Leaks!

[cjsavvy]

I am currently thinking of urgrading my system to a watercooled one. All i want to know is sre there any risks of any water leaking and destroying my lovely new system?

[Majin]

nope not if you do everything proply

[ZaZu]

Have you considered thermoelectric cooling? Its alot safer.:huh:
Swiftech (http://www.swiftnets.com/)


Thermaltake (http://thermaltake.com/coolers/subzero/subzero4g.htm)

[clocker]

Of course there are risks.

There are always risks.

Many of the sites that I've seen recommend running the system on the bench (separate from the PC) for a day to check before doing the final install. I'm not sure how this is really possible, since I can envision having to disconnect the hoses again to route them nicely, but it is what they say to do...

@Zazu,

Have you actually ever seen a Peltier system in person? I have been quite interested in them for a while now, but only saw my first real, live one this past week.
The owner/installer of this particular setup said that condensation was a big problem ( although he had finally solved it), even in my dry, semi-arid climate. I can only assume that this condition worsens as your ambient humidity goes up. Peltiers are also power hogs- if it is the type that hooks into your PC's PSU make sure that you can supply enough current. The rig that I saw was powered separate from the PC with a external power supply.
All that said, the results can be absolutely amazing. This guy had the Peltier plate sandwiched between the CPU and a water block. According to the system monitors, his chip temp hadn't varied from @20C for days. Of course, this rig was being used to monitor/maintain a fish tank (???!!!) so it probably wasn't being highly stressed, but even so...

[ZaZu]

The Thermaltake cooler is not designed for extream cooling and does not cool to the point where condensation happens,it includes its own power supply ;)

Thermaltake Review (http://www.overclockercafe.com/Reviews/cooling/Tt_SubZero4G_AMD/index.html)

[clocker]

Thanks for the link ZaZu.

I'm not sure at all what the real advantage of that setup might be other than the noise factor.
For my $150 I'd sure like to see better temp numbers than that.
Despite the claim that Thermaltake wasn't going after the extreme cooling market, the fact that a simple ( and much cheaper) HSF combo was still able to outcool the Peltier rig just seems wrong.
I really love the idea of Peltier technology, but that particular execution doesn't really float my boat.

[SciManAl]

there wil always be the chance that it will leak, but it is more important to relize that it is possible to make it water tight... i would not worry about it if you buy a kit (the easy way), but if you venture to make your own, then you could get into some trouble, if you want to use peltier tech. i would suggest using a water set up with it, it is posssiblt for air to do the job, but it doesn't get the best out of a very expensive peltier set up...

[clocker]

Yeah, you know it just struck me that all of the low noise advantage that the Peltier is giving you pretty much disappears when you realize that now you are putting alot more heat into the case which will require more fans to deal with.

I agree Al, right now I think that a Peltier plate really requires H2O cooling to make much sense.

[SciManAl]

btw, swiftech has a block with built ind peltier set up thsat doesn't look too bad... also has insulation set up already...

[cjsavvy]

Has anyone actually developed a leak in their system though. As in has anyone had their system fried?

[clocker]

I don't think that too many of us have actually built a water cooled system.

SciMan Al has.

I'm working on it.

All of the reading that I've done indicates that the time of highest risk is right after assembly. These systems don't operate at a very high pressure so if it's good at first, chances are it's good for the long haul.

Says the man who's never done it....