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Tuesday, September 4, 2012
A Beginner's Guide to Water Cooling Your Computer
September 4th, 2012Top StoryA Beginner's Guide to Water Cooling Your ComputerBy Whitson Gordon
Music by Eric Skiff. Why Water Cooling?Water has a high thermal conductivity, meaning it absorbs heat very easily—even moreso than air. As such, it's a great candidate for cooling your system. Water cooling works by running water over each of your components, transferring heat from each part to a radiator that dissipates the heat and keeps the water cool—almost exactly like your car's radiator does. This lets you cool your processor, graphics card, and other hardware more effectively. We've talked a bit about water cooling before, but prebuilt systems like the Corsair Hyrdo Series can only take you so far. They're certainly quieter than most air coolers, and they'll definitely give you lower temperatures than your PC's stock fan, but if you really want silence and low temperatures, a homebrew water loop is the best way to do it. Water cooling is particularly useful for those that perform resource-intensive tasks like video editing and gaming. Not only will it keep your hardware cooler during heavy loads (my temperatures went down by nearly 10 degrees), but it gives you a ton of headroom if you decide to overclock your system, giving you the most power possible out of your components. Water cooling isn't without downsides, however. Water cooling has long been an enthusiast-only endeavor, mostly because of its high cost and complexity. However, you can buy all-in-one kits that cut your cost in half, and eliminate the hours of research you'd otherwise have to do finding compatible parts. Below, we'll show you all the parts you need for a water cooling setup as well as how to put it all together. Check out the video above if you want to see it in action, then head to the how-to below for more detailed instructions. What You'll NeedWe're using this XSPC Raystorm RS240 all-in-one kit, which costs about $150. You can buy your parts separately if you choose, but know that the cost can jump up to $300 or more. The parts you'll need include:
If you're buying all your parts separately, make sure to triple check that everything is compatible. If you're unsure, ask around on forums like Tom's Hardware or Overclock.net. I also highly recommend checking out DazMode's complete guide to water cooling on YouTube, as its incredibly informative on the finer points of each component. How to Put It All TogetherOnce you've decided on all your parts, it's time to put everything together. The process is a little involved, and can be pretty scary at first—but as long as you go slow and follow the instructions, you should have a safe water loop running in no time. Again, to see the process in action, check out the video at the top of this post. Step One: Plan Out Your Loop
Your reservoir should sit right before your pump in the loop, so the pump never runs dry. If your reservoir isn't built for a drive bay like ours is, you'll need to either mount it on your case with the included hardware, or find a spot to velcro it in place. The hard drive cage is often a good candidate for this. Once you've figured out where all the parts go, decide how you're going to run your tubing. From the pump, you can go to your radiator, then your waterblock, then back to the reservoir. Alternatively, you can go to the waterblock first, then to your radiator and back. Neither provides a clear performance improvement over the other, so do whatever looks good to you and fits easily. Keep in mind you may have to tweak this setup once you actually start connecting your tubing, but at least get a good idea of where you expect everything to go. Step Two: Rinse Out Each Component
To do this, heat up some distilled water and pour it into your radiator, filling it up about two thirds of the way. Plug up the holes, and then shake it vigorously for a minute or two. Dump the water back out into a bowl, and you may find that a lot of debris comes out with the water. Repeat this process until the water comes out clear. Step Three: Install Your Hardware
If you have a big enough case, you can mount the radiator just by mounting it on the vent your fans usually go, then screwing the fan to the radiator itself. If you have a larger case, you'll likely mount it in the bottom. If neither of those are an option, you'll need to mount it externally using the brackets that come with it. Mount your reservoir and pump using velcro or the mounting hardware that come with them. If you have a bay reservoir like the one we're using, just slide it into place and screw it into the sides like you would a DVD drive. Step Four: Connect Your Tubing
Now, start connecting your tubing. Slide one end of your tubing over a fitting, then measure how much tubing you'll need to connect it to the subsequent component in the loop. Mark it with your finger, and cut the tubing with a pair of scissors. Cut it as straight as you can. Connect that end of the tubing to the next component, and repeat this process with each piece of hardware. Make sure you're connecting the tubing to the correct fitting each time—your blocks, pump, and reservoir should each have a designated inlet and outlet. It won't matter which holes you use on your radiator. You may find during this step that the tubing makes too sharp a turn, and kinks. This is bad for your water flow, so you need to return to the planning stage and see if there's a way to make that bend without a kink—sometimes giving yourself some extra tubing solves the problem, but other times you'll need to connect your components in a different order. To disconnect tubing from your fitting, you may need to slice it with a razor blade where the two connect—pulling them off is often very hard to do. Step Five: Fill Up Your LoopOnce everything's connected, it's time to fill up the loop. Some people recommend removing the loop from your case and testing it on its own, but I prefer to just test it inside the case. If you test it outside the case, you can still spring leaks by moving it back in, so it doesn't give you a ton of extra security against leaks. As long as you do everything slowly and correctly, you shouldn't have a problem—just make sure to put some paper towel down inside your computer, and if you do spring a leak, plug it up, empty out your loop, and give your computer 24 hours to dry off. Most of your hardware will be fine, even if you get a little water on it.
Next, add your liquid additives to your water, if applicable. Grab a funnel and put it in the reservoir's fill port. Carefully pour your water in, filling the reservoir almost to the top. Some may empty into the tubing, which is okay. Once the reservoir is filled up, flip the power switch on the back of your computer and let it run for a second. When your reservoir gets about halfway down (1/3 of the way if you're using the XSPC pump/reservoir combo), turn the computer off before the pump runs dry. It's very important to make sure your pump never runs dry, as this can permanently damage your pump in a matter of seconds. Once you've let a little water out of the reservoir, fill it up to the top again. Repeat this process until the water level in your reservoir stays constant. Double check your loop for any leaks, and if everything's okay, you have yourself a working water loop! Step Six: Test for Leaks and Bleed Out Air Bubbles
Once the system proves to be leak-free, you can turn it off, reconnect your 24-pin motherboard cable, close everything up, and start using your computer. You should find that your computer's temperatures are much lower, and that you can run the fans at much lower speeds, keeping everything much quieter. You'll need to empty out the loop and rinse out the hardware about every 6 months, but for now, you're ready to overclock your processor, do some serious gaming, or just bask in the silent hum of your computer's new cooling system. Further ReadingIf you're ready to give water cooling a try, that's great! I highly recommend doing a bit of extra research, so you know everything backwards and forwards before you start. Here are some other great guides that should help you learn more about the process:
I also high recommend these two video guides:
And, of course, we have a few water cooling gurus around here that know their stuff, so feel free to ask questions in the comments below.  |
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536 People Set The World Record For Blowing Gum Bubbles
September 4th, 2012Top Story536 People Set The World Record For Blowing Gum BubblesBy Jason Schreier
But hey, they set the record at PAX this past weekend, and these spectacular pictures are here to prove it. Nintendo says Guinness's last record for most people blowing bubbles at the same time was 304 people at the Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa back in October of 2010. Suck it, Kirkwood Community College. "Participants in the Kirby-themed record attempt were instructed to chew their gum for at least one minute and then blow and hold bubbles for 30 seconds," Nintendo wrote in a press release for the event. Congratulations on your new record, Nintendo. Hope Kirkwood Community College doesn't decide to strike back. (Photos by Kevin Casey/Invision for Nintendo of America/AP Images)  |
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