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Water cooling - maintenance?
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[Deleted User]
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dont think you will have much maintenence to do on a decent water cooled system. you will probably have to renew the coolant now and then but should last a long time.
custom pc mag ever here in the uk had an article on how to change the coolent a while ago, but not even sure if there's a need to do that with the new coolants out there these days
tbh, unless you have an overclocked system and that feathered dust magnet of yours is real bad, you can get decent cooling these days from traditional air cooled systems if the rig is any good
i look this wrecked because i've got GIST.
Whats your excuse?
http://deadmanrambling.com/
water cooling is normally a closed system. They're pretty low maintenance. You just have to change the water once in a while and add an algaecide to it to keep it from getting thick and gross.
You'll still have fans and they'll be more bothered by the dust and smoke.
Check for leaks
Check fluid levels
Pay attention to how the pump sounds. It usually changes when it's getting close to kicking the bucket.
That's about it.
i look this wrecked because i've got GIST.
Whats your excuse?
http://deadmanrambling.com/
All-in-one Sealed systems:
Blow the dust out of the radiator the same as you would any heat sink.
Custom-built loop - in addition to cleaning out the radiator, you may have to add distilled water like once every 3-4 years to maintain the reservoir level. This doesn't apply to sealed all-in-one systems, which is what you get from iBuyPower or the like.
Unless your using tap water or doing something you aren't supposed to do (like using food coloring or something to make it "look cool"), you never need to drain the coolant or add algecide or anything else.
That's not right at all. Conductive liquids cause electronics to short-circuit. Liquids can also carry impurities which leave a conductive residue after drying. It is possible to use liquids which don't interfere with the operation of electronics. For example, mineral oil is one liquid you can submerge a computer in without damaging it. Look it up.
From what I understand, the liquid used for PC cooling systems is safe if it leaks. I have never used it, though. Air-cooling is adequate for overclocking a CPU.
For the VAST majority of water cooled systems a leak onto a powered up motherboard is a catastrophe.
Even the supposedly safe water based coolants will pick up enough impurities from the motherboard to short out sensitive components.
The 100% safe cooling liquids are very expensive and have a higher viscosity. They generally require a custom cooling solution.
The best cooling performance will be from straight distilled water. Modern WC components are very leak resistant and generally require you to screw up installing them to leak.
Goes like this,
water cooled change water now n then to keep it effective and not gross looking, keep eyes open for leaks and clean fans (dust)
air cooled clean out dust on both heat sinks and fans and filters if you have some.
Personally even with a mildly high OC you don't need water cooling unless you want it for the "cool glowy factor" and even then in hi OC builds you can get really good high end air coolers cheaply.
Brenics ~ Just to point out I do believe Chris Roberts is going down as the man who cheated backers and took down crowdfunding for gaming.
For the VAST majority of water cooled systems a leak onto a powered up motherboard is a catastrophe.
Even the supposedly safe water based coolants will pick up enough impurities from the motherboard to short out sensitive components.
The 100% safe cooling liquids are very expensive and have a higher viscosity. They generally require a custom cooling solution.
The best cooling performance will be from straight distilled water. Modern WC components are very leak resistant and generally require you to screw up installing them to leak.
I've water cooled for years.
The AIO units are pretty safe, you pretty well have to try to get them to leak. They aren't meant to be taken apart in the first place so all the fittings are pretty solid.
Custom built loops, your on your own. I've had a lot of leakers trying out different things - and all except one (a BFG water-cooled 8800, the water block split - the card was covered under warranty but the motherboard it fried wasn't) have well and truly been my fault. The motherboard almost always fries (sometimes with other components as well), even if it's just pure water. I've never used the non-conductive fluid, but mostly the problem isn't the liquid itself, it's that the liquid flushes all the dust/dirt/crap down into traces, mostly in and under the PCI slots, the CPU ZIF socket, and the DIMM slots, and that causes something to crap out.
I have had some luck with recovery after that - I got one motherboard to work again by running it through the dishwasher with no soap, but it was always a little glitchy after that.