Maximum PC

Ok...I got my Koolance Exos today (It's my first venture into liquid cooling...I'll step up to the plate with the pro-grade stuff later.), and I was reading the "ingredients" for the coolant that they sent. Looks like regular ol' antifreeze to me. That's my question...I used to be a Ford Technician, and I have quite a bit of the high-dollar antifreeze in storage. By high-dollar, I mean the stuff that's flourescent orange, hot pink, and bright red. This stuff would look abolutely bitchin in a liquid cooling system, so I'm asking here to find the one who knows. Is the coolant for cooling PC's the same as automotive-grade antifreeze? According to what I've read, the automotive antifreeze is actually better than the PC stuff.

Accually, AF will only hinder cooling. AF as you know is made so your liquid dosnt freeze and for lubercation/anti-rust.

Well, your dont have the freezing issue (would'nt that be nice) with the PC in the house. So you just need to take care of the lubercations/protection.

The best formula for this is distilled water (just buy a gallon the the store) and Water Wetter. WW lubercates and adds protection - but does the best thermal cooling job for a PC.

There are reviews all over the web with diffrnt temps with diffrnt liquids.

Adding a bit of that UV additive is good.

But your right, the better grade the AF (if you choose to use it) - the better temps you would have.

So far, the best I can say is 90% AquaFina drinking water (and yes - the brand is important), and 10% AF (or even 5%). There are better mixes - but the AF will cut down on "bio" problems and will look nice.

Aqua Fina is a low TDS drinking water. It has some advantages over De-ionized water and is nearly at demineralized level. Distilled water of any type is your next best bet. Its low in TDS, but lacks any buffering and can contribute to corrosion.

Manta

PS, visit the OC folder - they know more about it than here

In depth testing

Good read.

Not bad at all

Manta

no kidding...somebody did their homework.

All i can say is WOW that was one of the most in depth articles i have read on the subject.

Anti-freeze is so much more than just keeping your water from freezing. It's also coolant, hince the Glycol that makes it taste so good and yummy (FYI: Dr. Pepper had glycol in it for yummy-ness up until a few years ago). This is also why you have to mix the coolant in your radiator at a certain ratio. Too much keeps you from cooling, not enough makes it freeze. You can test this buy just running pure water in your car or bike in the summer. It gets hotter faster, but a good cooling system can keep it from boiling over.

That water-wetter became famous because of track rules stating that you can't use antifreeze in your vehicle. A small puddle of the crap on the race line can cause a string of wrecks. Anyway, it's not slippery like standard antifreeze is, and doesn't taste as good IMO. I've ran the WW and a royal purple variation for over 10 years in my race and street bikes and have noticed it's not the best for corrosion, but still good enough to use on a daily basis.

Protection mainly is aiming at bi-metallic corrosion. You have brass, steel, aluminum, copper...all sorts of different metals that the same water can flow over. Without the protection, these items will cake over with gunk. PC cooling is the same with brass, copper, and aluminum possible in one loop. Because there isn't such a high temp cycle in a PC, this damage isn't sped up, but still happens.

But anyway, antifreeze you use in your car doesn't hinder cooling, it helps. (Another FYI: Volkswagon coolant is blue if you need that color)

Dude...lol...what are you? You're a machine of knowledge!