Water Cooling vs fan cooling

cascaderailroad

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Everyone knows that a lquid cooling system would do the best job on keeping CPU and video cards cool ... What if you had a desktop and blew a desk fan on high right on the components, especially in the blast of a room air conditioner duct work flexible dryer vent tube blowing right on the components ... How cool could that keep a desktop PC ?

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How cool could it go? No lower than ambient. A large single desk fan doesn't offer a huge benefit (Kept my old Pentium D 820 below 90°C however, ha.) and dust build up is quite a problem.

Nothing really beats a CPU cooler with a large surface area, or a properly setup liquid cooled system, unless you want to go into the realms of the extreme, at which point we're talking about fitting an air conditioner to your computer, or going as far as liquid nitrogen.

Jack.
 
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Water cooling is good if you maintain the system. Just like an automobile, you need to check the fluid and ensure there is enough coolant in the system otherwise the water will remain warm and not cool the system enough or at all. There can also be a problem with algae build-up so a good algaecide has to be added to the fluid whenever the system is topped off. There are also problems with leaks, as my brother-in-law found out the hard way. It didn't do any damage, but it sure caused an awful mess to clean up. His problem, by the way, was self-inflicted and caused by poking around in the computer case.

Blowing directly on the components...

This will work to a certain point, but then there is the ambient air issue because the fan is doing nothing than moving the air around as the internal components can't push their heat away from them. Unlike human beings and other warm blooded critters, computers don't sweat so there is no wicking of moisture to cool things down. Most computer cases are tight with air vents placed in such a way that the air flows across the surface. The in-blowing fans force the air across the components quickly due to the Bernoulli effect; the same reason why wind pulls people out from under bridges in severe storms... This increased air flow moves the hot air away from the components and cools them down.

Some components, such as CPUs and GPUs, use what is called a heat pipe. This is a fan placed very tightly on a big heat sink which forces the heat out of the case in a similar fashion. You find these a lot in laptops and other devices that have a tiny space, including video cards. On big servers and workstations, there are direct pipe-blowers placed on the CPU and sometimes the video cards. These also work in a similar fashion, however, they make use of more commonly available fans, but requite some kind of plastic or cardboard box around the fan and CPU.

The best solution for cooling is adequate airflow overall, which of course you are implying here with the big fan placed in front of the system. To ensure proper airflow, there are steps that are needed that ensure there is nothing in the way to impede the air. With more and more components being crammed into smaller computer cases, we have problems with wiring and cabling. case components, and other things getting in the way of proper air flow. With the more common SATA devices and rounded cables, the cabling has become less of a problem, however, that doesn't solve hard drives, and yes even SSDs are placed in hard drive-sized boxes, or other power cables needed to power up the motherboard. For this issue, I have run the power cables and extraneous wires behind the motherboard support plate, against the back cover of my computer case. The particular case I have, a Corsair 650D also has wire guides and rubberized holes so that all wires are run outside and away from the boards, making an extremely open case inside.

Cases should also be large enough to support both the wiring and cabling as well as have room for all the components...

In the past, I dealt with some DEC 300 workstations. These machines were so tightly packed, the hard drive magnets actually affected each other in a dual-drive system! The service techs were constantly replacing hard drives and CPUs in these machines. The drives because they would magnetize each other and die, and CPUs because they would cook. Literally cook. The machines got so hot inside that the case was hot enough to keep a cup of coffee warm on the top!

There needs to be more than one fan...

In addition to the fan blowing in, there should be one or more fans venting out. These when strategically placed, will pull the air away from the components. What you don't need is air pushing in against the components with no place for it to go. This can actually impede to cooling of the components as there is nowhere for the heat to go.

And finally...

You need to keep the system clean inside. With the fans sucking in air, there is sure to be dust along with it. Keeping the computer clean inside ensures the components stay cool as dust clogs their heatsinks and fans, and prevents the air from flowing properly. Periodically remove the dust from the components and fans by using compressed air, not a household vacuum! Compressed air from a can will work well, but just remember to put a drinking straw or some small stick into the fans to prevent them from spinning while applying the air to them. Without this additional step, the forced air can damage the bushings inside the fans. And, as I said, never use a household vacuum. These devices can build up a dangerously high static charge which will damage the electronic devices inside the computer.

John
 
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I would think that a desktop fan fitted like that might be more useful in suck mode as in sucking the warm air out of the case, which is better done properly by using the case fans, never trusted anything liquid near electronics.
The fan to watch for getting clogged up is the front case fan which are often obscured by the hard drive(s).


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To add even if a front fan isn't fitted the holes where it should be can get clogged up.
 
I think good quality cases have a filter / strainer that you can remove and clean, keeping the maintenance easy and routine... I prefer air cooling, not the cheap ones, upper to high grade... no worries about the things associated with liquid cooling... again, easy maintenance and routine.
 
Corsair closed liquid cooling has been my cooling of choice for several years now. H100.

Does that mean it is sealed, you never need to add liquid, or do cleaning maintenance to the pump, piping, reservoir, etc.?

Just curious, as I am picky about the maintenance that liquid cooling systems sometimes involve. Sealed would be a good deal to not worry about leaks, too, probably...?
 
I think good quality cases have a filter / strainer that you can remove and clean, keeping the maintenance easy and routine... I prefer air cooling, not the cheap ones, upper to high grade... no worries about the things associated with liquid cooling... again, easy maintenance and routine.

Yes! My big Corsair case has one of those as well on the bottom to prevent the dust bunnies and cat fur from being sucked into the system. I clean mine about once a month. It's a simple slide-out frame with the filter/strainer cloth on it.

