Use Liquid-Cooling To Beat The Heat
Summer is the season of projects. Kids occupy themselves with exploring the neighborhood or undertaking an ambitious LEGO (or Minecraft, or LEGO Minecraft) creation. Adult projects are often less enjoyable, whether that’s staining the deck or renovating the 80s-era bathroom.
For PC enthusiasts, “project season” wouldn’t be complete without beginning a new adventure with their computer. The best part about a PC project is that it can be educational (learning to code), artistic (case modding), or pragmatic (setting up a NAS). Whatever you choose to do, try to make it fun. This is supposed to be a hobby, after all.
Might we suggest liquid-cooling your PC? There are practical benefits: A processor with an unlocked multiplier will reach new heights using custom liquid-cooling, and the right setup can run much quieter than an old stock air cooler. And even if you don’t really need a faster or quieter PC, upgrading your system to watercooling is simply cool as hell.
There are two roads that lead to liquid, and one is quite shorter than the other. Your first option is a closed-loop cooler, often alternatively referred to as an AIO (all-in-one) cooler. As it turns out, both of these labels are instructive in their own way. The latter refers to the fact that the primary components of a liquid-cooling loop—waterblock, pump, and radiator—are assembled at the factory and installed together as “one” component. The former, “closed loop” means that the cooler is also prefilled with coolant at the factory, and users aren’t intended to open the cooler to perform maintenance tasks such as draining and filling the loop; it’s closed off, if you will.
Closed-loop liquid-cooling does have a number of advantages, but it’s not for everyone. If you like having total control over your system cooling, a custom loop is the only way to go. With a custom loop, you’re in charge. If you like Stark Industries’ waterblock, Lexcorp’s radiator, and Wayne Enterprises’ pumps, you can buy them separately and install them together. If you want a 480mm radiator and your case can contain it, nothing is stopping you from using it for your custom loop. This approach imposes few limitations, but most of the responsibility rests squarely on the enthusiast’s shoulders.
As we discuss the benefits and drawbacks of each type of liquid-cooling, keep in mind that there’s no perfect solution for everyone. You can get your feet wet with either, so let us help you with the shopping list and guide you through the process.
Closed Or Custom?
You don’t need to agonize over buying a closed-loop liquid-cooler or building a custom loop, because picking one over the other will likely vary according to your circumstances. Money, time, and your case’s interior are all factors, and each type of liquid-cooling has distinct advantages and disadvantages.
Liquid-cooling doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive: That’s the tao of closed-loop liquid-cooling. Because most of the individual components of a liquid-cooling loop are already assembled, installing a closed-loop cooler really only consists of mounting the cold plate/pump unit to the motherboard’s CPU socket and the radiator to the case. It’s not an exaggeration to state that if you can install an aftermarket air cooler and add extra case fans then you can install a closed-loop liquid-cooler. Plus, even the cheapest cases today have motherboard tray cutouts and fan mounting holes that make installing a closed-loop cooler easier still.
The actual setup process (which we’ll explain here, since it’s so much less involved than a custom loop) starts with installing mounting hardware, which typically consists of some combination of a backplate and/or threaded posts. After these are in place, you should inspect the cooler’s cold plate to check for thermal interface material. Some manufacturers will preapply a thin layer to the cold plate, but others will include a small syringe of TIM for you to apply to your CPU. Either way, there has to be some form of TIM between the cold plate and the CPU’s integrated heat spreader. You’ll use mounting screws on the posts to secure the cooler’s cold plate/pump unit. Depending on the size of the radiator included with the closed-loop cooler, the best place to mount it is either the case’s rear or top panel. Lots of closed-loop coolers include screws that let you combine the radiator with your case’s existing fans, increasing the cooler’s performance.
Once you’ve mounted a closed-loop cooler, you can forget about it for years, which is another selling point: Closedloop coolers require little to maintenance, as opposed to custom loops, which many experts recommend refilling with fresh coolant on a yearly basis.
Finally, buying a closed-loop cooler is considerably less expensive than purchasing individual liquid-cooling components for a custom loop. Broadly speaking, closed-loop coolers range in price from $75 to $150; prices vary based on the size of radiator, number of fans, and so forth. By comparison, you could easily spend that much on a waterblock alone for a custom loop.
The chief limitation of closed-loop liquid-coolers is that you can’t upgrade or expand them. (There are exceptions, but they are few.) If you decide you want a more powerful pump, larger radiator, or clear tubing with tinted coolant, a closed-loop cooler will put a stop to your upgrade plans before they can even start. Because of this, the only way to increase the performance of a closed-loop cooler is to buy a better closed-loop cooler.
A custom loop flips the script. Nearly unlimited expandability (provided your case allows it) is one of the best reasons to build your own loop. If you want to change your pump or radiator, for example, you can do so without having to ditch your waterblock in the process. Maybe you feel like adding your graphics card(s) to the loop. It’s possible with custom liquid-cooling.
With that expandability, you can add and/or upgrade a custom loop to increase performance. In fact, you have to go custom to deploy the big guns—super-sized radiators, towering reservoirs, and whisperquiet pumps. Truly outrageous cooling performance requires investing in top-shelf liquid-cooling components and uniting them in a custom loop.
