OC & Modding Water cooling for dummies

Jamil

Novice
--Water cooling--

So, you've Googled the stuff, searched for it in the books, taken a plumbing course and done some crazy $hit. But all your efforts have gone in vain. Mainly because you dont wanna blow 10k on something u dont know about and is not simple as other options available. Also you are a genius and know that electricity and water dont fuse. Congrats you are on the way to becoming one of the brainless masses of the IT industry. You know its something like a zombie horde, moving and moving and never thinking.

But as Humans we have curiosity towards things we cannot achieve. And as computer experts, we have a passion to achieve such things.

Let me guide you to the world of WC. <not warcraft- Watercooling>

Note- I was, as all others, a noob when i started out and I still consider myself one. That is exactly what has enabled me to learn and get so far <and pwn other nubs!!> you should start out in the same manner.
Also I m no guru at this. I can solve ur problems, but to a certain extent. One thing, i will get somewhat user-friend-ily scientific here. That means no product recommendations, only the signs you need to spot a good product. I know how irritating it is to search the WHOLE net to find how a t-line works.
Theres a reason why i did not post this in the tutorials section. I wanted the feedback and the enthusiasm that is found only in forums. Plus, you guys can approve and improve this yourself. Thanks to the mods, especially vijay....
I Hope i clear all doubts. and this gets sticky'ed!


Why WC?


Hmmmmmm.. Tough question, WC is the most viable alternative to Air cooling. Period.
People do it for many reasons-
1.Quite - The Radiator <Rad> fan and the pump are the only things which can make a sound.. <except the undesirable bigger air bubbles>
2. Reliable - WC allows a stable temperature<temp> + they are supposed to run for a long time.
3. Its cool - When u wanna impress a chick, U dont need to spend money on food etc. just show her the shiny tubes filled with water in your computer and tell her that you built the damn thing And look at the expressions they have Chicks think that its Macho <with a hindi cho> and chicks digg macho.
4. Be different. cmon! do something unthought of!

Why NOT WC?


Comparatively Easy question
1. Somewhat Expensive. If ur going All branded, expect upwards of 10k. If ur going homemade custom 5k is Ok, depending on your negotiation skills.
2. Unreliable. Depending on the investment of time and money you made, the Pump is most susceptible to failure... then the rad fan........ although it usually doesn't happen. Leaks are the second biggest danger.... although not as hyped up as they are...... a good fitting+ good hosing+ clear side panel<or none!> and optionally a flow monitor will ensure u dont have troubles.
3. Needs planning. WC is no everyday affair like air cooling.... the loop, components and all need careful planning for like a month or so ... beforehand obviously....
4. Needs Maintenance. Depending on the fluid u use, maintenance comes up every 1 to 6 months. not much of a NOT point, if u plan everything carefully.
Terms-

Loop- The circuit of water flow in your WC system.

Restrictive- blocks water flow.

Non-restrictive- blocks water-flow to a lesser extent.

Res- Reservoir- the tank which holds the blood of ur WC system.

Rad- Radiator- the cooling dibba which has a fan on it.

Head- My girl had come over and in an attempt to "impress" her i was explaining the specs of my pump, I said " ohh its very nice, i use long tubing and a big reservoir which never runs out of fluid!! Plus the system gets-up and running in no time even after exhaustive benching, the best of all, it gives me the best head in the competition, and i dunno wht happened but she stared at me seriously for a moment and then laughed SO hard that i was like WTF? i never really got the reason why she laughed. neways head is the max. hieght you pump can carry <read "throw"> water to you might think its not important but it very much is.

Flow rate- The liters of water your pump can displace in an hour ..VERY VERY Important AND hyped up more on that later.

FPI- Fins per inch measurement of a rad's quality. basically the count of the fins of a rad, in one inch directly affects airflow

Ambient- Basically the temp wherever your rad is located.

Delta- The Temperature difference = TEMP of part cooled ---- TEMP of ambiance......

Bleeding- Act of taking out the fluid from the system.

Parts-

Note- EACH and EVERY part of a WC system should carefully selected. WC'ing is highly sophisticated, and each part depends on your requirements. there are NO such things as fix-it-all parts and this guide helps you recognize those requirements so that ur investment is well used.
VERY IMPORTANT-
Heat conduction (rate of transfer of heat <delta Q/delta T>)=

(k of material x Area of contact x Temp diff) /(Thickness b/w the surfaces)

the above referred to as the 'equation' in the guide
__________________________________________________________________________________

1.Waterblock - The most technical aspect of your WC setup. Basically its a block through which water flows, it has direct interface with the part cooled, This has to be top-notch.
A good water block depends on your needs. As all other parts in WC do.
Now,
to those of you who r 'infants', a water block has an inlet and an outlet and a specific route the water follows to get to the outlet. All of the game is decided here.

Material- Copper, cheap and effective or, if u r filthy rich, silver <drop me a pm with your address in it so that i can rob you> you can even steal jewelry from your own wife/gf/mom and get beaten to death trying. basically u want the k in the equation to be as high as possible

Design- Two types-
1. Restrictive- lets lesser water to pass through to the outlet. its beneficial if u have a part having videly varying temp & a pump that can handle it. Pls consider this in a cpu-only loop. It kills the flow rate as it has more geographical 'features' on the base plate. These irregularities increase the area of contact b/w the water and the base plate. Which is what u wud want according to the equation.
2. Non- restrictive-- Lets more water pass through, Allowing more cool water in faster. the thing is , u use this when u a)use an inefficient pump, b) have many parts to cool.

Restrictive is generally better. because it auto-sets the balance b/w the power of a high flow pump and the heat of a cpu.
BUT..... non- restrictive can be as good in a cpu-only loop with a pump of appropriate power precision, as lesser water will flow through, the water will have an equal chance to pick up heat=more hardwork in selecting the pump.

