardcore prefer water cooling: It’s incredibly effective at lowering the temperatures of core system components. With higher thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity than air coolers, water cooling can mean double-digit drops in CPU and GPU temperatures.
However, water cooling isn’t exactly a walk in the park. You’ve got two challenges ahead of yourself: Designing the water-cooling system that’s right for your PC, and actually putting it together. Both tasks will take some time and effort, but neither has to be daunting. Every first-time water-cooling build is a learn-as-you go experience, but we’ll walk you through the details and help you avoid the mistakes that would take the biggest toll on your system and your wallet.
The advantage of a custom water-cooling system is that it’s just that—custom. By picking out exactly which parts you want, you’re able to create a system that matches your cooling needs and your aesthetic sensibilities. To get you started building your system, we’ll go through every major component of a water-cooling system, describing what each one does, and what your options are.
Even though there’s no fluid touching your case, it’s one of the most important parts of a good water-cooling setup. For water cooling, you’ll need a case with plenty of room on the inside and a large fan grate, ideally on the top or bottom of the case. Although it can be a little hard on the wallet, getting a case that’s been designed with water cooling in mind will ensure that your install goes as smoothly as possible. In our build, we used the Corsair Obsidian 800D full-tower case.
A block is the piece of hardware responsible for drawing heat out of your computer hardware (your CPU and GPU, for instance) and into the liquid coolant in a water-cooling system. A block of heat-conducting metal makes contact with your CPU or GPU (aided by thermal paste) on one side, while water is forced across the other, literally flushing away excess heat.
You need a separate block for each component you want to cool. The obvious component to water cool is your CPU, which will see some of the greatest benefit in the form of increased overclocking potential. The GPU on your videocard is another good candidate for water cooling, as is your chipset. For this build we’ve chosen to focus on CPU and GPU cooling.
As for actually picking which water block to use, it’s generally a matter of brand and the right block for your part. For instance, if you’re using a socket 1156 CPU, a quick Internet search for “socket 1156 water block” will turn up a handful of compatible water blocks, as well as some performance comparisons. We’ve chosen CPU and GPU blocks made by DangerDen (www.dangerden.com).
In a water-cooling setup, the radiator is the water block’s complement, releasing heat absorbed from the block into the air. It accomplishes this by forcing the liquid coolant through an array of thin tubes attached to metal fins. Traditional case fans pull air through the capillary-like radiator, absorbing heat from the liquid and forcing it out of the case.
There are radiators big enough to support one, two, or three fans. Of course, bigger radiators and more fans amount to better cooling, so we generally recommend going with the biggest radiator that fits your case and your budget.
The fanciest water-cooling equipment in the world won’t do a thing unless the water’s moving through it, and that’s accomplished with a pump. There are quite a few pumps on the market, and although it’s on the pricier side, we recommend the Laing DDC 3.25 for its reliability and small formfactor. If you go with a different pump, make sure to read user reviews before you buy—a shoddy pump will wear out or break down over time.
In water cooling, a reservoir is a pretty simple thing—it’s a tank of water, with an inlet and an outlet. You might wonder why, exactly, you need a big tank of water in your system, since it doesn’t have an immediate function, like absorbing or dispelling heat. However, the reservoir performs a number of important duties:
As for which reservoir to use—well, it’s really just a tank; pick one that fits in your case and looks nice. For this build, we used a double optical-drive bay acrylic reservoir from Danger Den, which comes with a pair of Molex-powered LEDs to light up the front of your case.
Finally, you need tubing to combine all the other parts. The most common sizes of tubing used are 1/2-inch and 3/8-inch diameter. The demonstrable performance difference between the two sizes of tubing is slim, and 3/8-inch tubing can bend more without kinking, so we used that for our system. Whichever you pick, just make sure that all the rest of your water-cooling hardware has fittings of the same size. Most all hardware is available with either 1/2-inch or 3/8-inch fittings; if you get a size that doesn’t match your tubing, you’re hosed.
Beyond the diameter of the tubing, you just need to pick a color. Most sites that deal in water cooling sell pretty much the same PVC-based tubing. It works well, it’s fairly cheap, and it’s available in a bunch of UV-reactive colors. Some sites offer slightly more expensive Tygon tubing, which is more flexible and durable. Fittings come in barbed or compression styles. Both will work just fine, though compression fittings look nicer and are a bit more expensive.
You’ll also need coolant to put into your system. Although it’s commonly referred to as “water cooling,” most modern cooling systems use some sort of coolant with anti-corrosive and anti-conductive properties. This fluid is available from any distributor of liquid-cooling products, and comes in various UV-reactive colors.