There’s an artistic element to custom loops, as well. Closed-loop liquid-coolers aren’t at all unattractive, but we’ve seen builders and modders make visually stunning custom loops that simply aren’t possible with closed-loop cooling. Tinted coolants, anodized fittings, and an assortment of waterblock top finishes are at your disposal with a custom loop.
Feel like taking the plunge into custom watercooling? Good, let’s assemble the team.
Roll Call
If your experience with system cooling is the heatsink and fan included with your processor, then prepare yourself to meet the cast of characters that come together to make custom liquid-cooling possible. Each component has an important job to do.
Waterblock. Think of the waterblock as your loop’s point man. The waterblock is naturally the first component to encounter heat from the component(s) you need to cool. All waterblocks will share at least one thing in common: a copper base. Copper is a better conductor of heat than aluminum, so there is wide agreement among power users that it must be used as the base of the waterblock.
Aside from socket compatibility, you should look for a waterblock that maximizes heat absorption, and in addition to using a copper base, manufacturers have developed a few tricks to accomplish this. A good waterblock with have a series of small microfins inside; these increase the surface area within the waterblock, which in turn allows more coolant to come in contact with the block. Manufacturers may also build their waterblocks to increase the turbulence of the coolant as it travels through the blocks.
Although CPU waterblocks are almost universally compatible with every current desktop processor, GPU waterblocks are an entirely different animal. Obviously, you have to select a waterblock that corresponds to your particular GPU, such as the GeForce GTX 980. But if your graphics card uses a non-reference design, you must doublecheck the GPU waterblock you want will work with your specific card. Non-reference graphics cards frequently use different component layouts on their PCB, which can cause major problems for GPU waterblocks.
Radiator and fans. A waterblock and the coolant that runs through it do a great job of absorbing heat from your components, but they have to do something with that heat to keep your hardware from cooking. This is where the radiator comes in. Radiators are responsible for dissipating the heat that builds up in your loop’s coolant, which in turn lets the coolant absorb more heat from the CPU, GPU, etc.
A radiator’s dimensions play a big part in determining its cooling performance. A bigger radiator means more heat dissipation, after all. The most common radiators use 120mm or 140mm fans, and their size is listed as some multiple (e.g. 240mm, 360mm, etc.) of either of these dimensions. As a general rule of thumb, should increase the size of your radiators as you add components to your loop or if you desire more overclocking headroom. A 120mm rad will be adequate for cooling the CPU, but a 240mm unit is much better for serious overclocking and/or adding a GPU waterblock.
Finally, radiator thickness and fin density are also important. Both of these are consistent with the “mo’ radiator, mo’ betta!” notion: The former increases the amount of heat the radiator can dissipated, while the latter, expressed as fins per inch, increases the radiator’s surface area.
In order for the radiator to really do its job, however, it needs help from fans. Depending on your radiator’s size and the case fans in use in your system, you might be able to combine the two and save a little money. Otherwise, you should at least buy enough fans for one side of the radiator. (If you have enough clearance, you can install fans on both sides of the radiator for even better performance. This is called a “push-pull” configuration.) The key fan specification that will most benefit a radiator is the fan’s static pressure—the higher the better. However, fans that produce relatively low static pressure won’t severely hamstring your loop’s performance, so don’t neglect other factors that could be important to you, such as matching the rest of your build’s color scheme.
Pump. The biggest radiator and baddest waterblock are useless without a good pump to keep the coolant flowing. A custom loop’s pump is responsible for circulating coolant through each waterblock, sending it to the radiator where it can discharge the heat it’s carrying, and then blast the newly cooled coolant back to the waterblocks to repeat the process.
Picking the right pump involves balancing its maximum flow rate and pressure with the noise it produces. You want a pump that’s strong enough to account for pressure drops as the coolant passes through each component of your loop, but if your pump generates more water pressure than you need, there’s a good chance it’s also generating more than enough noise, as well.
Thankfully, the online community has developed solid resources for determining exactly how much pump you need. This is one instance where we recommend searching for pump buying tips online, because the topic is more extensive than you might think.
Reservoir. One of the few truly optional components of a liquid-cooling loop (notice that closed-loop coolers don’t rely on them?), reservoirs can hold a surplus of coolant, but don’t confuse extra coolant with better cooling performance. They’re not the same thing, and adding a gigundous reservoir won’t lead to record-breaking overclocks.
So, what exactly does a reservoir do, besides look pretty? Despite being optional, a reservoir is nonetheless a very useful component. It makes filling your loop much easier, and air bubbles will bleed out much faster in a loop that has a reservoir than one that doesn’t. For these reasons, we like use a reservoir when building any custom liquidcooling system.
Fittings and tubing. These two components work hand in hand. Technically, you should be able to buy what you need from a hardware store, but we recommend purchasing tubing and fittings from a company that specializes in serving the enthusiast market. Yes, you’ll pay a premium, but you’ll get hardware that’s been developed especially for liquid-cooling a PC.
