Introduction to Liquid Cooled system Introduction Liquid cooling has been around for quite some time on the custom built computers. The logic behind it is similar to that of the cooling system of a car engine or similar, so there’s nothing “new” about it, only tweaks to make it feasible to work with and install in computer systems. Although the LC has been around for long time, it did not get a lot of attention because it was rather costly. Now that it is more affordable, our guide will help you get liquid cooling in your system too. Things to know While the LC used to be expensive years ago, today things are different. Liquid cooling is a lot more popular, there are many new vendors and manufacturers participating in the market, making the parts and accessories cheaper and easier to buy. In return, lot more people have access to making all kind of liquid cooling systems on their own or through their system builder. AVADirect has been building liquid cooling systems for as long as we’ve been around and our experience with the LC systems has allowed us to build robust, easy to maintain and upgrade systems that last a very long time and require minimal user input. As with our existing customers, we like to share our knowledge with our new potential customers and help them understand what LC is all about, how they can get it and what benefits it will provide. This guide is purposely written as an introduction to what the liquid cooling system is about and what we can offer to our customers. Types of Liquid Cooling At the moment, there are 2 ways you can enjoy LC in your system. Most manufacturers have stepped up to make a closed loop system that includes all the parts you need. These systems typically cool just the processor and come pre-wired with liquid already filled in. The purpose behind these systems is that they’re easily to install, require minimal maintenance (cleaning the dust) and are known to last quite a long time. The reason you might want to purchase a system like this is to eliminate the complexity of a fully custom system while still enjoying the benefits of the liquid cooling. The disadvantages of these systems are the fact that they’re not upgradable, and you cannot exchange certain parts. If the pump fails, the whole system needs to be sent to manufacturer for replacement. Despite their shortcomings, these closed loop systems are excellent for those who are new to the LC systems and just want to try out something before making a huge leap to the custom setup. They are fairly inexpensive and for the most part perform as well as fully custom systems until you start to push the boundaries of overclocking in which case they tend to show the signs of weakness. Custom Liquid Systems The other way of having the LC in your system is by going a fully custom setup. In order to understand what’s all involved, let’s look at this list: - Water block – attaches to device you want to cool, processor or video card, memory or chipset - Water pump – pumps the liquid through the system continously - Water reservoir – self explanatory - Radiator with fans – heat disipation - Tubing, fittings and other accessories – pathway for the liquid Typically assembled system will have a flow similar to this: Reservoir -> Pump -> Block -> Radiator – Reservoir This entire system is connected with plastic tubing and assortment of fittings. In this scenario, pump takes the water from the reservoir, sends it to the water block that takes the heat away from your component, CPU for example, and then sends the hot liquid to the radiator which dissipates the heat. Cooled liquid then goes back into reservoir and the process continues. This is a very basic setup and can be adjusted, reversed and modified as needed. Other components may be added as well but those should be left for another topic covering more advanced uses. The point here is that you understand the concepts behind the liquid cooling and how it works. The main purpose behind having the LC system is being able to cool your components more efficiently while also having the ability to increase their speed (overclock) while maintaining stock like temperatures. The LC systems can be very simple, such as pump reservoir and radiator combo, or they can be very complex containing multiple pumps, water blocks, reservoirs, radiators and other components. There can even be different loops of liquid cooling different devices. Anything can be cooled, processors, video cards, hard drives, and memory and motherboard chipsets. OzPc Sales LC Systems For simplicity sake, we offer systems that are built around up to 2 CPU blocks and up to 2 GPU blocks. Also, because compatibility is still a big issue in the LC world, we only sell specific configurations that are tried and true that also work very well. You’re always welcome to add onto your loop but our goal is to focus on using only those components and those parts that have been verified over and over again and are known to work well with one another. We also use top quality products in all of our LC systems, ensuring the longetivity and safety of the system. Quality pumps such as Swiftech’s are a must, as well as quality fittings to ensure systems don’t leak in shipping or over time. Also, high quality tubing is used to allow for flexibility without kinks and without damage to the tube ends or fittings over time. All LC systems undergo additional testing as well as liquid cycling for extended periods of time in order to verify there’s no leaks or pump malfunctioning. All LC systems are also shipped via Freight as it is the most secure way of shipping a system with these types of parts. The last thing you want from an expensive custom Liquid cooled build is to receive it with all the liquid at the bottom of the box, therefore freight shipping is a must. The maintenance of our systems and LC systems in general is very minimal. For the first few weeks, you may need to top up the water reservoir as the system fills up proper and gets rid of all the air that may have stayed in the system. We supply additional coolant to the one you already purchased with your system so you can top-up when needed. The coolant can stay in the system for over 2 years without replacement, so the only thing you have to worry about is keeping the system clean from dust, just like any other PC. Occasionally checking your system temperatures and looking to make sure everything is in working order is also highly recommended. Although rare, most likely component to fail in the LC system is the pump, as all other components are nothing but hardware. Pumps usually fail after being noisy for a little while. If you ever notice your liquid pump is louder than usual, contact technical support to setup an RMA exchange of the pump before it goes out. If the pump fails, the system can suffer from overheating as the liquid will stop exchanging heat.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Oct 2013 13:55:30 +0000
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