Maximum PC liquid cooling RSS Feed

Boiling Liquid Microchannels Could Cool PCs and Autos

Ryan Whitwam — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:00:20 -0500

Researchers at Purdue University claim to have developed a new kind of cooling technology. Tannaz Harirchia and Suresh Garimella, are using boiling liquid inside microchannels on specially fabricated chips to more efficiently cool components.

Fluids do not behave in the same way in microchannels as they do elsewhere, allowing for increased heat exchange. “Allowing a liquid to boil in cooling systems dramatically increases how much heat can be removed, compared to simply heating a liquid to below its boiling point," the researchers wrote. The device constructed at Purdue is basically a small one inch square heatsink. After liquid has boiled off in the microchannels, a small compressor disperses the heat, returning it to a liquid.

The technology has possible applications in both PC and automotive cooling. PCs are relying on numerous fans, or bulky water block cooling. Similarly, cars use both air and water cooling to remain in working order. Both these areas could see advancement if this microchannel cooling technology takes off.

Asetek Launches Liquid Cooling for Intel Core i5

Paul Lilly — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 07:46:43 -0500

Stock cooling is for chumps, but until cooling manufacturers either update their existing coolers with socket 1156 brackets or come out with new products that support the Core i5 platform, you might not have much choice. Enter Asetek, who just launched a liquid cooling system capable of cooling every major Intel socket currently available.

“Asetek’s robust liquid cooling can now easily be configured for any Intel desktop motherboard. A single mounting ring enables flexible manufacturing in both high and low volume PC manufacturing settings,” said Gary Baum, Asetek's SVP of Marketing. "The new retention ring helps our OEM customers reduce inventory costs by providing a single solution to support Intel's entire mix of socket types."

The one-size-fits-all mounting bracket features a single mounting ring and multiple screw inserts so there's no fumbling around the box to find the correct part.

No word yet on price or availability, but if past products are any indication, expect to see Asetek's new liquid cooler used primarily in OEM systems.

Image Credit: Asetek

Puget Begins Selling Its Mineral Oil Aquarium PC Kit

Andy Salisbury — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:56:43 -0500

The masterminds at Puget Systems have decided to make the most of their extremely popular YouTube video, and offer a DIY kit so that the public can create their own mineral oil-cooled PC. Puget is claiming hat they’ve been using the system featured in their video for over a year now with no hardware issues.

Each kit will come fully loaded with an aquarium tank and cover, motherboard tray and IO panel, power/HDD LED’s, a power switch, SSD hard drive mounting bracket and a power cord with an extension to reach the bottom of the tank. That’s the base model, and it’ll run you $312.50. There’s also a higher end version with a radiator aimed at systems that are packing heavier hardware, such as quad-core CPUs, and any video card higher than an 8800GT. That version will run you $375.

So if you’re not worried about voiding the warranty on every component that you submerge in the liquid, head on over to Puget Systems’ site and pick up a aquarium to sink your hardware into. But keep in mind that once you submerge your hardware there will be no going back. According to Puget, “Mineral oil is very difficult, if not impossible to clean from your components once they are submerged.”

Image Credit: Puget Systems

MIT Announces “Breakthrough of the Decade” in Fluid Behavior

Andy Salisbury — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:15:09 -0500

We may or may not recognize it, but fluid is a very integral part of our everyday lives. It decides everything from our fuel economy to (in some cases) how cool our computer runs. Until now, there was only one key way of deciphering the mechanics of fluids, and that was the Prandtl equation, developed in 1904. Sadly though, the Prandtl equation has many limitations, including only having the ability to calculate only two-dimensional problems, and a steady flow (such as that of a car traveling slowly). Thanks to a breakthrough by MIT’s George Haller, that’s all about to change.

A recently developed new equation, which is a product of four years of work by Professor Haller, will apply to three-dimensional and unsteady flows. This was confirmed with the aid of Thomas Peacock, the Atlantic Richfield Career Development Associate Professor at MIT, who lead experiments in order to validate the equation. Professor Peacock states, “This is the tip of the iceberg, but we’ve shown that this theory works.” The new work will probably go down as one of the greatest scientific advances of the decade, if it survives the peer review that will come.

This innovation in the mechanics of liquids will have an overwhelming influence on many industries, including aerospace, automotive and even computers. With these breakthroughs in calculating how liquids will act and perform in different environments, there’s no doubt that your PC’s liquid cooling system will soon get an overhaul.

Image Credit: MIT

Asetek First to Offer Liquid Cooling For Radeon HD 4870

Paul Lilly — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 22:11:24 -0500

From the same company who brought enthusiasts sub-zero CPU temperatures through its Vapocill cooling sytem, and, more recently, was chosen by HP to handle cooling duties for the Blackbird 002, Asetek now sets its sights on the Radeon HD 4870 and becomes the first to offer a liquid cooling solution for ATI's new flagship videocard. Not settling for simply being first, Asetek looks to set the bar high by touting a GPU temperature reduction by as much as 26 degrees, while operating at a fairly quiet 30 dBA, all in a single-slot cooling package.

