Water cooling for cpu: Water Liquid Cooling | Newegg.com

The Alphacool Eisbaer Aurora offers just about everything you could want in an AIO water cooler. Its 240mm radiator provides powerful cooling, and the two 120mm Aurora Lux Pro fans are capable of 2.0 mmh3O of static pressure and 61.5 CFM of airflow. The biggest way this cooler sets itself apart is that you can open the fluid chamber and refill it, meaning it can have a longer life as part of your rig.

There’s a good amount of RGB lighting on display here as well, although it’s not as flexible as other options on this list. Both fans sport RGB light rings and the pump includes a transparent window with RGB lighting inside.

NZXT Kraken Z63

Best Liquid CPU Cooler with a Display

NZXT Kraken Z63

• See it on NZXT

Several cooler manufacturers have displays, but NZXT’s Kraken Z63 truly stands above the rest. The display contains important information like the CPU and GPU temperatures, but you can also have it display animated GIFs and other things, letting you truly personalize your setup.

The Kraken Z63 isn’t lacking in power, either, as it comes with a powerful pair of 140mm fans and an advanced Asetek water pump. If you like the idea of having a display, but don’t need tons of RGB light flooding your system, this is the one.

ekwb EK-Nucleus AIO CR240 Lux D-RGB

Best High-Performance Liquid Cooler

ekwb EK-Nucleus AIO CR240 Lux D-RGB

ekwb’s EK-Nucleus is primed and ready to keep the hottest, high-end gaming rig cool. It’s compatible with the majority of Intel or AMD setups and most PC cases, while the installation is straightforward with a mounting mechanism included. The dual 120mm fans on this beast can produce 2.7 mmh3O of static pressure and 72 CFM airflow, enabling the 240mm radiator to handle whatever your CPU throws at it.

When it comes to aesthetics, both the included fans and the water block sport RGB lighting, and the whole kit is compatible with a wide range of motherboard RGB controls, so your rig will stay cool and look cool. As a bonus for those interested in cable management, the tubing is very flexible, letting you bend them easily to fit even in smaller cases. The rotary fittings also have new positioning making for a sleeker design that’s easier to cram into tighter spaces.

Brian Barnett writes reviews, wiki guides, deals posts, features, and more for IGN. You can get your fix of his antics on Twitter (@Ribnax) or check out his show on Twitch (The Platformers).

If you buy something through this post, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, learn more.

Do you Need Thermal Paste with Liquid Cooling? — Kooling Monster

Processors & Cooling Systems

Jun 17

Written By Daniel Chen

You’ve been using air cooling for years, but finally bought yourself a nice liquid cooling rig and are ready to install. But wait… liquid cooling is better than air cooling, right? So we don’t need to use thermal paste… right? Not quite. Liquid cooling is in general more effective than air cooling, but thermal paste is not just a component of an air cooling system. Thermal paste helps any cooling system perform to its highest efficacy.

Keep reading to learn how.

How does liquid cooling help to cool down CPU?

Before we talk about thermal paste, lets get a sense of how the liquid cooling system works. If you’re familiar with air cooling, then you know that in order to dissipate the heat being generated by the CPU, the heatsink needs to first draw heat out of the CPU into a large aluminum plate with more surface area, then use a medium to disperse it.

In the case of air cooling, the medium is the air inside your case. Fans help to push out hot air from one end while drawing in cold air from the other end. In this way, you PC constantly cycles through fresh air which it uses to dissipate the heat coming off your CPU.

The concept with liquid cooling is similar – except instead of using air, we use water (coolant)… and a little bit of air. For liquid cooling, the CPU isn’t attached to a heatsink but to a water block (sometimes referred to as a baseplate). Although the name is different, the function is the same – to take in the CPU’s heat. However, from that point on, the process differs. Instead of drawing the heat into a larger surface area, we draw it into water. Then, the water is cycled into a highly-efficient radiator attached to a fan which quickly cools the water and cycles it back to the water block for a second round.

By more efficiently distributing water over more surface area (the radiator), the result is better overall cooling and quieter fan speeds when compared to traditional air cooling. (Though we sometimes say “water cooling” or use “water” to talk about the medium in a liquid cooling system, other coolants like glycol and dielectric fluid can also be used.)

Is thermal paste mandatory in liquid cooling?

The short answer is: yes.

Many people often confuse thermal paste as being “less than” in a computer, and unnecessary when more expensive components are installed. In fact, thermal paste is necessary regardless of what components are being installed. Within the realm of liquid cooling, you’ll be using either an AIO or a custom loop.