Thickness- Not really much of a choice in branded waterblocks. Custom waterblocks shud aim for minimal thickness of the baseplate. To get higher heat conduction according to the equation.
2.Pump------ The Second Most technical aspect of your WC setup.
It consists of many parts i dont give a $hit about. Basically u need true specs. Which usually are printed on the back of the box.
Now, specs of the pump is ALL math. U need A LOT of common sense to select a pump, that which just gives you enough power to run ur loop.
i have defined the 2 most important terms above already. I give you more about those now.

Aesthetics-

a) Fitting size- The most important aesthetic. We'll discuss this in detail when we move to the hosing section, but what u need to know is that the fitting size shud be = to your hose size. Unless you use a pump top.
b) Noise- The second most important aesthetic. One of the main reasons why WC is done. Ensure that the pump u take is the pump u can stand screaming in your ear.
c) Pump size- The un-important aesthetic, Unless you live in your cabby . They are overall dimensions. Limited only by the dimensions of the cabby. Although i prefer small designs coz they r flexible.

Performance- I may write a page on this. So pls bear with me.
What you want is water flowing in your loop at a speed which enables it to pick up heat effeciently<at the waterblock> and dispose it off even more effeciently<at the rad>. So there are two variables that come into play.<actually three, we'll talk about that in the hosing section>
1. Flow rate- i defined it above. This spec is what ppl think is the most important but really, its just 25% of the game.
To get a better feel of the thing, let me give you a simple anology.
think of it as the top-speed your car can achieve.
That's it. If u can properly understand the statement above, u will prevail in the world of pumps. I cannot explain this in detail without the head spec,as they have a mutual relation.
2.Head- The 30% of the game.
simple anology again-
think of it as the max. Horse-power your car gives you.
Again i will tell you , if u want your WC system to be a success, it is critical to understand the statements above..

Relation- Now the MOST important part of WC.
imagine your car with <figuratively> 0 hp going at a nice speed. And you have to brake coz theres a rough road.
Now imagine a car with a nice Hp going at a really slow speed. The rough road comes and you cross it with ease. But you take too much time....
Both of the circumstances of escape are undesirable.
Dont put the pump and the water in the situation yet.
Imagine a car with a nice hp going at a nice speed. Remember the rough road is cross able, but you need the power to maintain the nice speed so that u dont take much time.
Now. Put the water and the pump and the restrictions in the above situation.
Understood? if not, WC is not for u. No matter how hard u try, u HAVE to understand the above analogy properly to apply this in fluid mechanics of your loop. u can have another form of the anology but the crux should be the same.
if u have understood, congo's, u r gonna be successful in your attempts at WC.
The flow rate is important as it has a relation with time. And the head is the actual pressure you pump keeps on the fluid so that it does not slow down with the hindrances in your loop. Therefore the relation with flow-rate.<it also has a relation with the heat-dumped>
Only For ppl who have time to dedicate to their computers-
Calculate the average volume of your loop. You shud want that that is the amount of water moved in the time which the water takes to absorb the heat.< Ideal; may may not be possible>
The K of water is= 0.792 <with additives> OR 0.638 < distilled,PURE>
The A<area of contact>= depends on the waterblock. Calculate the area of the base plate and- If a restrictive block- x2 the area of the base plate.
If a low-restriction block- x1 the area of the base plate.
The temp Diff =
(MAX. temp ever attained by you while benching the part cooled) --- ( Ambient+2-3 degrees depending on the effeciency of your rad).
The X= thickness of the base plate (+-) marginal amount to account for errors.

Q is the heat produced by the part cooled. U can put the <(TDP)+(10)> of your part here.
T is unknown.
Put the Values in this equation-

T = Q x (X)/(k x A x Temp diff)

Now Calculate the volume of your water-block.
<length x breadth x (height -- marginal amount for high restriction blocks)>.
That is the amount of water that should be moved through your loop. In time equal to T.......
That Gives You the ideal final Flow rate at the end of your loop.
BUT. You didnt account for the restrictions in your loop!!!
there is no really simple accurate formula for this. So only a tukka will work here.
ill give you an estimate.
2 lph- the slight bends<Each>.
30 lph- tight bends <90 degree, 45 degree><each>.
15lph- Each 180 degree turn the fluid has to make while going through the rad.
100-200 lph- depending on the waterblock's restrictiveness.
50 lph- For Total fittings you have used.
3 lph- every foot of tubing you use.
20 lph- every foot of the height of your case

Add it all up and subtract it from the lph rating of your pump.
it should be near to the ideal final flow rate we took out earlier.
the Head spec here determines that the flow rate is increased/reduced by a function of pressure. This comes out in a head/flow rate graph <head is also dependent on the tubing size>.
If u want ill put up an equation for that too, but it will get too complicated, After all this is an idiot's guide. Although you will get clinical precision in finding out the perfect pump for yourself.

Note that i did the TDP+10 there as an adjustment for room temp. For the full tdp to be cooled, the temp- difference will have to become zero. Which is not feasible every time in your loop.

Also, more head introduces heat into the fluid. You have to look at that too.

See? water-cooling is more complicated than rocket-science!!
Radiator- The third most important part of your WC system.
This is where all the heat is dumped.
now. I will not go into much detail as most of you will buy branded radiators.
or use heater cores from cars . That doesn't leave any decision you can make in its construction. Although if u want to get it made or just wanna educate yourself. I'll give you things to look out for.
1. Size- Use only the size u need. A 120 x 4 rad will not give u much advantage over a 120 x2 rad in a cpu- only loop.
2. FPI- affects airflow. Should be near 10-15 for rads with very fine fins. And 5-10 for rads with thick fins.
3. Fin thickness- fine are generally better. As they give a refined airflow..... although i think variable thick-ness is the best. As u can fine tune the turbulence and Q conduction in them.
4. Material- Copper pipes are a must. Fins of copper give slightly better performance but add double the weight.
5. Fin Area- more the better. According to equation.
6. Paint- it lowers the K of the material of the rad. Use as less as possible...