Making sure your tubing and fittings are compatible is job one, but it’s also pretty simple. If you plan to use compression fittings (which we prefer), you need to buy fittings that match both the inside and outside diameter of the tubing you choose. If you opt for hose clamps, your barbs must match the inside diameter, and you’ll get the best results by matching the clamps to the outside diameter of the tubing.
You’ll encounter another specification on your hunt for fittings: G1/4. This refers to the fittings’ threading. Your fittings’ threading must match the components—waterblock, radiator, etc.—you intend to use them with. G1/4 is the de facto standard now, though, so it’s unlikely you’ll find liquid-cooling components that don’t have this threading.
Coolant. At this point, component and/or budget fatigue may be setting in. We get it. Building a custom liquid-cooling loop is an involved process. If you’re interested in a quick fix, score a gallon of distilled water; it’ll do the trick, at least in the short to medium term.
Over the life of your system, though, we can make a pretty good case for purchasing specially formulated coolant from a manufacturer. Whether you buy a concentrated bottle to mix with distilled water or a container that’s been premixed and is ready to pour into your loop, coolant designed for liquid-cooling includes anticorrosive and antimicrobial agents that should cut down on how frequently you need to flush and fill your loop with new coolant. And of course, vendors offer a rainbow of tinted coolant that you can match to the rest of your system.
It’s A Setup!
Anyone who’s been to a LAN party or visited a modding forum can tell you that custom loops have a habit of being bombastic. It’s an addiction for a lot power users, who don’t stop at liquid-cooling their CPU. Adding graphics cards to the mix is a popular setup, and liquid-cooled RAM and motherboard chipsets are common sights, as well. The most grandiose loops usually include multiple radiators and pumps, huge reservoirs, and rigid tubing complete with complicated bends. For this article, our designs are considerably less ambitious. We want to introduce you to custom liquid-cooling, not overwhelm you with it. As such, we’ll restrict our focus to liquidcooling the CPU.
We like to start by installing our barbs in all of our components. This is especially helpful if you have to install any of your liquid-cooling hardware in a tight space. At this point, you should also inspect your radiator and reservoir for any additional threaded holes. These will either be drain ports, fill ports (on a reservoir), or extra G1/4-threaded holes. In these cases, the manufacturer should have included stoppers for you to block off any holes you don’t intend to use in your loop, so install them, too. (You can leave your reservoir’s fill port open for now, obviously.)
Next, you’ll want to build a “road map” for your tubing, and installing your liquidcooling components without any tubing attached is the way to do. At the very least, we like to install our motherboard as well, since it helps you get a fairly accurate position for your loop’s CPU block. Temporarily installing your graphics card(s) will also help you plan your tubing runs. Determine how much tubing you need to connect everything together, erring on the long side. (Remember, you can always trim tubing that’s a little longer that what you need. Putting it back on is a different, sadder story.)
If you’ve mocked up your loop and are satisfied with the layout, start cutting and attaching the tubing. By dipping the ends of the tubing in hot water for a few seconds, you can slip them over the barbs much more easily. Remember to slide your compression fittings over the tubing before installing the tubing. Once you have the tubing over a given barb, tighten the compression fitting or clamp to create a watertight seal.
Once all of your tubing and fittings are attached, you can begin filling your loop. Carefully pour coolant into your reservoir until it’s nearly full. Next, you have to “push” some of the coolant into your loop. That means your pump needs power, but you also don’t want to completely power on your system in case you have any leaky connections.
To do this, you need to “trick” your power supply into thinking it’s powering your full system. Start by connecting your loop’s pump to your power supply. Then, you have to bridge your PSU’s main ATX connector PS_On (green) wire to any of the connector’s ground (black) wires. You can easily MacGyver this with a paper clip, or you can buy a PSU bridge tool if you’re more of a MacGruber. Once you’ve bridged the PS_On wire, you can turn on the power supply. If you completed the bridge properly, only the pump should turn on. Temporarily cap your reservoir’s fill port and hold onto your chair.
As your pump roars to life, you must keep a close eye on the coolant level of your reservoir. You don’t want to pump out the entire reservoir, because this can easily result in the pump running dry, which will fry it in a hurry. Turn off your power supply once you’ve pumped the majority of the reservoir’s coolant into the loop. Then, fill the reservoir again and repeat the process until the pump can run continuously without reducing the coolant level in the reservoir.
A loop full of coolant is ready to leaktest. We prefer to do this before installing any other components, even if we leave them powered off. To leak-test your loop, turn it on and let it run. The general consensus among power users is 24 hours of continuous operation. At that point, any leaks, however small, will have shown up. If your loop stays dry after a full day of leak testing, it’s ready to start earning its keep.
Finally, install your system components, attach the waterblock to the CPU (don’t forget the thermal paste; apply it the same way you would with an air cooler’s heatsink), and turn on your PC. Your brand-new liquid-cooled rig is finished.
Let The Good Times Flow
The appeal of liquid-cooling is different for different kinds of enthusiasts. Performance fiends love the ability to push their components harder. PC artists insist on liquid-cooling because it gives them one more way to distinguish their masterpieces. Whatever your motivation, having a liquidcooled PC is undeniably awesome.