water-cooling liquids

[JPWRana]

ok ok... I know this should go on the OC section, but so many people read and respond here more, so dont tell me where to post this cuz i already know.

I know this may sound ridiculous, but i just have to know. Is there any better heat absorbant liquids aside from water in h20 cooling that can help reduce heat? Say like anti-freeze or Nitrogen?

 

[Matisaro]

salt water is more dense and absorbs heat better, but corrosion is an issue.

The Cash Left In My Pocket,The BEST Benchmark

 

[tbirdXPplus]

alcohol! LOL

methanol might be nice though....seriously.



"Is Celeron good?"
"No. Celeron is bad."
LOL

 

[vetplus40]

Glycol,or something from the family of refrigerents might work.Personally,I will just stick with solid heat transfer methods.Liquids running over my motherboard sounds like a disaster waiting to happen..

If ya don't ask..How ya gonna know.

 

[NwOMutt]

just a question, but would you use 100% water in your cars radiator system? It seems to me that this is a very similar setup except that it is missing a thermostatic switch to turn the fan on and off. Wouldnt a mixture of coolant (antifreeze) and water be much better to prevent corrosion ?

 

[poorboy]

Just don't forget to change it every 15000 miles...

*ducks*

But, yeah, antifreeze + H2O would work better. There's also some tricky "colloidial aluminum" + water around (or something like that)... Unfortunately, I've lost the link. It's posted in the OC section a while ago.

<i>Do I look like I care?</i>

 

[jihiggs]

there is a solution called water weter, probly for that.

how do you shoot the devil in the back? what happens if you miss? -verbal

 

[svol]

As a watercooler user I can give you the following advices:
1. Don't use antifreeze or such coolant because they only decrease the heat transporting ability.
2. WaterWetter is a very good option to use, it not only increase heat transportation, it also prevents corrosion and battery-effects (between aluminium and copper).
3. If you deside to use plain water... look for some cheap destilled water to minimize the corrosion and battery effect.

My watercooler contains so much water that the moon has influence upon it .

 

[FUGGER]

I use 90% antifreeze, 10% water and a splash of water wetter.

I maintain sub zero temps with high GPH pump.

Type 2 fluid consists of distilled water and ethylene glycol. good for about -20 before it turns to slush.

<A HREF="http://www.ocean.udel.edu/mas/masnotes/corrosion.html" target="_new">Galvanic corrosion</A> happens when two dissimilar metals are brought into contact under water.

Stuff can still build up in your system with just plain water.

You are limited to what your mind can perceive.

 

[texas_techie]

There are other liquids available but are HIGHLY expensive. Like a few hundred dollars a gallon. One of them i think is called Flourinert (or something similar).
Water still has a very good molal heat capacity. So if it aint broke, dont fix it. Throw in some water wetter and youll be fine.
I suggest a search at //hardforums.com or www.overclockers.com they have had many discussions on alternative cooling fluids.
And you dont want to use anti-freeze or any kind of glycol derivative.. they actually decrease water's ability to absorb heat.


Benchmarks are like sex, everybody loves doing it, everybody thinks they are good at it.

 

[JPWRana]

ok ok guys... so we have many liquids that are better than water. Now, out of all these liquids, which would require the least maintenance/least corrosion/least acids build up?

The greatest risk of all is not taking one!

 

[SammyBoy]

The point of antifreeze, as the name suggests, is too allow the temp of the liquid to dip below the magical 0C mark... and the idea, I'd guess, is that while the heat capacity of the water is diminished by the antifreeze, you can get the liquid to -10C or so without fearing the liquid freezing up. Being a resident of the Land of 10,000 (Frozen) Lakes, I know that the best mixture for heat transfer and protection from freezing is 50/50.

I'm guessing Fugger uses it cause he's got that old supercomputer cooler... but perhaps I'm wrong. I'd stick with water unless you're thinking of messing around with using a chiller on the water (like punching a hole in the side of an old freezer putting the radiator in there). Anything else would be too corrosive, and increase the chance of a leak, and possible short. Like other people said, water is one of the best at heat conduction, you just have to make sure it's distilled, and that you change it often, and use something to prevent corrosion.

I'd try water-cooling myself, but I need it to be a little more transportable that what I have. I'd be doing it for the reduced-noise factor more than the overclocking ability, though.

BTW, the changing the water often bit is cause over time, distilled water will get filled up with aluminum and copper ions, making the water conductive, which will fry your system if it leaks. What you get out of the tap is filled with ions, and it's conductive (think radio in a bathtub), and that's because water's solvent nature will slowly eat away at the metal (maybe not enough to be corrosive, but enough to cause problems when things leak). Also, having those extra ions floating around will probably induce more Al and Cu ions to join in... a kind of domino effect.

-SammyBoy

 

[FUGGER]

I have dual cooling, watercooling for 24/7 operation @ 3Ghz and I will use the Lytron AC for benching.

The AC hits about 2c @ 262CFM (2x 131CMF YS Tech), its too loud for 24/7 operation. 2c is great for all components in the case.

I can turn 50/50 into slush in 48 hours.
<A HREF="http://fugger.netfirms.com/woody.JPG" target="_new">My chiller</A> that maintains -16c and can go much lower with pump off for extended hours and off a few days I can freeze the bucket like a popsicle.

Here is a shot of my <A HREF="http://fugger.netfirms.com/installing.JPG" target="_new">Maze 3-1</A> waterblock and the GPU waterblock hanging at the bottom of the picture.

I use Mars conformal coating sealant that expands and fills all voids of air. There is a thick piece of neoprene between the mobo and mounting plate it is bolted too.

There is <A HREF="http://www.silverprop.com/sp/cooling.asp" target="_new">dielectric grease</A> in the CPU socket and mars around the socket. The water lines have foam insulation sealed with tight zip ties about every 5 inches to prevent any air from entering and or water from moving between cells if there was air. I use dielectric grease on parts that I do not want the conformal sticking to or sneaking stuff under during install. Kinda like a tooth mold if done right and makes removal of conformal easy.

I am building phase change currently.

You are limited to what your mind can perceive.

 

[JPWRana]

ok guys... now i have a general idea of whats to be done. I want h20 cooling MOSTLY cuz of the noise, but a little OC'ing never hurt no one. Now, i have like $270 from stuff i have done, and want to ask you guys what type of h20 cooling system should i get? Should i get JUST the cpu cooled, or the chipset also, the video card, and hd just like THG water-cooling video.

The greatest risk of all is not taking one!

 

[SammyBoy]

Well, you could also go the easy route (though a tad more expensive) and get a Koolance tower. People seem to like them, and the tower and full tower versions are Antec (or Chieftec, etc.) cases, so they are good quality. Again, they are pricey ($269 for the server case ($150 for the mid-tower case), tubing, pumps, radiator, and water), and you still need the CPU waterblock ($30-50), a powersupply($50-100), and any other waterblocks you want for the chipset, videocard, HDD, etc. In all, you might be looking at a system that costs you $400+ for just the case and H2O cooling. It's not bad, though, if you like the quiet. HardOCP and Overclockers.com have reviews of the mid-tower version, which isn't the prettiest case, but it works.

I would stick to the CPU-only setup, though adding a video card cooler would work well, since there is no basic case cooling. The mid-tower has a place for a rear 80mm fan, and it looks like the server cases have mounts for two rear fans (the two front mounts were removed to fit the reservoir). In all, not a bad looking little system if you don't want to do through the trouble of setting up your own system.

-SammyBoy