Hosing
-The Fourth most important Part.
These are the veins of your system.
now another stupid analogy here.
the veins which directly go to your body organs are thicker. why?
Coz more blood supply is needed there.
For eg.
If you are cooling Your NB or pump. You don't need 1/2 inch hosing..
But if ur cooling the CPU, the hosing needs to be short and thick.
OD (outer diameter) is considerable for 2 things, 1. if u r getting compression fittings and 2. if u r not going to use anti-kink coils.
kinking is something to be avoided as it obviously reduces flow. OD helps in that.
Also Very important, the head reduces proportionally with reductions in diameter of hosing.
as u might have seen, less amount of water comes out when the hose size is reduced.AND the same force is applied.
UV hosing and anti-bacterial hosing is VERY important, we'll go into that in the fluids section.


Fluid
- The 5th most important part.
The Blood......... not much u can do here,
BUT let me make myself clear.
DISTILLED WATER IS THE BEST FLUID OF ALL.
corporates might fool you into buying feser/CM $hit.
I can bet orange juice is better than that feser shit.
UV additives are $hit.....
Biocides additives are $hit....
Antifreeze additives are $hit....
DISTILLED WATER is $$$.....
therefore.
i will give you ONE and ONLY ONE proof.
The lowest k.
h20 = 0.638.
h20 with $hit= 0.792.
More than a difference of one.
Now,
Adding biocides in the water is a must. Anti bacterial hosing can help, but is available in limited areas and sizes. Remember, germs<and other things> grow only where there is light..... so if your fluid does not come in contact with light, then you are free of jhanjat of finding biocides.....
antifreeze in most of india is irrelevant.
UV additives are basically added for looks, which can be achieved with the same effect with UV hosing . Additives and biocides mixed in water turn into some sorta, err.... gel, bad for flow and temps.

Reservoir
- The LEAST important part.
Tank which holds the fluid.
you can manage without one too.
it basically serves as the point which feeds fluid to the pump.
then the looks.
and finally the exit point of all air bubbles.
Actually the bubbles are a pain in the a$$ to remove, and the res does this gracefully, but they still take some time..more on that in the installation section.
The advance WC systems incorporate another strategy to res's. Evaporative cooling. as far as i noe in this field<not far> i ve seen a "bong"....... yup, u got that right. Basically, its a shower head that fires droplets in the air and a fan cools the heat sink they are fired on, then they fall and cool even more, giving lesser deltas

The shape is your decision according to your needs. As this does not effect performance, none is better than the other. Except a T-line.

ill explain some basic types-
1.T-line- basically t-line = no res. Even if u plan to get a proper res, consider a t-line in your loop, the bleeding is a hell lot easier.
Its is the highest point in the loop. 2 pipes connected to a T fitting. And the third opening is usually blocked. what that opening does, is upto your imagination.
It can serve as an half filled space to get rid of the bubbles.

2. Drive-cage-mounted- convenient and packed.
difficult to bleed.

3. Cylinder- HUGE t-line look-alike. U can just take the cylinder and turn it over like a jug filled with water... Bleeding becomes gashing!!!


Fittings
- The choice dependent part.
If you want to have- looks, stable fitting, and blown money, get compression fittings.
they have a sphere in the centre which tightens around the hosing. Also have I Heart NOOBS stamped on them...

If you want to have- ^^ less of everything above, use barbs.
the have serrated (ugly) edges and which hold on to the pipe. also have I M OLD SCHOOL stamped on them....

One thing i want you to note. all the fittings, everything that the fluid comes into contact with HAS TO BE COPPER <or watever metal u r using> and/or plastic<hose>.. if not it will cause a displacement reaction and wear down your WC equipment.
more on that in installation notes...
Installation notes will also contain advice on clamps etc.
Next post contains the Installation notes....
 
Re: Water Cooling For Idiots

Installation-

The installation is the most important part of all. Do u need me to tell u that?

The thing is, that obviously, u have get that thing in your system. But there is a certain finesse involved which makes the most hardened computer experts kneel down and cry. Ignoring that fact is simply gonna force you to sob like a little girl when your expensive equipment is gonna take a dip in all that liquid.

So lets get started-

What you need-

Phase-1

1.An old PSU of any wattage

2. Short wire..

3. clamps and all

4. your stuff in a neat, arranged manner.

Ok..... What we'r gonna do is make the psu run without the mobo.

For that, you need, some thing that makes the PSU think that its running with a motherboard.

Its very easy, in an ATX psu.

just take the 20 pin lead in your hand <the one which connects to the mobo> and get the clip on top.

then just connect the 3rd and the 4rth leads from left to right, with the short wire (anything conductive)

now that the psu has been rigged to turn on,

arrange the stuff neatly, so u can access it any time.

Explanation - with the PSU on, u can give power to the pump for testing the loop.

arranging the things was just so that u sort ur priorities.



Phase- 2


This is where you decide your loop for the first time

Fix the pump to your desirable location in the cabby, ensure that its the lowest point in the loop.

Double sided tape works nice, otherwise drilling holes is an option.

Now,take the cabby with all the stuff, clamps, tubes, res. , rad. and the waterblock wid you.

get to a clean place and start with the tubing....

1. get some hot water...

2. get a very sharp object. a shaving blade <.50p one> is very very good.

3. get a ruler and leather gloves and a moderately strong and long wire

4. get a person close to you <in case u cut yourself>!

Ok,

what we want is to cut the tubing according to your needs. whose length should be minimal.

use the wire to measure, mark the tubing, dip it in the hot water for 20 seconds <to soften it> and cut it perpendicular to the surface.

i cannot help much here..... it depends on your skills.