Image Credit: Asetek

Thermaltake Symphony Mini

Josh Norem — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 02:46:49 -0600

Thermaltake seems to be the only manufacturer designing water-cooling kits specifically for the home-theater crowd, and we applaud the company’s cojones for doing so. Because most folks want their HTPC to be as quiet as the rest of their A/V components, water-cooling is an excellent way to maximize performance while minimizing noise.

The latest Thermaltake HTPC cooler is a smaller version of the giant Symphony, which is itself a great cooler, albeit freaking huge and way too pricey at $500. The Mini is much more affordable, and manageable.

The idea is to place it somewhere near your HTPC cabinet so that it blends right in; it looks just like a tower speaker. Most people would never know the truth—that behind its mesh grill sit a reservoir and a massive aluminum radiator cooled by three quiet 12cm fans running at a mere 1,400rpm.

The setup uses a dual-pump configuration, and fits all late model CPU sockets, including BTX designs. It ships prefilled with coolant, and the CPU water block comes attached. Mobo removal is required for Intel systems, but not for AMD. We love the Mini’s quick-detach hoses, which make moving your system around much easier; and we love that Thermaltake included enough tubing to place the tower 7 feet from your rig.

In our tests, we compared the Mini to Zalman’s Reserator 1 Plus (reviewed Holiday 2005). The Symphony outperformed the fanless Reserator by a few degrees, which we attribute to its triple-fan setup. However, it ran nearly as quiet as the Reserator. We could only hear the fans when we placed our ear right next to the Symphony’s tower.

Of course, there’s a catch: The Symphony Mini only cools the CPU, and it’s not upgradable. That makes it damn pricey, especially considering that the Reserator 1 Plus costs the same, and includes a GPU block. For our money, the 1 Plus is a better deal, but the Symphony Mini is a close second.

Month Reviewed: November 2006

Verdict: 9

URL: www.thermaltake.com

Swiftech H20-80 Micro

Josh Norem — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 02:04:46 -0600

Swiftech’s dual-radiator Apex Ultra water-cooling kit is the current cooling record-holder (in our Lab, at least), so when the company told us it had a Micro kit that was designed to fit in tight, cramped cases, we were intrigued. Like most hardcore PC users, we assumed a small radiator couldn’t get the job done—at least without making a ton of noise. Boy, were we ever wrong.

The kit uses Swiftech’s best components, including the eerily quiet MCP350 12-volt pump, which pushes the water around like a schoolyard bully. It uses vinyl tubing with a 3/8-inch internal diameter and a tiny transparent reservoir. The cooler’s secret weapon is an 8cm radiator—an all-new “quiet performance” model optimized for low-flow fans.

The kit includes a 12V-to-7V fan adapter to quiet the fan a smidge more. Swiftech includes a small bottle of its Hydrx UV reactive anti-algae additive that you must combine with distilled water (water is not included). Every component in this kit is top-of-the-line, and they work extremely well together.

During testing, the teeny radiator/fan setup provided surprisingly good performance for such a small package. Some reservoirs make loud sloshing noises, but not this one—it is the quietest unit we’ve ever tested. Sure, 50 C might seem a bit hot under load, but it’s just a few degrees hotter than what we’re used to seeing on our FX-60. One very cool feature of the Micro is that, unlike other Swiftech kits, this one fits entirely within your case. Awesome!

Sure, the instructions are as dense as pound cake, but that’s par for the course with Swiftech. We don’t have any other gripes at all. If you’re looking for an all-internal kit, be sure to put the Micro on your shopping list.

Month Reviewed: November 2006

Verdict: 9
kickass=yes

URL: www.swiftnets.com

Sapphire Toxic Radeon X1900 XTX

Michael Brown — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 18:16:56 -0500

The common perceptions of liquid cooling are that it’s quiet and that it increases the headroom available for overclocking. The common fear of liquid cooling is that the slightest mistake—failing to tighten a hose clamp, for instance, or incorrectly torquing a water block—can lead to disaster.

Sapphire’s Toxic X1900 XTX delivers the perceived benefits of liquid cooling while greatly diminishing risk to the do-it-yourselfer: Sapphire preinstalled what looks like a custom version of ThermalTake’s Tide Water cooler. And then went two steps further by factory-overclocking the GPU to 675MHz and the memory to 800MHz (from ATI’s reference-design speeds of 650- and 775MHz, respectively).

After unlocking the card and running ATI’s Overdrive utility, we were further impressed to see the X1900 XTX’s clock speed jump to 689MHz (memory inched up just 1MHz). GPU temps, meanwhile, topped out at 78 C with the two-speed fan running on high, and 81 C with it on low. (Because the fan is a trifle noisy at high speed, we recommend using low speed if your environment permits.)

Although the cooling apparatus doesn’t draw power from the PCI bus, the reservoir is designed to reside in one of those slots. This didn’t prevent us from running an X-Fi soundcard—and we were able to fit an X1900 XT CrossFire Edition in there, too—but it left no room in our Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe motherboard for any other expansion cards.

Month Reviewed: November 2006

+ WHITE WATER: Cool and quiet; impressive clock speeds.

- EFFLUENT: Expensive; slower than 7950 GX2 cards.

VERDICT: 7

URL: www.sapphiretech.com