EggXpert

Guide on Computer Cooling, targeted to anyone who wants to:

1. Cool down your computers. (Makes things work better, smoother, by increasing airflow)
2. Learn outside of the box. (Literally..)
3. Get more out your computer. 


PART ONE ( A ) AIR COOLING.


As many of you may know from physics, hot air [rises], and cold air [lowers]. Therefore, if you setup your case in a resonable way, you should have reasonable temperatures that should not rise up unless it's under stress (playing an intense graphic game, ect.) A diagram will show you how to properly set up your air cooling inside of your computer case.

If you have no intake case fans, you may have trouble cooling down your PC. A computer needs equal airflow in order to keep your tempratures down, insufficient air cooling can cause Instability due to overheating issues.

Need some quick cool fans?
http://www.xoxide.com/thunderblade4.html

5 Bucks per 120mm fan, make sure your case is capatable with them first!

PART ONE ( B ) Aftermarket Coolers


FAQ.
Q. Will an aftermarket cooler Void my CPU warranty?
A. Hell no, how are they going to know you used an AfterMarket Cooler? Lol

Q. Will this really help my tempratures?
A. Depending on what you get, yes. The stock heatsinks that the companies give you when you first buy your CPU is a piece of crap. Ditch it when you have the oppertunity, buy an aftermarket cooler, and never look back.

Q. What should i look in an aftermarket cooler?
A. There are many things to look for. One being the material that it is made of, another being its design. A big block of aluminum with a fan on the top may look like it will cool you down, but there are better coolers with better prices out there. Always ask someone who knows theyre stuff before you make an impulsive buy.

Q. Is it hard installing an AfterMarket Cooler?
A. At times, it can be difficult, it varies on how you can follow instructions, and your experience with installation.

Q. HDD Coolers, Ram Coolers, and PCI Slot Coolers, are they good?
A. Quick Answer, No. They are simply a waste of money IMHO, they dont produce too much heat. The highest a hard drive will produce alone is around 35�, and thats not too bad. The inflow fan in the front of your case will take care of your hard drive, since the hard drive rack is usually right infront of the intake, so your getting some pretty good cooling there already. Ram, does not produce too much heat at all, its very unnessary to get any cooling for it. The PCI cooler can be handy at some times, id have to suggest it, unless you have a Intake fan from the bottom of your case (Which is the absolute best place to have an inflow fan, only if you have 'Feet' on your case to elevate) then this would be redundant.

Continuing off with the Guide, Aftermarket coolers have definately been more popular over the years, due to overclocking enthuiasts, and just stock rubbish parts that manufacturers decide to give you. We will focus on three main aftermarket coolers here, the CPU, Video Card, and Northbridge.

CPU

The CPU is the 'brain' of your entire computer. It does just about everything. Making it faster will optimise performance. but like a human, the more you think, the faster youll die (Not True, trying to make a point.. =D) Keeping this cool is very important, it produces the second most amount of heat in your computer. If you are looking for a Cooler then here are probably the best possibilities....

For less than $30
Socket 775 / all Pentium D- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...82E16835186134R
Socket 939, 775, 754, 478, 940. - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16835118114

For less than $45
Socket 939, 775, 754, 478, 940- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16835106061

For less than $55
Socket 939, 775, 754, 478, 940. - http://www.svc.com/tuniq.html

For less than 30 Bucks, you cant say very much because you get for what you pay for. The Big Typhoon is arguebly the best Heatsink / Fan combination out there in the market right now, but comes with serious flaws. The base is not 'flat', thus minimal contact between the CPU and the HEATSINK. You will need to do something called 'Lapping' . Needless to say, there is alot of modfications you can do to your big typhoon, as displayed in this Link. **incdludes a video in the thread.**

http://www.overclock.net/amd-air-cooling/1...altake-big.html

The Tuniq Tower has been proven to outperform the Big Typhoon, and is flawless out of the box. If your looking for something that you will not need to fiddle with when installed, the Tuniq Tower is for you.

Part 1 ( C ) - Thermal Paste

The point of thermal paste is to have maximum contact from your CPU to your HEATSINK. too much is bad, too little is good. The thermal paste covers the 'micro gaps' in the heatsink and CPU IHS. The more contact, the better heat gets dissipated.

What i suggest is some good ol' artic silver 5. This stuff is proven to be the best thermal paste, and if you ask any computer expert, he will suggest it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16835100007

Part 2 (A) : Water Cooling

It�€™s a good idea to go through google or a forum to get some assistance with water cooling, but heres a general breakdown.

CPU Waterblock: The waterblock is what is mounted to your CPU in order to remove the heat it is creating. It is very important to buy a good waterblock, because much of your system�€™s cooling performance relies on it. It is important to look at how well heat is removed from the CPU by the waterblock and how much the waterblock restricts your coolant�€™s flow rate.