AIO

AIO stands for “All-In-One”, and as you might’ve already guessed, it includes everything you need out of the box. An AIO includes the water block, pump, radiator, tubes, fans, and fittings already put together so you can immediately install it without having to fiddle around with all the pieces.

AIO setups are suitable for beginners in liquid cooling who don’t want the risk of a fitting coming undone and spraying water all over their case. While AIO’s do not completely eliminate the risk of a valve clogging or a fitting coming undone, they do greatly decrease it if you’re a beginner. AIO’s often come RGB-ready which is also great for quick aesthetics.

Custom Loop

If you take a look at any two AIO’s, aside from minute details, they would mostly look the same – a small water block and pump, attached to 2 tubes, which run to the radiator and attached fans. The number of fans, look of the tubes, etc. may vary. However, most parts are the same. If you’re adventurous, or an enthusiast and want to step out of the mold, then you’ll want to build a custom loop.

A custom loop has essentially the same parts as an AIO – water block, pump, tubes, fans, radiator, and fittings. But each piece can be customized to your liking. Custom loops are often found in high-end PC’s like the kind you find with 4000 upvotes on /r/pcmasterrace – and rightfully so because building your own custom loop requires a higher level of expertise than simply throwing on an AIO. Every piece of the loop should be picked out and put together to make sure it functions properly – it’s almost like building another smaller computer.

Regardless of which one you choose, thermal paste will play the same role. Recall that thermal paste serves 2 purposes – it is a gap filler and a thermal conductor. In an air-cooled build, thermal paste if put between the CPU and the heatsink, allowing heat to freely flow from the CPU and be dissipated by the heatsink and the fan, as we previously discussed.

In a water-cooled build, thermal paste functions the same way. But instead of being between the CPU and the heatsink, it is instead spread between the CPU and the water block. This way, the thermal paste fills the gaps between the surface of the CPU and the water block and allows heat to more efficiently be transferred into the water.

Why is the quality of thermal paste more important in liquid cooling than in air cooling?

 Don’t let the title mislead you – thermal paste is equally important in both air cooling and water cooling. However, it is only more important in water cooling when compared to cost. With air cooling, there is a standard expected efficiency. If you have a basic air cooling setup that you paid $50 for then you’re expecting $50 worth of cooling. But if you just dropped $300 on an AIO, then you expect to get your money’s worth – without good thermal paste, you will never hit that level of efficiency.

No matter how good your water cooling setup is, if the thermal paste isn’t good enough, the heat will be stuck in the space between the CPU and the water block.

How to apply thermal paste in a liquid cooling system

Applying thermal paste in a liquid-cooled system is as easy as applying thermal paste in an air-cooled system, except instead of the heatsink, you’ll be using a water block.

1.      Make sure your computer is turned off and all wires have been unplugged from the back.

2.      (If you’re replacing the thermal paste) Unscrew the screws which attach your water block to the CPU and gentle lift it off.

3.      Clean off any old thermal paste with isopropyl alcohol and a paper towel or cotton swab (or for best results, use our Kooling Monster KLEAN-01 specially-formulated thermal paste wipe)

4.      Wait 2 minutes for the alcohol to evaporate.

5.      Apply about a pea of thermal paste to the top of your CPU (or use one of the other patterns listed here)

6.      Carefully put the water block back on top of the CPU and screw it into place.

7.      Check around the sides of the CPU/water block for any leakage.

8.      If there are leaks, use a thermal paste wipe to wipe them away.

9.      If there are leaks into the pins, unscrew the water block and use the methods here to clean up and try again.

If you’re an enthusiast or just someone looking to get into liquid cooling, there’s a lot to play around with. Liquid cooling is a great way to keep your computer running cool, quiet, and at its top performance. But not without thermal paste. Remember to always apply thermal paste when installing any new cooling components, air or liquid. Without thermal paste, an air cooler can’t do its job and a liquid cooler might as well be running dry.

Daniel Chen

How to choose water cooling – HYPERPC on DTF

940
views

During operation, the processor generates a lot of heat. It must be effectively removed so that the computer components do not overheat and fail. A competent cooling system is especially important for gaming computers that are busy with intensive calculations.

This problem is solved in many ways, up to exotic and extreme ones, such as oil cooling or liquid nitrogen systems. Water cooling for PCs is a solution that is attracting more and more attention from gamers.

General water cooling unit

The principle of water cooling is based on the thermodynamic properties of water: it takes much more energy to heat it than to heat air.

Computer cooling is organized in much the same way as a similar car system: liquid, using pressure developed by a pump, circulates in the channels of the heat exchanger, enters the radiator, which is blown by the air flow from the fan, cools down in it and again enters the heat exchanger.

