Water Cooling Basics - Preparation
(Page 2 of 4 )
This step is very important. Make sure you have everything, and everything is compatible. Make sure you have enough barbs and they are the right size. I forgot to order one set of barbs and spent a day trying to track some down.
The next step is to decide the way the flow of the water will go. This can be seet up based on a few factors. I did mine Pump -> CPU Block -> GPU Block -> Northbridge Block -> Reservoir -> Radiator -> Pump. You may chose to do it differently, but if you want the cooler water reaching the hotter parts first, the CPU and GPU will be top priority. Once you see pictures of my setup you’ll realize that it might not be the best if you are concerned about looks.
The next step is to cut the tubing. This depends on where the flow is going and how separated each part is from the other parts. If you want to be able to rearrange or move the system, you may want to leave a little extra room at each part in case you decide to change their locations.
Testing
The next step is very important and often not taken seriously. First, connect everything together, but not on the computer. My reason for doing it outside the case is if something is going to leak a lot, let it leak a lot on the floor, not the $1000 computer. It is also a lot easier to fix leaks outside the case then in it.
Find a nice spot that you can afford to get wet. Push the tubes in as far as you can. Then clamp each and every end of the tubing. Once you are sure everything is tight and secure, then you may start adding water. If you have a reservoir, I’d recommend you start putting water in there. It is a lot easier if you keep the reservoir above the rest of the cooling system. Water is heavier than air, so the air will rise and the water will settle down.
Once it is filled up, it's time to start the pump. There are a few different types of power connectors for different pumps. The one I have runs off the 12 volt rail of the computer’s power supply. Remember we are not testing the cooling system in the actual computer yet. If there is a leak, it’s better for the floor to get wet than the computer. I used an extra power supply I had that couldn’t cut it for my computer. I simply connected the power on cable and a ground wire on the ATX main connector. I used some wire from an electric train set.
Now the pump should start and the water should be circulating. YOu will need to check for two things. First, is the water is getting to the pump? If the pump is higher than the previous part, getting water to the pump might be harder. If the pump stops receiving water IMMEDIATELY TURN IT OFF. Running a pump without water running through it is bad. On my pump there’s a nice sticker stating this. The second thing to check for is leakage.
Don’t forget to add your corrosion and algae protection. I used Water Wetter, mainly because it’s the only thing in my area that is sold. If you don’t add it you may end up with things growing in your cooling system or corrosion.
How long should you test for leaks before putting it into your computer? I recommend that you run the cooling system a full 24 hours to test for leaks. Add to that a few hours of idle, with no pump. This may put a little more pressure on some parts than they would receive with water flowing through. This might be overkill, but better safe than sorry. If you do find leaks, first figure out what exactly is leaking. This may sound a little babyish, but it may not be that easy. I did find a few leaks in my reservoir. It wasn’t the connection between the hose and the barb, but between the barb and the reservoir. I fixed this by using some Teflon tape, and it’s dry as a bone now. If your water cooling system passes this test, then it can safely be used with your computer.
Next: Installing >>
More Hardware Guides Articles
More By jkabaseball
