Liquid Cooled PS

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I am at that point where I start thinking about building a new PC, and this one must be Liquid Cooled.

Strangely though I can't seem to put my finger on a Liquid Cooled Power supply.

Can anyone point me in the right direction, or at least tell me they don't exist?

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They most likely don't exist commercially other than at specialty manufacturing labs.

Water cooling a psu really isn't necessary. If you want a quiet psu, look at the fanless types as they are becoming readily available in many power varieties and bells 'n whistles.

On the other hand, it might be a 'cool' project to attempt to make a water cooled psu. However, the difficulty is in cooling ALL the components in the psu. Typically there are heatsinks attached to the major hot spots with the psu fan moving air around them and the rest of the internal components. Maybe the easiest mod would be to water cool an existing fanless psu...overkill...but would be pretty awesome if it worked.

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Reply to sobelizard

That is what I'm leaning towards.

I figure if I'm going to the trouble of setting up a nice Liquid system I might as well cool every heat generating component I can, within reason.

I was very impressed by the thermaltake fanless PS, at least what I have read, and it wouldn't be to difficult to replace the outer heatsinks with a copper block containing liquid channels.

Reply to Pacifist_Farmer

If you do that, take some pics and post...would be interesting to see.

<font color=green><b><i>Lizards</font color=green></b> do <b>not</b> taste like <b><font color=yellow>chicken</font color=yellow></b>,<b> <font color=yellow>chicken</font color=yellow></b> tastes like <font color=green><b>lizard.</b></font color=green></i>

Reply to sobelizard

Think about it - high volts + water?

Don't be stupid and end up hurting your self in the process.

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Reply to Ned_Flanders

The system needs ventilation, a power supply normally draws warm air out of the system. So it's always a good idea to have a power supply with a fan, even if it's a quiet fan.

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Reply to Crashman

Bah! Voltage only a problem if the liquid leaks. I'm working on a fish tank/pc project, albeit slowly, but it's 10 gallons of water and 650W psu.

<font color=green><b><i>Lizards</font color=green></b> do <b>not</b> taste like <b><font color=yellow>chicken</font color=yellow></b>,<b> <font color=yellow>chicken</font color=yellow></b> tastes like <font color=green><b>lizard.</b></font color=green></i>

Reply to sobelizard

Relying on a psu fan to circulate air isn't a safe bet. Bad things happen when they fill up with debris. He could run whisper fans for intake and case exhaust. I replaced the twin intakes on my LianLi 60 with a pair of led Mad Dogs and they absolutely silent. (Cool blue lights let me know they are still running)

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Reply to sobelizard

The problem is that many systems have no other exhaust fans, this is especially true of liquid cooled systems where people are trying to minimize sound.

My liquid cooles system has one fan on the northbridge (cranked down to a few hundred RPM), one next to the hard drives (same treatment), and one in the power supply...and that's it.

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Reply to Crashman
- 0 +

Fanless PSU's are HIGHLY unstable. Sure they have 0db's but quite frankly their rubbish.

If you want a quiet PSU buy a Tagan 480 watt it has 28amps on the 12v rail so it should give loads power no matter what your setup is.

Reply to JeanLuc

Antec has a stable fanless PSU!!!!
but only 350 watts....so may not be for you.... :)
on the bright side it is not jsut a modded PSU it is built for that job....

Reply to nukemaster
- 0 +

I never knew Antec had a fanless PSU on the market. I was thinking of makers such as SilnetMaxx.

Reply to JeanLuc
- 0 +

"Bah! Voltage only a problem if the liquid leaks."

It's a problem if electric current leaks, which it can do even without any leaking liquid. Conventional air-cooled power supplies are designed to be safe even when operated without a grounded AC outlet because the high voltage components, except the AC wiring and switch, are completely isolated from the outside world. But this is impractical with a water-cooled supply, unless its radiator and plumbing are completely enclosed in a metal cage, making the use of a grounded AC outlet an absolute must with a water-cooled supply. You may think that a water block for the high voltage components can be made safe with the use of transistor insulators, but those components can generate spikes over 500V (the transistors are rated for at least 700V) that can pierce through some insulators. Don't modify a power supply for water cooling unless you're very familiar with how high voltage should be handled.

Reply to jamarno

Well grounded here. GFI throughout the circuits in the house. Just curious though, where is the source for your psu spike data?

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Reply to sobelizard
- 0 +

An engineer told me about the spikes and about how not all mica insulators have the same voltage ratings.

Reply to jamarno
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