Distilled water is used as a heating medium, to which chemicals are added to reduce its corrosive properties. Sometimes dyes are also added to the water.

Water cooling elements

The main element that removes heat from the processor is the water block. This is a sealed metal tank with a flat pad. The surface of this element is very carefully polished for good contact between the heat exchanger and the processor.

The water block is installed on the processor using brackets that exclude any movement of the element. Although we are only writing about the processor here, the water block is often also installed on the video card, and sometimes on the motherboard chipsets, RAM sticks, and even the power supply.

At the base of the water block, adjacent to the element that needs cooling, there is a system of microchannels in which water circulates.

Hot fluid enters the radiator. In terms of design and principle, it is similar to its automotive “brother”: heat-conducting pipes, usually copper, penetrate metal plates and transfer heat to them. From this grating, it dissipates into the air.

A fan, one or more, helps to increase the efficiency of heat dissipation. It supplies air flow to the radiator, providing it with rapid cooling. The radiator and fans are assembled into a single unit.

The heart of the water cooling system is the pump, that is, the pump that pumps liquid around. Its “vessels” are flexible hoses or rigid tubes, most often transparent so that the movement of the liquid can be observed. The ends of hoses and tubes are crimped with standard size fittings.

In custom systems, rigid pipes are more often installed, and in maintenance-free systems, flexible hoses are installed. Tubes can be interestingly arranged by setting a strict geometry.

The expansion tank, which is needed so that the water, heating and expanding, does not damage the system, can be either a separate structural element or built into a pump or radiator.

Water cooling types

You can arrange cooling for the processor, video card and other computer components in different ways. The two main types of water cooling are unattended (solid) and serviced (custom) systems.

The complete system includes all necessary elements and is supplied as a sealed, non-removable circuit. Custom is assembled, like a computer, from various components, often from different manufacturers.

Both solutions have pros and cons. The whole system is proven and reliable, and in the custom one, you can finely select all the components for your tasks, and, if necessary, replace a separate element.

A custom system requires a more skilled builder, so if you want to build your custom water-cooled gaming PC configuration, in most cases it’s best to go to someone with the knowledge and experience.

Pros and cons of water cooling

Liquid cooling systems have the following advantages:

1. Efficiency. Usually, even a single-section water cooling system removes heat better than a similar solution using a cooler. True, if we compare liquid systems with air systems that use heat pipes, then the conclusions are not so unambiguous.

2. More compact arrangement. The elements of the cooling system are less bulky than those of the air. They can be conveniently located in the system unit so that nothing interferes with the movement of air in the case and does not block access to the motherboard ports.

3. Low noise level. Of course, both fans and pump are noisy in multi-section fluid systems, but the overall noise level is usually much lower than that of an air-cooled computer. In addition to “quiet” fans, this circumstance is affected by their lower rotation speed.

4. Possibility of fine tuning and customization. This plus applies only to serviced systems that can be assembled to meet the needs of the computer owner.

This is what a three-section cooling unit looks like

Criticism of fluid systems usually boils down to the following arguments:

1. High price. Even single-section unattended systems have a cost comparable to a full-fledged cooler “tower”, and the upper threshold for serviced custom systems is hardly achievable at all.

2. Risk of leakage. In tower coolers with heat pipes, water is also a coolant, but it is inside a hermetically sealed reservoir. There are many connections in the water system, and no matter how reliable they are, there is still some risk of leakage. The bad news is that the manufacturer only gives a guarantee on the components of the cooling system. If computer components are damaged due to an accident, they will have to be replaced at your own expense.

3. Short life. Water is a chemically active substance, therefore, even if only copper elements are used in the system, the system will clog and fail over time. The use of coloring pigments in the liquid, for all its beauty, reduces the life of water cooling even faster.

4. Complexity of service. This disadvantage applies mainly to serviced systems: you need to correctly perform the first start-up of the system, monitor the liquid level, pump operation and the absence of sediment.

As a rule, for gaming computers that are equipped with not too hot processors, air cooling on heat pipes is the best solution.

The use of a fluid system is most often a matter of personal aesthetic preference. It is really necessary either for systems with constant high loads on a top-end processor with a couple of dozen cores, or if extreme overclocking is used.

Leaders in water cooling systems

There are many variations of water cooling systems on the market. Consider those that deserve special attention.

Single section systems

In this nomination the product of DEEPCOOL model LS320 is of interest. Its thermal power, that is, how much heat it can take away, ranges from 170 to 190 watts.

This is a good option for a small mini-ITX system unit. The water block is installed on both the Intel socket LGA 1700 and AMD socket AM5. Among the advantages, in addition to heat dissipation, is the quiet operation of the pump and fan even at maximum speed. A rich set of accessories and a beautiful appearance complete the list of its advantages.