I too prefer air cooling for the same reasons. The big turn off for me was when my brother-in-law popped a hose. He actually has one of those sealed units too. The connect popped off his video card heat sink connection and the coolant squirted all over the inside of his PC and on to the floor. It didn't damage anything, but it did make quite a mess.

John
 
Everyone knows that a lquid cooling system would do the best job on keeping CPU and video cards cool ... What if you had a desktop and blew a desk fan on high right on the components, especially in the blast of a room air conditioner duct work flexible dryer vent tube blowing right on the components ... How cool could that keep a desktop PC ? ...

Walmart sells its mini-refrigerators at everyday low, low prices! Just sayin'... ;)

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Walmart sells its mini-refrigerators at everyday low, low prices! Just sayin

I have used the solid-state cooling unit from a small portable cooler, blowing into a tube led into the case at the front fan opening. All other fans blowing out. Very simple and effective, and only needs the drip tray emptying occasionally, as the water mostly evaporates using the heat from the other side of the heatsink.
 
In the past, I dealt with some DEC 300 workstations. These machines were so tightly packed, the hard drive magnets actually affected each other in a dual-drive system! The service techs were constantly replacing hard drives and CPUs in these machines. The drives because they would magnetize each other and die, and CPUs because they would cook. Literally cook. The machines got so hot inside that the case was hot enough to keep a cup of coffee warm on the top!

Many years ago I was involved with a minicomputer manufacturer who solved a long-standing and very persistent reliability problem with one particular model by swapping the top and bottom fan units - blowing air up the cabinet rather than trying to force it down against the natural tendency of hot air to rise made all the difference!
 
I have an Alienware Aurora Tower which is factory liquid cooled. It monitors the internal temps and adjusts cooling fan speed and so on automatically. I've never seen the temps inside over 85 degrees F.

Its about 4-1/2 years old and other then vacuuming it every 6 months (which it never seems to actually need) I haven't touched it.

Ben
 
John pretty much covered the pros and cons of both systems.
When I purchased my new system, over 3 years ago, I took the 'more bang for the buck' approach; thus opted for air cooling.
My CPU is an Intel I7 950, (3.06 GHz) overclocked to just under 4.0 GHz. I had concerns regarding the heat generated by overclocking, so researched well into the cooling question. There are some fine air coolers out there.
I chose a Noctua NH D14. This is a monster heat sink, sporting 6 heat pipes and dual 140 mm fans.
The latest version is here: http://www.esaitech.com/noctua-fan-...paign=ga-pla&gclid=COLc8YC4vMUCFcWRHwodW2wA2w
This unit is more than capable of cooling my CPU, even in 90+ degrees F temps in the summer time.
I have had 3 years of quiet, efficient cooling, with no problems at all.

regards
Mike
 
Im water cooled mine for quite a few years, first I ran the stock Intel water cooler, but after noticing the temp was rising up into the low 80's C during gaming, I changed it out for a Cooler Master Seidon 240M Water Cooler. Temps now never get above 60 C and with TANE run at about mid 40's C. What I like the most about water cooling is the almost silent running compared to a CPU fan that can get a bit noisy when it is working hard. Apart from the fans on the grahics and PSU, I have one case fan at the bottom front of the case sucking in and a fan on top above the water radiator sucking out. I wouldn't even consider air cooling anymore.
 
I will also chime in in favor of the Corsair H60 that I ran for 5 years, with the upgrade to an X99 board and iCore 7 5820, decided to upgrade the liquid cooling system also to the Corsair H80i GT. Everything works great and keeps thing cool and quiet running even with 5 120mm fans and a 200mm fan in the top
 
Have been running my system for several months with a Corsair Hydro H55. Works great.
Had some problems once but I think it was due to placing one of the fans backwards when I took the system apart to clean.
After fixing that, never had any more problems.
I think I had the fans pushing against each other.

My system:
CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1100T, AM3, 3840Mhz (overclocked) (normally 3400Mhz)
Motherboard: ASUS Crosshair IV Formula
Ram: 16 gB DDR3 SDRAM
Graphics: Nvidia GTX 650, 1gig ram, DirectX 11 capable
Sound: ASUSTeK SB600
Network: Marvell Yukon 88E8059 Gigabit Ethernet Controller
OS: Win7 Ultimate SP1 - 64bit
Primary Display: Dell ST2410 - 24inch widescreen 1920x1080
Boot Drive: 250GB Crucial BX100 SSD
Data Drive: 1000GB Seagate ST31000520AS
Secondary Display: RealSync DS19 - 19inch std 1280x1024
Power Supply: CoolerMaster RS750 (750 watts)

Cooling: Corsair Hydro series H55
UPS: APC 1500 watts
DVD/CD Drive: GH24NS70
Mouse: Logitech MX518
Kbd: MS wireless natural
Router: ARRIS TG862
MS benchmark:
Processor and Memory 7.5
Graphics and Gaming 7.3
Hdisk 7.6
 
Another thumps up for Corsair H Series coolers, they are very simple, maintenance free and super reliable, air coolers just can't compete.
 
Another thumps up for Corsair H Series coolers, they are very simple, maintenance free and super reliable, air coolers just can't compete.

Just to be clear - the Corsair H series are air coolers which use pumped liquid as a heat transport mechanism. This means that the CPU heat can be transported to a decent sized radiator and fan(s). There is no chilling involved, and they are subject to the same limitation of ambient air temperature as any air cooler. It's just that they do it a lot more efficiently. For most users, this is adequate (and yes, the Corsair product seems to be particularly reliable and easy to install and use).

But for warm ambient conditions a chiller will do much better.
 
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