Once you have that done, its time to put the clamps.

each piece of tubing r gonna use will require 2 clamps< for 2 ends>

attach an end, put 2 clamps on the pipe, then attach the other end.... then tighten the clamps.

Same exercise everywhere.

Obviously, this was only for ppl w/o compression fittings..

Phase 3

Get the whole of your WC sys. and detach it from the computer and put it in the bathroom or kitchen...

Get the rigged power supply, and connect it to ur pump...

don't turn on yet!!, without the water, the pump motor will get damaged.

now, start filling the res.

fill as much water you can, then turn the pump on.

let the water circulate, filling more water as it fills up empty air pockets.

Then, when the water has reached a stable level, fill up some extra water <marginal> and leave it.

Check every hour, you should be able to see the water level lowering, as the air bubbles float to the top.

After a day, check if the water level has decreased even more. If yes, this could mean a leak, but dont worry too much.

get some photo strips, the one used to get the colors on photos in manual photography <any quality >

and rubber bands.

tie them around every single joint in your system.

leave for a day.

Do the strips have any discoloration?

maybe, you have a minor leak, but one which could be fixed be just refitting the pipes.

any major leaks can be seen from the naked eye, appropriate measures taken thereafter..

Now, that you are satisfied with the setup and have secured all joints, its time to put the whole thing as it is in your case.

Notes-

There are many type of clamps, each one different from the other...

Worm clamps are easily available, they have a screw to tighten the clamp. They have sharp edges which could splinter the hose. be careful

Nylon clamps are other popular category, they are a bit unreliable, but cheap.

Wire Straps are crap. stay away.

If u have cheap components/hosing, and want a permanent fix, u can use silicon glue to seal the joints too, or decrease the ID<inner diameter> at the ends for a better fit around the barbs.

For anti kink coils, u can use a wire or a spiral binding spine of appropriate size.

Loop recommendations are infinite, but one is my fav. Pump-->rad-->waterblock-->res.

oh, did i tell you its also the most common one? Any ways, the pump always has to be supplied with water. that means, always start with res.-->pump-->xxxxx

Cleaning-

intro l8er.... srry

Phase 1

Get a lot of cheap ketchup...

and fill it up in a bowl.

Get a hard and a soft toothbrush.

get a soft, a very soft cloth and a long durable string.

Get hot water. and a bottle of vinegar. and soda water

get some baking powder.

Get a shitload of distilled water

Phase 2

Get the whole thing out as it is if you can..

or bleed it.

get the water out and disassemble the thing.



Phase 3


Take ALL the METAL parts, fittings, block, etc<except the rad and the pump parts> and put them in the ketchup bowl.

Use a big utensil and put Hot water in it..

get all the tubings and the rad and the res in it.

After some time, get the rad out and fill it with vinegar .

get ready to seal one both ends of it <with a tube or a stopper> and

put a little baking powder in it. then when the froth comes out, seal one end and wait till froth comes out from the other too. then seal that too.

shake it up, then after 2 mins, free the thing and wash with ice cold water.... then put it in very hot water mixed with some vinegar .. and leave it

take the res, and wash it with sodawater. And put it back in the hot water.

take the tubings, and one by one, pass the soft cloth through them

you can moisten the cloth with hot steam too if u want.

put them back in the hot water.

Get the fittings now.

take the water block, and scrub the baseplate< upper> with the hard brush through the ketchup.

take care not to scratch the lower baseplate.

do the same with the fittings.

leave everything for an hour....

Now get a 2 clean buckets and fill distilled water in them.

put everything in the first bucket... and wash vigourously..

them when every thing is clean, transfer to the 2nd bucket.

Now take each part and wash with clean distilled water..

Note- clean the pump according to its manual. Or use common sense..



Phase 4 = Phase 3 of installation


_______________________________________________________________________________

Ok thats it for this day guys, ... ill update it with formatting, cleaning intro , testing, philosophy and a noodle recipe instructions day after tomorrow..... need a break...

Enjoy and if u like it, request a sticky!!!

Oh, and i am the same guy on

e_r_o_d_o_v who posted this guide.....

so no copyright worries :lol:
 
Its a good article. I sincerely appreciate your efforts in putting together information appropriately.

However for a dummy who is thinking of going for a WC, it would have been better to post some extra information. It would have helped people a lot if you would have provided information on water pumps available in india which can be used to pump the fluid.

Anyways its good to read through the article.
 
good article expect for this fallacy

Its cool - When u wanna impress a chick, U dont need to spend money on food

How many chicks do you know who will give a 2nd thought :p

they would be much happier if you buy blue lacy shoes for them (dragon age)
 
thanks guys, at least this is getting more appreciated than on the other forum....

i wanna edit the above thread to update it..... but no luck, so i am posting the updated version here/.....

--Water cooling--

So, you've Googled the stuff, searched for it in the books, taken a plumbing course and done some crazy $hit<not a reference to stoney!!> . But all your efforts have gone in vain. Mainly because you dont wanna blow 10k on something u dont know about and is not simple as other options available. Also you are a genius and know that electricity and water dont fuse. Congrats you are on the way to becoming one of the brainless masses of the IT industry. You know its something like a zombie horde, moving and moving and never thinking.

But as Humans we have curiosity towards things we cannot achieve. And as computer experts, we have a passion to achieve such things.

Let me guide you to the world of WC. <not warcraft- Watercooling>

Note- I was, as all others, a noob when i started out and I still consider myself one. That is exactly what has enabled me to learn and get so far <and pwn other nubs!!> you should start out in the same manner.
Also I m no guru at this. I can solve ur problems, but to a certain extent. One thing, i will get somewhat user-friend-ily scientific here. That means no product recommendations, only the signs you need to spot a good product. I know how irritating it is to search the WHOLE net to find how a t-line works.
Theres a reason why i did not post this in the tutorials section. I wanted the feedback and the enthusiasm that is found only in forums. Plus, you guys can approve and improve this yourself. Thanks to the mods, especially vijay....
I Hope i clear all doubts. and this gets sticky'ed!
Why WC?