GPU Waterblock: Does the same thing as the CPU block, but is used to cool the graphics card.

Pump: The pump will circulate the water in your system. The pump�€™s gallons per hour (GPH) rating, its max head rating, and its reliability/longevity are very important things to look at. The GPH of the pump tell us how many GPH the pump can output if nothing is restricting the flow of the water/coolant, and the pump is not pumping the water against gravity. The max head rating tells us how �€œstrong�€� the pump is. This rating is how many feet above the pump, it can deliver the water. So from this we can tell how well the pump can overcome pumping water against gravity, or through a heater core or waterblock, where the flow of the water is restricted. I recommend the Eheim 1250, but if you wanted to 12VDC pump, this one would be great. If you can afford it, get the 12V pump. It should give you better flow rates in a high restriction system as well. 

Coolant: The coolant absorbs the heat from the waterblock(s). General we use distilled or de-ionized water. It is a good idea to add some anti-biological additive to your coolant. Barqua Spa spa sanitizer works well. It�€™s expensive but it will last you forever. Just add about 4 drops and you won�€™t get that lovely algae build up. You can also add an anti-corrosive additive such as Zerex Super Coolant, Red Line Water Wetter, etc. I would only use an anti-corrosive if you had another metal besides copper and brass in your system. Copper/brass will cause the corrosion of aluminum if you do not have an anti-corrosive additive. 5% anti-corrosive, 95% water is the standard mix, plus anything else you want to add. UV reactive dye is another option.

Radiator: The radiator is where the heat of the water will be absorbed from the coolant and then released into the air. A good solution for a radiator is a �€˜84 Chevrolet Chevette heater core. This is the part that is used to heat the cabin of your automobile. You could also choose to use a heatercore from a different car. The Chevette is popular because of it�€™s size (W6.25' x H7.25'). However, the Chevette heatercore has one 3/4' barb. Pulling the ½' tubing over it will be very difficult. So, you can replace it with a 1/2' or 5/8' barb.

Fan: On your radiator, you need a fan to circulate air through it. You don�€™t want the already warmed air sitting there. You always want cool air next to the fins. Two fans are better than one, but use the same make/model of fan.

Fan Shroud: To attach the fan to your radiator, you want to use a fan shroud. If you mount the fan tight against the radiator, there will be a �€œdead spot�€� where the fan�€™s motor is. No air will be circulating through the fins of the radiator at that spot since there are no fan blades circulating air there. We want to space the fan away from the radiator about 1.5'. This should also reduce the noise created by the fan as well.

Tubing: Tubing takes water from one component to the next. 1/2' inner diameter (ID), 3/4' outer diameter (OD), with 1/8' walls is standard. Clearflex60 is the brand most common in water cooling systems. The cheap vinyl tubing from Home Depot kinks easily when you bend a radius in it get it where you want it. Tygon is another brand that you can bend tightly with out having to worry a lot about creating a kink, but Tygon is over $3.00/foot in most cases.

Hose Barbs: Most of your devices will come with ½' OD hose barbs. If you get the heater core, you might have to replace the stock fittings with hose barbs.

Hose Clamps: These will clamp your tubing around the hose barbs, so the tubing doesn�€™t come off!

There are plastic/nylon clamps with teeth that you pinch together to lock down, but they can be hard to take off without ruining them. But they're cheap.

There are also the worm drive clamps used on automobiles. These clamps work fine, but they can cut into the tubing causing a leak.

Relays and Switches: Normal water pumps in the USA use 110VAC power, just like your monitor for example. Well, we have the pump inside the case, and the only power available in there is DC voltage. So we have a few options. (1) We can run a power cord out of our case to our surge protector (Cheap/easy but the computer can be turned on with out the pump running!). (2) Buy a CritiCool Power Plant PCI relay card (a bit expensive and uses a PCI slot). (3) Buy his Pump Relay Kit (requires cutting a small hole and mounting a bracket on your case, and you still have 2 cords attached to your case). Or (4) Put together our own relay/switch setup (cheaper, harder, custom).

Y-Fitting: If your waterblock has two exhaust ports, you should use Y-fitting in order to join the two ports back into one line. You don't want to use a T-fitting for this, because the 90° angle will restrict flow more than necessary.

T-Fitting: Many people use T-fitting to create a 3rd line, which runs to the top of their case. This line is called the filling/bleeding line or T-line. You use the T-line to pour water into the system, and to allow the air that was originally in your system to escape. You want the T-line at the highest part of your system possible, because air will float to the highest point.

T-Line Plug: If you're going to have a T-line for filling/bleeding, you'll want something to plug it with after your done with it. There are many options. Put a cap on the threaded end of a hose barb, and plug the barb in. Plug it with a AA battery . I hear the lids off of certain markers work well too. An empty Arctic Silver 3 syringe fits well also. And anything else you can find that fits!