Two-section systems

Here we highlight two models: Castle 240EX from GamerStorm and Kraken X63 RGB from NZXT.

The first one provides heat dissipation up to 250 W, has reliable protection against leaks and has a large number of wires, connectors and various fasteners out of the box. This number includes the pump speed controller.

The model is located in the “junior” price segment, but at the same time it shows excellent characteristics and is suitable for various types of sockets. Appearance is also not discounted: the water block is equipped with a “hypnotizing” backlight.

The second is a great overclocking solution for Ryzen processors. Kraken fans have an increased resource, they work quietly, they can be controlled using both a hardware controller and software. The main advantage is the ability to install the pump in a convenient place due to the function of its rotation.

Power Systems

Two models also fall into the category of water-cooled top that provide heat dissipation of 250W or more.

The first is Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML360P Silver Edition. This is one of the quietest representatives of its class. Fans with hydrodynamic bearings are responsible for acoustic comfort. The base of the water block is designed so that the thermal paste is concentrated in the hottest part of the processor during installation, and the excess is squeezed out.

A pump is also installed in the monolithic heat sink unit, so that the system is very compact for its size. It is primed, installation requires minimal effort. The fan controller can be installed outside if desired: it is attached to the case with a magnet. The second is the solution from Arctic. The Liquid Freezer II 420 model has a water block, which is equipped with an additional fan. It cools the liquid even before it enters the radiator-heat sink, and at the same time cools the socket. The kit includes fasteners for Intel and AMD sockets of the latest generations. Only full-sized cases are suitable for installing a three-section radiator.

About water cooling: why you need and how to choose

• Computer store
• Blog
• Articles on the topic: Cooling

Article author: Sergey Koval
([email protected])

Published: 24 August 2020

Does your PC need water cooling?

When assembling a PC, it is important to consider not only the key components: the motherboard, video card and processor. For efficient and long-term operation of all of the above components, active cooling is required. It is of two types – air or water.

Air cooling consists of a heat sink on the heat generating part and a fan that blows over this heat sink – there are many options and configurations.

Water cooling works in a similar way to tower coolers. The difference is that here cooling does not occur in a single circuit with a radiator, but due to the transfer of coolant through the cooling system from the heat sink to a separate radiator, which is blown by fans. Most of these systems consist of a water cooling unit, two hoses, a radiator, and several fans.

As with air-cooled systems, there is a wide range of options available, which fall into two broad categories: prefabricated all-in-one cooling systems or custom-made cooling circuits. Today we will focus on turnkey solutions.

Most ordinary users do not need water cooling.

Even a gaming PC most often does not require water cooling – a regular tower cooler is enough. The fact is that even an expensive processor in a gaming PC usually does not generate as much heat as water cooling covers. The potential of an expensive cooling system will not be used.

However, there are situations without which water cooling is a must. We are talking about an expensive and productive segment, in which there are processors with a couple of dozen cores. A processor with a large number of cores and the XE suffix can generate heat dissipation in excess of 350 W – air cooling simply cannot cope.

The same applies to overclocked processors – heat dissipation increases and the entire system needs serious cooling. If your PC has a powerful graphics card. and an overclocked processor, the whole system will turn out to be very hot – there is a chance that air cooling will not be effective enough.

Also, water cooling is relevant for those who are willing to overpay for a quiet PC. Fans are also used in water cooling, but the necessary power can be picked up by a larger radiator. As a result, the system will be quieter than a tower cooler with a similar heat pack.

Let’s move on to specific models. The models of water cooling systems themselves differ slightly from each other. The main difference is the number of fans.

If you need water cooler with single fan, Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML120L RGB MLW-D12M-A20PC-R1 will do.

Separately, we note the model Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML120R RGB MLX-D12M-A20PC-R1 – this single-section system with two fans.

Most models are equipped with two fans . You can choose from the following similar models:

– Cooler Master MasterLiquid Lite 240 MLW-D24M-A20PW-R1 ;

— Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML240L RGB MLW-D24M-A20PC-R1 ;

— Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML240R RGB MLX-D24M-A20PC-R1 ;

— Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML240P MIRAGE MLY-D24M-A20PA-R1 .

Also in the catalog there is one model with three fans – Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML360R RGB MLX-D36M-A20PC-R1 .

All models listed above support 4-pin + 3-pin connection and most common sockets:

– INTEL : LGA 1150/1151/1155/1156, LGA 1356/1366, LGA 2011/2011v3/2066;

— AMD : AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+/AM4/FM1/FM2/FM2+.