Hmmmmmm.. Tough question, WC is the most viable alternative to Air cooling. Period.
People do it for many reasons-
1.Quite - The Radiator <Rad> fan and the pump are the only things which can make a sound.. <except the undesirable bigger air bubbles>
2. Reliable - WC allows a stable temperature<temp> + they are supposed to run for a long time.
3. Its cool - When u wanna impress a chick, U dont need to spend money on food etc. just show her the shiny tubes filled with water in your computer and tell her that you built the damn thing And look at the expressions they have Chicks think that its Macho <with a hindi cho> and chicks digg macho.
4. Be different. cmon! do something unthought of!

Why NOT WC?

Comparatively Easy question
1. Somewhat Expensive. If ur going All branded, expect upwards of 10k. If ur going homemade custom 5k is Ok, depending on your negotiation skills.
2. Unreliable. Depending on the investment of time and money you made, the Pump is most susceptible to failure... then the rad fan........ although it usually doesn't happen. Leaks are the second biggest danger.... although not as hyped up as they are...... a good fitting+ good hosing+ clear side panel<or none!> and optionally a flow monitor will ensure u dont have troubles.
3. Need planning. WC is no everyday affair like air cooling.... the loop, components and all need careful planning for like a month or so ... beforehand obviously....
4. Need Maintenance. Depending on the fluid u use, maintenance comes up every 1 to 6 months. not much of a NOT point, if u plan everything carefully.
Terms-
Loop- The circuit of water flow in your WC system.
Restrictive- blocks water flow.
Non-restrictive- blocks water-flow to a lesser extent.
Res- Reservoir- the tank which holds the blood of ur WC system.
Rad- Radiator- the cooling dibba which has a fan on it.
Head- My girl had come over and in an attempt to "impress" her i was explaining the specs of my pump, I said " ohh its very nice, i use long tubing and a big reservoir which never runs out of fluid!! Plus the system gets-up and running in no time even after exhaustive benching, the best of all, it gives me the best head in the competition, and i dunno wht happened but she stared at me seriously for a moment and then laughed SO hard that i was like WTF? i never really got the reason why she laughed. neways head is the max. hieght you pump can carry <read "throw"> water to you might think its not important but it very much is.
Flow rate- The liters of water your pump can displace in an hour ..VERY VERY Important AND hyped up more on that later.
FPI- Fins per inch measurement of a rad's quality. basically the count of the fins of a rad, in one inch directly affects airflow
Ambient- Basically the temp wherever your rad is located.
Delta- The Temperature difference = TEMP of part cooled ---- TEMP of ambiance
Bleeding- Act of taking out the fluid from the system.

Parts-
Good site to buy stuff=this

Note- EACH and EVERY part of a WC system should carefully selected. WC'ing is highly sophisticated, and each part depends on your requirements. there are NO such things as fix-it-all parts and this guide helps you recognize those requirements so that ur investment is well used.
VERY IMPORTANT-
Heat conduction (rate of transfer of heat <delta Q/delta T>)=
(k of material x Area of contact x Temp diff) /(Thickness b/w the surfaces)

the above referred to as the 'equation' in the guide
__________________________________________________________________________________

1.Waterblock - The most technical aspect of your WC setup. Basically its a block through which water flows, it has direct interface with the part cooled, This has to be top-notch.
A good water block depends on your needs. As all other parts in WC do.
Now,
to those of you who r 'infants', a water block has an inlet and an outlet and a specific route the water follows to get to the outlet. All of the game is decided here.

Material- Copper <like-this>, cheap and effective or, if u r filthy rich, silver <like this><drop me a pm with your address in it so that i can rob you> you can even steal jewelry from your own wife/gf/mom and get beaten to death trying. basically u want the k in the equation to be as high as possible

Design- Two types-
1. Restrictive- lets lesser water to pass through to the outlet. its beneficial if u have a part having videly varying temp & a pump that can handle it. Pls consider this in a cpu-only loop. It kills the flow rate as it has more geographical 'features' on the base plate. These irregularities increase the area of contact b/w the water and the base plate. Which is what u wud want according to the equation.<like -this>
2. Non- restrictive-- Lets more water pass through, Allowing more cool water in faster. the thing is , u use this when u a)use an inefficient pump, b) have many parts to cool.<like this>

Restrictive is generally better. because it auto-sets the balance b/w the power of a high flow pump and the heat of a cpu.
BUT..... non- restrictive can be as good in a cpu-only loop with a pump of appropriate power precision, as lesser water will flow through, the water will have an equal chance to pick up heat=more hardwork in selecting the pump.

Thickness- Not really much of a choice in branded waterblocks. Custom waterblocks shud aim for minimal thickness of the baseplate. To get higher heat conduction according to the equation.
2.Pump------ The Second Most technical aspect of your WC setup.
It consists of many parts i dont give a $hit about. Basically u need true specs. Which usually are printed on the back of the box.
Now, specs of the pump is ALL math. U need A LOT of common sense to select a pump, that which just gives you enough power to run ur loop.
i have defined the 2 most important terms above already. I give you more about those now.

Aesthetics-
a) Fitting size- The most important aesthetic. We'll discuss this in detail when we move to the hosing section, but what u need to know is that the fitting size shud be = to your hose size. Unless you use a pump top.
b) Noise- The second most important aesthetic. One of the main reasons why WC is done. Ensure that the pump u take is the pump u can stand screaming in your ear.
c) Pump size- The un-important aesthetic, Unless you live in your cabby . They are overall dimensions. Limited only by the dimensions of the cabby. Although i prefer small designs coz they r flexible.