PART 2 ( B ) Filling, Bleeding, and Leak Testing Your System

Explanation of bleeding: You have to get the water into your system some how, right? When you first put the system together air is in your lines. To get the water into the system I like to use a T-line. The only purpose of this line is to give you a place to pour everything in and let air out. If you're using an anti-corrosive, you have two option for mixing your coolant:

Option 1 (easiest): Get a gallon of distilled/de-ionized water, pour it into a larger container, then add 6.4 ounces of anti-corrosive (or 4oz if that is all you have), close container tightly, shake (not stir) container. And there is your coolant. Mark on the container 'TOXIC! DON'T DRINK! BAD! TOXIC!' Or something like that. You now have enough coolant to fill 3-5 watercooling systems!

Option 2: As you fill your system with water, measure or estimate the amount of water you are pouring into your system, then find 5% of that. That is how much anti-corrosive to add. You don't want to have your system 98% filled then try and get 5% of anti-corrosive in. It's not going to happen. So you have to pour water in, get some air out of your lines (to allow for more fluid), pour 5% of anti corrosive in, then pour some more water in, then pour some more anti-corrosive in, and so on. I would prefer having less than 5% of anti-corrosive, opposed to more than 5%. The first way is easier yes? But I will use the second method since it is more complex (needs more explaining).

1) Once everything is together, it's time to fill the lines with coolant! Get a funnel, put it in your fill/bleed line, and pour some of your distilled/de-ionized water in. If you plan on using an anti-corrosive additive, it's a good idea to keep track of about how much water you have used. That way you know about how much anti-corrosive to add. Once the water level is about 4 inches from the top of your bleed line, stop pouring in water.

2) Now carefully tilt your case back and forth (make sure you don't splash water out of your T-line). As you tilt the case, you will see air pockets moving around. Tilt the case so that the air pockets make it to the T-line and float out of the system. Your water level will have dropped due to the amount of air being removed from your system. Now if you want to use an anti-corrosive, find the amount of water you have poured in so far, take 5% or that, and that is the amount of additive to add at this point. If you're using spa sanitizer to keep any biological growths from appearing in your system later on, pour some into the cap of the bottle, and just pour about a teaspoon in (Sanitizer is not good for you! Don't measure it out with any cooking tools, just guess on the amount. Don't even touch the stuff). NOTE: Some spa sanitizer doesn't react well with anti-corrosive. It turns it into a gel... kinda. Just use as little of each as possible.

3) Now pour in enough water to get your water level back to about 5 inches below the top of the T-line. Then tilt your case back and forth some more to get more air out. While doing this, keep an eye on your tubing to see if there are any pockets of air left (there could be unseen air in your heater core/waterblock). If you see pockets of air, get most of them out.

4) Once the water level gets below your T-fitting, you have to pour in more water. Also add about 5% of anti corrosive, if you're using any. Then look around for air pockets one more time. If you see major ones, try and get them to float out. Then top off your T-line off with water yet again.

5) Now double check that there are no obvious leaks. There shouldn�€™t be unless you messed up big. Now plug the T-line with something just to make sure water doesn't spit out of it when you start your pump. Before you start your pump there will be small air pockets left in your lines. Starting the pump will turn the air pockets into tiny bubbles. Plug-in and/or power up your pump with-out the computer on. Now unplug your T-line.

6) As the water and bubbles cycle through the system, the bubbles will pass through the T-line, and some of the bubbles will float up the T-line, and out. It will take a few hours for most of the bubbles to be removed, but that's ok, you have to leak test your system for at least 24 hours! Just keep an eye on the coolant level and keep adding water as needed. The level of coolant in your lines might drop as much as 2 inches the first half hour (depending on how much air was left in the system). If the water level drops any more than that, check carefully for leaks (which you should be doing anyways). Your waterblock, fittings, and joints are all possible spots for leaks. But if you have everything clamped down correctly and added your fittings to the heater core correctly, you should be fine. You can put a paper towel or two down at the bottom of your case and below any fittings. This will help you be able to spot any water that has dripped from a leak.

7) Once it's been 24 hours and you have no leaks, you are free to fire up your system. Make sure the pump is running as well as the fan on your heater core. Go into your BIOS and keep an eye on your CPU temperature for the first minute just to make sure the waterblock is mounted correctly. At a stock CPU speed, your CPU temperature should be around 35C-42C full load (room temperature will affect your temps quite a bit). After that you're free to start overclocking/using your bad mahmuh-jahmuh system!

PS: This was written by someone in another forum; I had permition to make changes/use it here.

Good Luck!

Bump.. any comments?

Not bad.. Pretty enlightening and educational :P.

..So, with the diagram, you're saying put a fan right under your Hard Drive and the slots? If i'm comprehending your diagram correctly, that is. 

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Very good article. Its informative and shows new people what they need to know about cooling their system. Good job.

