Water Cooling: It's better down where it's wetter

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > Water Cooling: It's better down where it's wetter

originalnickname: Mar 9, 2005; tree

I'm assuming you mixed it with distilled water, right? Looking at your loop, it looks like you've got pretty much all copper, so that should in theory cut down on ionization.. I mean to me, that looks like oxidization, what does your cpu block look like?

# ¿ Dec 5, 2016 23:14

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 05:29

originalnickname: Mar 9, 2005; tree

Deuce posted:

Well, crap.

My GPU block seems to be going to hell. Questions:

1) Is it salvageable? If not, EKWB apparently has had a corrosion RMA process for this very issue, years ago. They must have thought the problem was solved, because they started selling nickel-covered blocks again, and no warning is found on the product page for use of silver killcoils.

2) Can I expect the corrosion in the copper parts as well? The CPU block is copper with an acetal top. The radiators are alphacool, so should only have copper in contact with water.

3) Should I use this as an excuse to purchase a 1080ti? You might argue that the GPU itself is totally fine, just the block needs to be replaced. My answer to that is shut up, who asked you?

Given that silver killcoils are incredibly common, you'd think EKWB would have some kind of warning about that.

Umm,

Someone more experienced than me, please chime in, but you should be able to open that bastard up and clean out the worst of it. You might be able to use some sort of chemical rust removal stuff, just make sure you rinse the poo poo out of it and dry it properly before putting it back together. Then of course you should probably pressure test it before putting it back on your expensive electronics.

What kind of metal is your rad? (edit: I read good, point still (unfortunately) stands) Chances are that's all the way through the whole system, ionization and all. Make sure you try to get all of it, because corrosion breeds more corrosion. I'm guessing this is a good use for a toothbrush and ... I'm not sure, maybe brasso? don't get it on any plastic.

In answer to 3) why not just wait until the ti's out and put one of those pascal titan blocks on them (EK says they'll fit). I mean ... you were going to buy a 1080 anyway right? :p

# ¿ Mar 3, 2017 05:27

originalnickname: Mar 9, 2005; tree

Captain Hair posted:

Mine only requires a flush every 3, allegedly

Speaking of that though. Recently alot of people I know have converted both their brakes and cooling system on their cars to run magical fluids that don't ever need flushing or bleeding. These are classic cars too where the setup isn't far off a bigger scale of p watercooling.

How come there isn't something similar for pc watercooling? I think the brake fluid they use is something silicon (silicone?) based, can't remember what the cooling fluid was though I'll try and find out.

I think they probably have stuff like that and it's either extremely expensive, or it's super poisonous, or it doesn't transfer heat as well.. Personally, I know it's a pain in the rear end to flush the system, but I take the opportunity when I'm flushing to check everything else in the system at the same time.. which is probably good since I'm dealing with conductive fluids and electronics.

# ¿ Mar 10, 2017 18:56

originalnickname: Mar 9, 2005; tree

I'm looking for 2 200mm (20cm) fans, I like the noctua ones, I was just wondering if anyone had any preferred ones that were maybe a bit cheaper?

# ¿ Nov 4, 2017 21:16

originalnickname: Mar 9, 2005; tree

Desuwa posted:

I'm going to be running two different GPUs in my water loop, and I haven't been able to find an answer on how standard the inlet/outlet port positioning is on GPU blocks. If I get two different brands of blocks will they line up nicely, or could they be off by enough to prevent rigid, straight connectors from working? The tubing in working with is pretty stiff so I'd prefer they just line up straight.

I've already got a phanteks block for my non-ref 1080ti, since there weren't too many options. There's nothing wrong with it, but I'm not sure whether I can take my pick of whatever the best block is or whether I should avoid wasting my time and just order the new phanteks block.

"IT DEPENDS"...

Real answer, their technical support should be able to let you know what's up (or at least some measurements you could use to mock it up). If all else fails, you could always order it, try a dry fit and if it doesn't line up just return it and get another phanteks....

# ¿ Sep 20, 2018 21:29

originalnickname: Mar 9, 2005; tree

I've got a Koolance pmp-450S (24v) and I need to start looking for a replacement as I've gotten way more than 50,000 hours out of it.

So I've got what you'd call a non-standard setup, where my loop is very long (think 30 feet long) so I need a pump that will operate under a fairly high head pressure. I was thinking of replacing my 450S with a pmp-600 because it's pretty much the same footprint, runs the same voltage, but has a higher output, does anyone have any experience with that specific pump?

# ¿ Dec 11, 2018 15:51

originalnickname: Mar 9, 2005; tree

originalnickname posted:

I've got a Koolance pmp-450S (24v) and I need to start looking for a replacement as I've gotten way more than 50,000 hours out of it.

So I've got what you'd call a non-standard setup, where my loop is very long (think 30 feet long) so I need a pump that will operate under a fairly high head pressure. I was thinking of replacing my 450S with a pmp-600 because it's pretty much the same footprint, runs the same voltage, but has a higher output, does anyone have any experience with that specific pump?

So I succeeded in actually doing this, I'm running a fairly low amount of flow but the temperatures speak for themselves, I guess...

Protip, retrofitting a different pump in a bespoke "aio cooling solution"... yeah, don't do it, because it's more trouble than it's worth.

that being said, I am fairly happy with the results:

hindsight being 20/20, I'd 100% build my own remote heatdump (fan and radiator) so I could have a lot more control over pressure drop and things like that.