Performance- I may write a page on this. So pls bear with me.
What you want is water flowing in your loop at a speed which enables it to pick up heat effeciently<at the waterblock> and dispose it off even more effeciently<at the rad>. So there are two variables that come into play.<actually three, we'll talk about that in the hosing section>
1. Flow rate- i defined it above. This spec is what ppl think is the most important but really, its just 25% of the game.
To get a better feel of the thing, let me give you a simple anology.
think of it as the top-speed your car can achieve.
That's it. If u can properly understand the statement above, u will prevail in the world of pumps. I cannot explain this in detail without the head spec,as they have a mutual relation.
2.Head- The 30% of the game.
simple anology again-
think of it as the max. Horse-power your car gives you.
Again i will tell you , if u want your WC system to be a success, it is critical to understand the statements above..

Relation- Now the MOST important part of WC.
imagine your car with <figuratively> 0 hp going at a nice speed. And you have to brake coz theres a rough road.
Now imagine a car with a nice Hp going at a really slow speed. The rough road comes and you cross it with ease. But you take too much time....
Both of the circumstances of escape are undesirable.
Dont put the pump and the water in the situation yet.
Imagine a car with a nice hp going at a nice speed. Remember the rough road is cross able, but you need the power to maintain the nice speed so that u dont take much time.
Now. Put the water and the pump and the restrictions in the above situation.
Understood? if not, WC is not for u. No matter how hard u try, u HAVE to understand the above analogy properly to apply this in fluid mechanics of your loop. u can have another form of the anology but the crux should be the same.
if u have understood, congo's, u r gonna be successful in your attempts at WC.
The flow rate is important as it has a relation with time. And the head is the actual pressure you pump keeps on the fluid so that it does not slow down with the hindrances in your loop. Therefore the relation with flow-rate.<it also has a relation with the heat-dumped>
Only For ppl who have time to dedicate to their computers-
Calculate the average volume of your loop. You shud want that that is the amount of water moved in the time which the water takes to absorb the heat.< Ideal; may may not be possible>
The K of water is= 0.792 <with additives> OR 0.638 < distilled,PURE>
The A<area of contact>= depends on the waterblock. Calculate the area of the base plate and- If a restrictive block- x2 the area of the base plate.
If a low-restriction block- x1 the area of the base plate.
The temp Diff =
(MAX. temp ever attained by you while benching the part cooled) --- ( Ambient+2-3 degrees depending on the effeciency of your rad).
The X= thickness of the base plate (+-) marginal amount to account for errors.

Q is the heat produced by the part cooled. U can put the <(TDP)+(10)> of your part here.
T is unknown.
Put the Values in this equation-

T = Q x (X)/(k x A x Temp diff)

Now Calculate the volume of your water-block.
<length x breadth x (height -- marginal amount for high restriction blocks)>.
That is the amount of water that should be moved through your loop. In time equal to T.......
That Gives You the ideal final Flow rate at the end of your loop.
BUT. You didnt account for the restrictions in your loop!!!
there is no really simple accurate formula for this. So only a tukka will work here.
ill give you an estimate.
2 lph- the slight bends<Each>.
30 lph- tight bends <90 degree, 45 degree><each>.
15lph- Each 180 degree turn the fluid has to make while going through the rad.
100-200 lph- depending on the waterblock's restrictiveness.
50 lph- For Total fittings you have used.
3 lph- every foot of tubing you use.
20 lph- every foot of the height of your case

Add it all up and subtract it from the lph rating of your pump.
it should be near to the ideal final flow rate we took out earlier.
the Head spec here determines that the flow rate is increased/reduced by a function of pressure. This comes out in a head/flow rate graph <head is also dependent on the tubing size>.
If u want ill put up an equation for that too, but it will get too complicated, After all this is an idiot's guide. Although you will get clinical precision in finding out the perfect pump for yourself.

Note that i did the TDP+10 there as an adjustment for room temp. For the full tdp to be cooled, the temp- difference will have to become zero. Which is not feasible every time in your loop.

Also, more head introduces heat into the fluid. You have to look at that too.

See? water-cooling is more complicated than rocket-science!!
@2 good pumps- this and this
Radiator- The third most important part of your WC system.
This is where all the heat is dumped.
now. I will not go into much detail as most of you will buy branded radiators.
or use heater cores from cars . That doesn't leave any decision you can make in its construction. Although if u want to get it made or just wanna educate yourself. I'll give you things to look out for.
1. Size- Use only the size u need. A 120 x 4 rad will not give u much advantage over a 120 x2 rad in a cpu- only loop.
2. FPI- affects airflow. Should be near 10-15 for rads with very fine fins. And 5-10 for rads with thick fins.
3. Fin thickness- fine are generally better. As they give a refined airflow..... although i think variable thick-ness is the best. As u can fine tune the turbulence and Q conduction in them.
4. Material- Copper pipes are a must. Fins of copper give slightly better performance but add double the weight.
5. Fin Area- more the better. According to equation.
6. Paint- it lowers the K of the material of the rad. Use as less as possible...
Good rads- This & This

Hosing-The Fourth most important Part.
These are the veins of your system.
now another stupid analogy here.
the veins which directly go to your body organs are thicker. why?
Coz more blood supply is needed there.
For eg.
If you are cooling Your NB or pump. You don't need 1/2 inch hosing..
But if ur cooling the CPU, the hosing needs to be short and thick.
OD (outer diameter) is considerable for 2 things, 1. if u r getting compression fittings and 2. if u r not going to use anti-kink coils.
kinking is something to be avoided as it obviously reduces flow. OD helps in that.
Also Very important, the head reduces proportionally with reductions in diameter of hosing.
as u might have seen, less amount of water comes out when the hose size is reduced.AND the same force is applied.
UV hosing and anti-bacterial hosing is VERY important, we'll go into that in the fluids section.
Good Hosing - This, This and this
 
