POLL: Liquid Cooling...(for computers)

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So, you just overclocked your Pentium 4 3.4GHz up to 4GHZ and your crummy little stock heatsink/fan that came with the CPU isn't able to cool it enough. What do you do? Well, you could buy an aftermarket heatsink/fan and hope to lower the CPU temp a few degrees. Or, you could ditch the air cooling scene all together!

Water cooling used to be only in the ultimate gamming computers, but they are becoming more popular, especially with "quick disconnect" fittings. For many people, the thought of water inside of their computers was ludicrous. Well, not many people use plain water anymore...they use different types of liquid as additives, or in most cases, a substitute for water. These additives/substitutes are usually anti-corrosive, anti-bacterial, and a lot of the substitutes are Non-conductive! That means if you fail to do a 24 hour leak test on the water cooling system, and it leaks all over your mobo, nothing will get fried!

Still not convinced? Well, there are "all-in-one" systems from Cooler Master, Koolance, and others that have the radiator(s), pump, fan(s), reservoir, and controls all in one unit. So all you have to do is connect the water block to what ever chip you plan on cooling (CPU, NB chipsets, and GPU are the most common), then connect the tubing, and fill the system with what ever kind of liquid you want.

So, with that knowledge, would you ever ditch that air cooled heatsink, and go with a liquid cooling system?

Poll Information
This poll contains 2 question(s). 10 user(s) have voted.
You may not view the results of this poll without voting.

Poll Results: Liquid Cooling...(for computers) (10 votes.)

Would you ever use a liquid cooling system in your computer? (Choose 1)
* Yes! - 60% (6)
* Yes, I already have a liquid cooling system in my computer! - 0% (0)
* No! - 30% (3)
* Just the results for me. - 10% (1)

If you selected option #1 or #2 above: what would you cool with your system? (Choose 7)
* The CPU - 50% (5)
* The North Bridge Chip - 30% (3)
* The GPU/VPU (graphics chip) - 40% (4)
* The hard drive - 20% (2)
* Other - 10% (1)
* None of the above (I wouldn't use a liquid cooling system) - 30% (3)
* Just the results for me. - 10% (1)

 

I only do some slight overclocking, and my system uses a bunch of near-silent Thermaltake fans and a power supply to provide the cooling, so I don't see the point of upgrading to water cooling. The loudest thing in my computer is the SCSI hard drive, and that usually isn't a nuisance. Even the X800 is pretty quiet even though I have it overclocked up to 506 mhz.

You also fail to mention the monumental pain in the ass it is to upgrade specific parts in your system if they are water-cooled.

 

That's where the "Quick Disconnect" fitings help out.

You don't need to be an overclocker to enjoy the benifits of a liquid cooled system.

 

Well, aside from the quietness and cooling capabilities, what else is there to appreciate?

 

Awesomely cool looks?

 

I've seen PC mods putting the whole thing in a fridge.. Now THAT'S my idea of a cool system. Yes, that had multiple meanings.

 

I would take it over fans any day since fans usually keep noise and aren't that efficient. Also, ever tried to find a replacement for your screetching AGP-fan? Tip: it's impossible, so here liquid-cooling would have markets too.

The problem is that only a few know how to install such a system to a regular PC so that it requires minimum maintenance. Perhaps I bugger to find out when buying that next, 2000€+ computer...

 

True, but most liquid cooling systems come with all the mounting hardware, instructions on how to install everything, how to use the system, and how to take care of it. If people still have problems installing it or using it, the manufacturer’s website usually always has a message board...or some other way of getting help.

 

Manuals are manuals, and pre-installed system is yet another thing. Ever wondered why people pay 200+ extra bucks of pre-configured systems like Dell?

 

People waste all that money because they can't build a system themselves. They would rather waste money on a name brand computer than try to make their own...but I'm hoping that this next generation of computer geeks will grow up to be less lazy, and build more systems themselves instead of buying pre-assembled computers...unless they are laptops.

 

I just keep my computer in a room that is temp set to about 40 degrees F. No problems with overheating ever.