Comments are closed on this article
GLeeC
May 14, 2010 at 2:23pm
I am sorry to be critical but every time I see an article on water cooling it leaves me wanting. It always says "it is important to select the right parts, you must consider all the parameters" Then It goes on to say" We chose these parts" And it goes together so easy cause you picked one (usually expensive) manufacture. It is little more than the manufacture user manual. What we need is detail on the "right parts" selection process.
For example, What parts really need water? or more cooling? RAM? RAM on the GPU card?, What Mobo chips and how do we identify them (touch?)? HD? PSU? When is air cooling good enough? Can you do both in one case? On the same part?
Thats just for starters. And I have never seen any articles on GPU water cooling that says much. How do you take it apart? Will I break it? Are there any parts on the Video card that also need cooling besides the GPU? What about torque on card from hoses? Clearence needed? Vibration? Etc.
If you tell me you dont have room, I say forget the article if you cant do it right. Make a year long series covering each topic per article. In fact, make it continous running as by a year many subjects will need revisiting.
Normally I like MAXPC very much but many articles seem to always raise more questions than answers. Your readers know how to follow the package directions, show us what we need that is not there and leave out the "put card in slot" instructions and pictures, to save room. Try it on one article and see how your readers think? Throgh out ever description that does not add to the user manual info. Try it online first. But try it?
Blazing_Tiger
January 17, 2012 at 8:55pm
I know this is over a year old but i recently started researching water cooling and even with just starting out i know enough to agree with you GLeeC.
Also for us visual learners, pictures are precious learning tools. The diagram you created was alright but it didn't match the rest of the pictures. The CPU connected to the GPU and reservoir.
yd
September 19, 2011 at 2:39am
i couldn't agree more with GLeeC
i have not built a water cooled PC yet, BUT
i have read & watched enough guides to see that yours is very lacking
in some small yet critical information.
just registered to replay on that comment,after reading the hole article.
i don't think ill keep reading other of your guides, assuming they are like this one,
just lacking important info and to superficial.
sorry, that's just my opinion.
Michael Ellis
May 01, 2010 at 6:58pm
I am not doing liquid cooling, I have a factory built PC (boring), but I did download one of the temperature apps just for fun. I looked at the readout and it says that the core temperatures are maxing out at around 140 degrees Fahrenheit. That sounds high to me. What is the normal temperature supposed to be for an air cooled i7?
rabbit01
June 14, 2010 at 5:25pm
I've got an i7 860, not over-clocked, using stock fan. With room temp of around 24C, CPU temp is somewhere in the high thirties C during idle/low CPU usage. At 100% CPU usage, CPU temp will be in the mid seventies deg C.
Athlonite
March 25, 2010 at 9:53pm
Why would you run already warmed up water over you expensive graphics cards cores all you need to do is install an T junction on the pump outward flow pipe and one on the exhaust flow that way both get cold water
Play till it breaks then learn how to fix it!
Kaldor
March 31, 2010 at 6:02pm
Simple.
The GPU requires MUCH less cooling than a CPU. Your basically throwing it a bone at that point.
mhadina
July 30, 2010 at 9:22am
Wrong. My cpu i3 540 for example even overclocked to 4.6 GHz burns around 125W while Sapphire HD4870x2 requires at least 650W PSU. So what do you think where all the rest of power go?
Kaldor
March 31, 2010 at 6:02pm
Simple.
The GPU requires MUCH less cooling than a CPU. Your basically throwing it a bone at that point.
jnicho15
March 25, 2010 at 3:11pm
Danger Den's ATX Power Supply Bypass Adapter http://www.dangerden.com/store/atx_power-supply-bypass-adapter.html can make the pump run for $2.99 nicely
Devo85x
March 27, 2010 at 11:21am
Ever wonder, "why can't my power supply run without connecting it to my hardware?" Well now, IT CAN!
INTRODUCING THE SILVER PAPERCLIP!
This amazing patented technology allows you to start your powersupply without worrying about all those annoying connectors. Just attach one end to the green wire and the other end to a black wire on your 20/24 pin power connector. Then what do you get? POWER! And now for a limited time, FREE SHIPPING*
*when you steal from a coworker/classmate
mhadina
July 30, 2010 at 9:28am
Please think once again. This is a how to make a water loop for the first time and you think someone without any expirience could use a piece of wire or something and do it right without error? A short-circuit could easy be made by unexpirienced PC user. So please people check what and how you are doing...
thematejka
March 24, 2010 at 8:00pm
Ok, want to know the best, and almost free cooling method that you can use with or without water cooling? It only applys if you have an air conditioner nearby, or geothermal heating/cooling, with a vent near your pc. You run some of that white, flexible hose from your vent or air conditioner to your intake on your pc. An 80mm fan should fit perfectly inside to help suck the air, while the vent pushes it. I ran a big water cooling loop with triple rad and everything, and after hooking up the hose to the intake at the back of my case, with the front fan exhausting, my cpu, gpu, and case temps all dropped 13, 12, and 14 degrees respectively. If you have geothermal, or an air conditioner near by do this now!