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Vilex:

Not bad.. Pretty enlightening and educational :P.

 

..So, with the diagram, you're saying put a fan right under your Hard Drive and the slots? If i'm comprehending your diagram correctly, that is. 

 That fan blows at the Graphics Card.. If I understood your quesiton correctly.

Fans;  Thermaltake Thunderblade they named it right it is loud and the 21db rating is total BS. YateLoons would be much better choice IMHO.I have a Thunderblade 120mm and took it out as was the loudest fan I had. I have 8 yateloons now nice and quiet..

Thermal compounds: AS5 has been known in the past to be the best for CPU the AS Cermique for GPUs. But there has been several new TIMs that beat it now. Artic Cooling MX1 and MX2 have shown in several tests to beat it by 2-4C so if looking for the best the MX2 would be it.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=135359

http://www.arctic-cooling.com/further_prod2.php?idx=140

http://www.mvktech.net/content/view/3568/39/

Many good CPU heatsinks here's a good listing and performance scaling.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/thermalright-ultra120ex.html

http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.aspx?i=3005&p=5

The above links should help users decide what would work best for them on size/performance VS price.

Master BTW a very good post.

Thanks for the extra add, lowboy!

The way you have the first bit set up with the diagram is a little misleading. You're saying hot air raises and cold descends. I'm not disagreeing with this; however, your diagram is. You have the fan at the bottom of the case where it's helping cool the graphics card. But there's nothing else there to do any cooling. Sure, the PSU is drawing a bit of air out, but you don't mention that. I want people reading this to realize the afore mentioned fact: while the front fan is blowing cool air in, the PSU fan(s) are sucking it out. Furthermore, if you have a higher-end computer, you'll want more than one fan. Always have the same number of intake fans as exhaust. The reason for this is that there is more of one than the other, than deadspots will form. Mas sort of touched on it, but didn't quite explain. If more exhaust fans are present than intake, in some places a vacuum will form where there is more or less no air (or more correctly, it's not moving). That spot is doing nothing except robbing the cooling power of your fans. Alternately, with more intake fans present air will simply build up because there aren't enough exhaust fans to take the warm air out. This is also counterintuitive because the air will cycle through the case without cooling; it will, however, warm up as it comes in contact with warm/hot parts of the computer.

Back to the original point, though, of hot air rising and cool air descending, having a top-mounted fan will help a lot with this. It'll be the most productive fan in removing air as it's at the top of the case where most of the air is moving. If your case doesn't have a spot for a top fan, one can be easily cut with a Dremel or similar tool. If you're not a fan of this, place a large, fast fan as high up in the case as possible. Many cases have space for a big fan directly underneath the PSU. Put a 120mm fan here. That, combined with the PSU fan(s) will help a lot for exhausting hot air. Now, however, you have two exhaust fans and one intake (if the rig is set up like the diagram). In the event that the case doesn't have a place for another intake fan and you don't want to cut a hole in the case, buy a more powerful/bigger intake fan and shrink the size/power of one of you're exhaust fans. What I wrote earlier in bold is a simple solution for people just quickly browsing this post. While two exhaust fans and two intake fans will work in sync well, a large intake and two medium sized fans are roughly the equivalent. You may just have to ramp up the speed of the intake fan. Also, fans with more blades on them will suck in more air than ones with fewer. 

"Also, fans with more blades on them will suck in more air than ones with fewer. "

just wanted to point out that there is a thing called blade pitch. more isn't always better.

flintboy - To check the temperature of your CPU, boot to your BIOS.  Many motherboards come equipped with a hardware monitor that you can use to see the temperature.  This, however, is only a temperature as your processor is (basically) at rest.  It's not doing a whole lot of calculation.

If you're running Windows, go to download.com and download a freeware program called SpeedFan (all one word).  It will tell you the temperature of your CPU and hard drive as well as the readouts from whatever other sensors you have.  It's also a SMART interpreter for hard drives if you need to give a hard drive a real basic test.

for the tuniq tower, will a different fan fit to move more air, what cases would you use for the tuniq tower- possible 9 bladed fan replacement for the one it came with.  I was thinking of getting the Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case . I was also thinking of replacing all the case stock fans with 9 blade fans that move more air, I am not sure the top 200mm fan will handle alot of the   exaust. I will be using a q6600 quad chip and gigabyte motherboard ( 1300 FSB and dual DDR 2 and DDR3 Ram).Evga 8800 video card. any suggestions or advice, I havent decidesd on what power supply to get and wattage. the motherboard has the P35 chipset for future upgrades. I will be using it for games- Halo, crysis,ect.. I will be encoding as well. the computer will be moved often and concerned about cooling and cpu/heatsink(tuniq). no monitor picked out yet.

suggestions are allways welcome!  ( Did not really see a thread with my questions-all of them)