Fluid- The 5th most important part.
The Blood......... not much u can do here,
BUT let me make myself clear.
DISTILLED WATER IS THE BEST FLUID OF ALL.
corporates might fool you into buying feser/CM $hit.
I can bet orange juice is better than that feser shit.
UV additives are $hit.....
Biocides additives are $hit....
Antifreeze additives are $hit....
DISTILLED WATER is $$$.....
therefore.
i will give you ONE and ONLY ONE proof.
The lowest k.
h20 = 0.638.
h20 with $hit= 0.792.
More than a difference of one.
Now,
Adding biocides in the water is a must. Anti bacterial hosing can help, but is available in limited areas and sizes. Remember, germs<and other things> grow only where there is light..... so if your fluid does not come in contact with light, then you are free of jhanjat of finding biocides.....
antifreeze in most of india is irrelevant.
UV additives are basically added for looks, which can be achieved with the same effect with UV hosing . Additives and biocides mixed in water turn into some sorta, err.... gel, bad for flow and temps.
Good Fluids- This and nothing else.....

Reservoir- The LEAST important part.
Tank which holds the fluid.
you can manage without one too.
it basically serves as the point which feeds fluid to the pump.
then the looks.
and finally the exit point of all air bubbles.
Actually the bubbles are a pain in the a$$ to remove, and the res does this gracefully, but they still take some time..more on that in the installation section.
The advance WC systems incorporate another strategy to res's. Evaporative cooling. as far as i noe in this field<not far> i ve seen a "bong" like this ....... yup, u got that right. Basically, its a shower head that fires droplets in the air and a fan cools the heat sink they are fired on, then they fall and cool even more, giving lesser deltas

The shape is your decision according to your needs. As this does not effect performance, none is better than the other. Except a T-line.

ill explain some basic types-
1.T-line- basically t-line = no res. Even if u plan to get a proper res, consider a t-line in your loop, the bleeding is a hell lot easier.
Its is the highest point in the loop. 2 pipes connected to a T fitting. And the third opening is usually blocked. what that opening does, is upto your imagination.
It can serve as an half filled space to get rid of the bubbles. like- This-
IMG_0389.jpg


2. Drive-cage-mounted- convenient and packed.
difficult to bleed. somewhat like this-
post-17891-1236177531_thumb.jpg

3. Cylinder- HUGE t-line look-alike. U can just take the cylinder and turn it over like a jug filled with water... Bleeding becomes gashing!!! like this-
index.php

Fittings- The choice dependent part.
If you want to have- looks, stable fitting, and blown money, get compression fittings.
they have a sphere in the centre which tightens around the hosing. Also have I Heart NOOBS stamped on them...
like this-
post-17891-1211131415.jpg


If you want to have- ^^ less of everything above, use barbs.
the have serrated (ugly) edges and which hold on to the pipe. also have I M OLD SCHOOL stamped on them....
like this-
post-17891-1236525871.jpg

One thing i want you to note. all the fittings, everything that the fluid comes into contact with HAS TO BE COPPER <or whatever metal u r using> and/or plastic<hose>.. if not it will cause a displacement reaction and wear down your WC equipment.
more on that in installation notes...
Installation notes will also contain advice on clamps etc.



Installation-


The installation is the most important part of all. Do u need me to tell u that?
The thing is, that obviously, u have get that thing in your system. But there is a certain finesse involved which makes the most hardened computer experts kneel down and cry. Ignoring that fact is simply gonna force you to sob like a little girl when your expensive equipment is gonna take a dip in all that liquid.

So lets get started-
What you need-
Phase-1
1.An old PSU of any wattage
2. Short wire..
3. clamps and all
4. your stuff in a neat, arranged manner.

Ok..... What we'r gonna do is make the psu run without the mobo.
For that, you need, some thing that makes the PSU think that its running with a motherboard.
Its very easy, in an ATX psu.
Connect the green cable’s terminal in the ATX connector with one of the black cables’ terminals in the ATX connector. It doesn’t matter which black cable you use, as all of them are ground, just make sure you have connected the green wire
like this-
psu.jpg

now that the psu has been rigged to turn on,
arrange the stuff neatly, so u can access it any time.
Explanation - with the PSU on, u can give power to the pump for testing the loop.
arranging the things was just so that u sort ur priorities.

Phase- 2
This is where you decide your loop for the first time
Fix the pump to your desirable location in the cabby, ensure that its the lowest point in the loop.
Double sided tape works nice, otherwise drilling holes is an option.
Now,take the cabby with all the stuff, clamps, tubes, res. , rad. and the waterblock wid you.
get to a clean place and start with the tubing....
1. get some hot water...
2. get a very sharp object. a shaving blade <.50p one> is very very good.
3. get a ruler and leather gloves and a moderately strong and long wire
4. get a person close to you <in case u cut yourself>!
Ok,
what we want is to cut the tubing according to your needs. whose length should be minimal.
use the wire to measure, mark the tubing, dip it in the hot water for 20 seconds <to soften it> and cut it perpendicular to the surface.
i cannot help much here..... it depends on your skills.