white_sereph
April 03, 2010 at 11:49am
If you do that to drop your case temperatures below ambient room temperature, you risk creating conensation on your tubing - which in turn could drip water droplets onto your running hardware. Good luck with that.
radarblips
March 24, 2010 at 10:08am
In all these "How To's" about liquid cooling, they never tell you how to drain it. How to add more parts to your loop or how to add in a a tube for draining, It feels like u get it together and then hope you never have to take it apart.
Ceadderman
April 07, 2010 at 11:39am
Well all you should need to do is to run single hose to a spigot fitting with an inline ballvalve fitting further up the line. So when you do wish to flush the old coolant out it has someplace to go without making a mess.
I should point out that you'll want a catch container under the spigot when you open it. You shouldn't even have to run the system to flush it so long as the spigot is the lowest point of the system. Gravity is awesome for clearing lines.
Oh and leak testing? That's what measured fitment and bath tubs are for. Set up your system as if you were going to run it right then and there. (Do NOT use thermal paste yet.) then you can do two things to trick your PSU into operating. You can "MoBo Test" an old MoBo on a product box(why use a jumper if you have a useable connection handy) and with only your pump in the case you can test all your fittings in the tub using distilled water. This also lets you run your pump for 10 minutes as the article suggested. Just keep a towel around your pump in case any leak should develop. Water is environmentally safe so should you have problems you won't be running coolant into the sewer system. You can even put your case in a dry tub to keep everything together and not have to worry about tripping over a line.
"If at first you don't succeed... Shoot the summabiotch. Problem solved."
kal9390
March 24, 2010 at 6:46am
This is a nice article, but I wish it had included a list of "cost effective" products for I have been looking at a LCS for the past 2 years yet these prices just don't seem to drop 8*( cause I am poor college student.
DRAGONWEEZEL
March 24, 2010 at 10:43am
Yeah, it's not DIY, but it's a mere $75 dollars and my idle temp was just 10 degrees F over room temperature! My load tests were pushing a whopping 45C or 115 F. I've never seen anything like it! (granted thats in an antec 900 two case, but still)
THERE ARE ONLY 11 TYPES OF PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD. Those that think binary jokes are funny, those that don't, and those that don't know binary
Emokidnotrly
March 25, 2010 at 1:32am
there are only 11 types of people in the world. Those that think binary jokes are funny, and those that dont know binary XD
Muerte
March 29, 2010 at 7:41am
Okay, let me splain the yoke to you Lucy.
See heonly put 2 because he did not think the yoke was funny so he implies he doesn't know binary by only haveing two answers which implies the joke wasn't funny.
See which is funny in itself.
Well unless you have to splain it to Lucy.
Devo85x
March 26, 2010 at 7:19am
I fall into the 01 category for this joke but the 10 category for most of them =]
white_sereph
April 03, 2010 at 11:52am
It's a spin in binary on an older joke:
There are 3 types of people in this world: Those who can count, and those who can't
kavir
March 24, 2010 at 6:39am
You should always leak test your system for 24hrs before plugging in the rest of your hardware. Rushing this will only lead to trouble. Tissue makes finding leaks very easy, it absorbs any leaking fluid and makes it easy to spot.
Also, there was no mention to using distilled water instead of pre-mix coolants. Distilled water is far cheaper than pre-mixes, does not break down or gunk-up your loop and can be purchased locally. Also, no anti-corrosive should be needed unless you have mixed metals and very few products use aluminium anymore. As far non-conductive goes, any dust on the parts/that entered your loop would negate this anyways. UV reactive tubing is a FAR better, safer and a cheaper option.
Should there have been a leak onto your components, unplug them immediately and try to wipe off as much as you can. Some recommend leaving it in ispropyl alochol till it dries off and/or using a blow dryer. Keep in mind that it can take up to a month for some parts to work again but most do, even from leaks with the system on unless left unspotted for an extended period.
jakesty@aol.com
March 29, 2010 at 3:52am
I wanted to know what that was. Newegg $299.99, ouch. I love all of the water ports in the back of the case and of course the open access to the bottom of the CPU.
mhadina
July 30, 2010 at 9:36am
If I may say - it is a great case but costly for lot of us. I may suggest a IN WIN Maelstrom for around US$120 or a beter one Silverstone raven rv02 for US$200....
Ceadderman
January 19, 2011 at 8:20am
Bah! Go with the HAF 932. Just as big, cheaper and better than the INWIN Maelstrom. lol