# ¿ Dec 29, 2018 18:46

originalnickname: Mar 9, 2005; tree

I'm thinking of making the jump to Ryzen this time. Does anyone have any suggestions for good AM4 CPU blocks? I've been predominantly using EKWB currently, but their shipping to Canada costs almost as much as the waterblocks themselves..

EDIT:

Harik posted:

Anyone use external rads? I've got a fairly small office that gets heat-saturated fast while the rest of the house is cool and for super lovely reasons (HOA) I can't put in a windowshaker.

My thought was that my setup is right behind my livingroom wall, so I could put a rad into a permanent enclosure hidden behind my entertainment center. Insane? Would a pair of zero-spill connects make sense for something like that?
I've already got one conduit there for HDMI+USB so I can toss party games on my 4k TV without having a seperate system.

My current (bad) solution is opening the door, running a box fan and putting up a gate to keep curious tiny fingers attached to tiny hands. Alternatives include putting in a vent booster to keep air circulating - and those are basically custom jobs already. Pricey and noisy. Or a mini-split, which start in the $750 range, sound like the cheap poo poo they are, and do basically the same thing I was thinking of WRT plumbing only larger, louder, more expensive and requiring a licensed HVAC guy to install and invite insects directly into my office.

E: I should mention that I've consolidated all my computers into two - one NAS homed in the wiring closet and one threadripper with GPUs for every virtualized box I used to run separately. It also means I'd have to watercool AMD GPUs or quadros because nVidia has been super lovely lately about detecting virtualization and blocking it. ~~It feels weird thinking about converting a stack of RX580s to water in 2019.~~

E2: not thinking about water for my 580s anymore, there's no used waterblocks on the market and new ones for a 580 go for more than the 580s themselves. Figured people would be dumping their old gear but there's $150/gpu cost no matter how old the GPU.

So.. I do, but it's more of an external AIO box. I was one of the suckers who bought one of those Koolance ERM's.

This one: https://koolance.com/erm-2k3ucu-liquid-cooling-system-copper

Right now I've got the unit out in my garage on a shelf up off the ground. I opened up my office wall and added quick release connectors for my office loop, and I'm running both of the computers on water cooled by the ERM as it's apparently supposed to dissipate 2000 watts of heat.

I'm using https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0033CE8T6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 to connect the behind the wall stuff to my heat dump, and regular watercooling tubing and connectors for the visible stuff. That amazon tubing uses the same rubber that EK uses for their Z class tubing or whatever.

Then, to make up for extra head pressure required for such a long loop, I had to upgrade the pump to a D600 which can put out (apparently) 20psi while still sluggishly moving water around the loop.

Advice:

Don't do what I did.

Build a nice in-case watercooling solution (if at all) and buy the minisplit. That way your whole room is nice and cool.

Aside from "wow look how cool my CPU and GPU are" in the winter time since my garage hovers around 5C and a completely silent office with no fan noise, there's literally no benefit to what I'm doing as it was stupid expensive and still requires a lot of work.. like when I have to flush my system. Also, this loving ERM is loud as poo poo and that's why it's in the garage.

This was a silly "can I do this" project when I should have been asking "should I do this". Learn from my expensive, time consuming mistake :P

originalnickname fucked around with this message at 15:04 on Jun 21, 2019

# ¿ Jun 21, 2019 14:44

originalnickname: Mar 9, 2005; tree

Harik posted:

That seems like crazy overkill, how long is the total loop that you need a separate boost pump? Running two systems on one combined loop is also asking for trouble.

Total loop is ~40 feet or so + the pressure drop required from the waterblocks. I didn't use a boost pump, I basically retrofitted a bigger pump into the ERM chassis because I didn't want to have to run seperate 24V wires and this pump vibrates quite a bit at high output and wanted all the noise in one spot.

Regarding the condensation, I live in a *very* dry area and my house can't seem to stay above 15% humidity over the winter time despite a ton of effort on my part. That being said, I definitely check my cases very very very often for any condensation during the colder months.

Keep in mind I did mention that I know my "solution" is both dumb and completely overkill, but you did ask if anyone's run a remote rad and I am doing so right now. This thread doesn't move too quickly so I figured I'd chime in with lessons learned.

Why do you think that running 2 systems on a loop is asking for trouble? Datacenters that are watercooled do this all the time.

Honestly man, just because you cool your GPU and your CPU and dump the heat into a seperate radiator outside, it won't mitigate the other heat coming from the motherboard, the power supply, the monitors, the speakers, you, and whatever else you've got going on in that office. The minisplit is the answer you're looking for I promise.

# ¿ Jun 21, 2019 16:19

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 05:29

originalnickname: Mar 9, 2005; tree

Warmachine posted:

This can be taken to the logical extreme with external radiator towers. Pump the water out of the case to some giant cooling array that can fit as many radiators as your pump's head pressure can handle. This is how datacenter liquid cooling works, if I recall correctly?

You also can't discount the thermal volume of water as well; part of the reason that we like to use coolant temperature sensors to control the fans is that the water in the loop adds additional thermal mass to the system, giving you more time between when you start producing heat and when you need to start radiating that heat into the environment to absorb more. This can cut down on how often your fans need to speed up and slow down, giving you a much smoother and consistent noise profile.

This is literally what I do. I've got a couple quick release fittings in a wall plate in my office and my radiator/pump setup is in another room. I run the front case fans at the lowest setting to make sure there's still airflow for the non watercooled parts, but the computer is functionally silent.

# ¿ Dec 14, 2023 19:39

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