I'm doing a complete overhaul/upgrade in the near future and was thinking about going the water cooled route but I need to get some basic info before I get in over my head.

When first starting out with a water cooling system, do I have to add water initially or does it come pre-filled?

Also does the water ever need to be changed out or added to during regular maintenance? If so how involved a process is it? Just add it somewhere or I have to pull the whole computer apart? And how often?

Even though this is all new to me, I am capable of handling it if I choose to (with the right knowledge before hand first) but if I do need to do all this to keep up with it is it all worth it?

Any other tips or tricks or things I need to be aware of first would also be appreciated.

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It comes pre-filled somtimes but not always (Coolermaster generally used to sell sealed units).

Water needs changing every year at least, requires an anti-corrosion additive; and as it evaporates it needs periodic topping up. It's a simple as removing a pipe, no disassembly required.

It's worth it for overclocking and reducing noise (but not by much) - you need less fans but you still run a fan on the radiator.

Only other tip is to check it's completely watertight, and watch out for air bubbles - they could confuse your mobo into thinking you don't have a cooling system, causing unexpected shutdowns.

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If you're going to watercool you need to do a bit of research. Also, don't buy a kit, always build out of separates. You also need to think about why you want to watercool. Is it for overclocking or for keeping it quiet?

I watercooled my last two rigs and am now tunning an i7 920 and 4870 under water, but I transferred the system from one build to the next.

It does look good and it is better than air for overclocking, but it can be a real hassle, usually in the build process.

When I started using watercooling I started with 1/2 Tubing and tubing clips. This meant a 24 hour leak test after setting everything up. I had a couple of leaks doing it this way. Now I swear by 7/16 tubing. Just stick the end a glass of hot water for a while and it will expand, put this over 1/2 inch barbs and its pretty leakproof. I then use cable ties to secure it. You still want to leak test for a bit after bleeding it, though.

You change the water every year or so.

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You can do it cheaper in three easy steps...

1. Remove all existing fans from motherboard.
2. Laminate Motherboard.
3. Submerge in bath of cold water.

Job done - although you'll need to replace the bathwater from time to time as it warms up.

On a more serious note, unless you're overclocking the blighter it's much easier to simply use quality air cooling.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Neversoft

On a more serious note, unless you're overclocking the blighter it's much easier to simply use quality air cooling.

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Couldn't agree more, unless you really have a hard on for pushing the absolute maximum numbers you can out of your hardware (in which case why are you half assing it with water and not going with a constant liquid nitrogen feed ) you should simply pocket the money you plan to use for the water cooling setup towards a new machine that'll do double the performance anyway in a few years -- and stable at that. Any modern chips (intel anyway, core2/quad/i7) can be overclocked to some pretty stupid levels without ANY additional cooling, and just a decent clean case with good airflow and one or two special fans can get very high performance without hassle of water cooling setup.

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If you want to water cool,first buy all the supplys,and don't use a cheap water block ,go with a swift tech,or danger den,then fill completely and run for 24 hours,check to see their are no leaks and you should be good to go,and make sure to change the fluid every year,if you don't want to use uv water,then water wetter is a good choice http://www.redlineoil.com/products_coolant.asp

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If you have a reason to water cool do it. If you just want to I would recommend not to do it. It can be a tremendous amount of work leak testing, checking head pressure regularly, keeping the fluid clean and algae free. God forbid you end up with a leak or have to flush the coolant.

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If you have to. Dunno how their prices rate but the service is superb and Ive done a lot of business with em.

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Appreciate all the info. I'm glad I asked because after all that I probably won't go the water cooling route. I'm not looking to overclock and my current pc case fan is making an awful hum, so anything quieter will be an improvement.

I was only considering it because I thought it was far superior. I didn't realize it only made a minor difference in the noise level.

I'll opt for some quiet fans and maybe a larger heat sink.

Thanks all.

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People think that water alone will cool, and it does to a degree but there still has to be a fan to release the heat, and that can be expensive/noisy.

Just check out the dampeners at quietpc.com, you may find you can reduce the noise considerably using something from there.

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Not sure what people have posted above, but this is what I have found out from doing a fair bit of watercooling....

quote:

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When first starting out with a water cooling system, do I have to add water initially or does it come pre-filled?

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But you have to admit temperature is not as big a problem with the new chips ,the p4s were nuclear ,now you can get away with a good air cooler

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And most important!

No watercooled system is complete without a blue neon and crystal case !!

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quote:

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Originally posted by Darlowad
And most important!

No watercooled system is complete without a blue neon and crystal case !!

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quote:

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Originally posted by danimal39
But you have to admit temperature is not as big a problem with the new chips ,the p4s were nuclear ,now you can get away with a good air cooler

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