Once you have that done, its time to put the clamps.
each piece of tubing r gonna use will require 2 clamps< for 2 ends>
attach an end, put 2 clamps on the pipe, then attach the other end.... then tighten the clamps.
Same exercise everywhere.
Obviously, this was only for ppl w/o compression fittings..
Phase 3

Get the whole of your WC sys. and detach it from the computer and put it in the bathroom or kitchen...
Get the rigged power supply, and connect it to ur pump...
don't turn on yet!!, without the water, the pump motor will get damaged.
now, start filling the res.
fill as much water you can, then turn the pump on.
let the water circulate, filling more water as it fills up empty air pockets.
Then, when the water has reached a stable level, fill up some extra water <marginal> and leave it.
Check every hour, you should be able to see the water level lowering, as the air bubbles float to the top.
After a day, check if the water level has decreased even more. If yes, this could mean a leak, but dont worry too much.
get some photo strips, the one used to get the colors on photos in manual photography <any quality >
and rubber bands.
tie them around every single joint in your system.
leave for a day.
Do the strips have any discoloration?
maybe, you have a minor leak, but one which could be fixed be just refitting the pipes.
any major leaks can be seen from the naked eye, appropriate measures taken thereafter..
Now, that you are satisfied with the setup and have secured all joints, its time to put the whole thing as it is in your case.

Notes-
There are many type of clamps, each one different from the other...
Worm clamps are easily available, they have a screw to tighten the clamp. They have sharp edges which could splinter the hose. be careful..... like this-
MO4L-LRG.jpg

Nylon clamps are other popular category, they are a bit unreliable, but cheap. like this-
index.php

Wire Straps are crap. stay away.

If u have cheap components/hosing, and want a permanent fix, u can use silicon glue to seal the joints too, or decrease the ID<inner diameter> at the ends for a better fit around the barbs.
For anti kink coils, u can use a wire or a spiral binding spine of appropriate size.
Loop recommendations are infinite, but one is my fav. Pump-->rad-->waterblock-->res.
oh, did i tell you its also the most common one? Any ways, the pump always has to be supplied with water. that means, always start with res.-->pump-->xxxxx
According to popular belief <which definitely is more aware than anyone here> , the order of components in your loop do make a difference. This is because the net heat dissipated by the pump to the water is directly injected to the Cpu. which will make things worse.


Cleaning-
It is a thing which makes WC a pain.... for some people. But for me, i do it whenever i get time. That means once in 2 months. And thats a very good number. 6 months or so with dusting the rad is OK. U just develop a feeling for it.
Neways the main point here is that u just follow the instructions given below. And me thinks u r just gonna be fine.
Oh, and its not necessary to follow everything below, just understand the process and then substitute.

Phase 1

Get a lot of cheap ketchup...
Get a hard and a soft toothbrush.
get a soft, a very soft cloth and a long durable string.
Get hot water. and a bottle of vinegar. and soda water
get some baking powder.
Get a shitload of distilled water

Phase 2
Get the whole thing out as it is if you can..
or bleed it.
get the water out and disassemble the thing.

Phase 3

Take ALL the METAL parts, fittings, block, etc<except the rad and the pump parts> and smear them with the ketchup. like this-
11.jpg

Use a big utensil and put Hot water in it..
get all the tubings and the rad and the res in it.
After some time, get the rad out and fill it with vinegar .
get ready to seal one both ends of it <with a tube or a stopper> and
put a little baking powder in it. then when the froth comes out, seal one end and wait till froth comes out from the other too. then seal that too.
shake it up, then after 2 mins, free the thing and wash with ice cold water.... then put it in very hot water mixed with some vinegar .. and leave it
take the res, and wash it with sodawater. And put it back in the hot water.
take the tubings, and one by one, pass the soft cloth through them
you can moisten the cloth with hot steam too if u want.
put them back in the hot water.
Get the fittings now.
take the water block, and scrub the baseplate< upper> with the hard brush through the ketchup.
take care not to scratch the lower baseplate.
do the same with the fittings.
leave everything for an hour....
Now get a 2 clean buckets and fill distilled water in them.
put everything in the first bucket... and wash vigourously..
them when every thing is clean, transfer to the 2nd bucket.
Now take each part and wash with clean distilled water..

Note- clean the pump according to its manual. Or use common sense..

Phase 4 = Phase 3 of installation


_______________________________________________________________________________
The guide has been finished.... You guys requested the links and pics, and i have done my best.....
If you r kind enough, at least comment after reading!!
Now-
Enjoy and if u like it, request a sticky!!!
 
Well i liked the article but can't get most of the stuuf for cheap in India and most of us lack the expertise or resources tomake a waterblock :( but it was a very good attempt :)
 
Jamil,

These are some really nice posts coming from you.

I have a few suggestions for you though..
Take a look at the Guides and Tutorials section. With a little bit of formatting, this would fit into that part of TE much more smoothly. You can lay out your article in a pagewise format as well.

PS - Also, take a look at the forum rules about posting images. You are not permitted to hotlink (use the originating site's weblink) you images. If you need to use images, upload them onto an imagehost and then use THAT link.
 
Nice post, has some very useful information for those who want to know what water cooling is all about and need a place to star off with.

My advise for newbie WC enthusiasts,including me :p , would be to gather as much knowledge as possible about this system of cooling but get a sealed water cooling system as your first one.This makes sense to me because you get first hand knowledge about this system without worrying about going wrong somewhere and there are a lot of places you can go wrong.
I'm looking forward to getting the Corsair H50(available locally for ~4.5k) and it performs as good as if not better than the very high end in air cooling like prolima meghalems,true 120,noctuas and all.
There is also a 300+ page thread on overclock.net(I think) on modding the H50 so this is a nice place to start.
 
^Slightly OT but that mod on that H50 was a bit too much with that dual rad setup! The capacity of the pump was vastly overestimated and guys were expecting it to work wonders by using it with dual rads and triple rads and what not! The pump simply failed to work with that kind of load. The best mod for the H50 could have been replacing that fan with a better one or getting rid of the pump from the CPU block and using a dedicated pump which would push the expenses to a Swiftech Apex Ultima setup! I fail to foresee a better mod for it.

I have respects for the modder and his observation though.

Btw, Jamil has indeed taken pains to compile an article for beginners. I'd suggest formatting this and pushing it to the guides section.
 
Thanks guys. I still am short of time, so could anyone please format it, coz by far, i have tried to do my best.

Thanks!
 
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