I am about to bite the bullet on a top end water cooling setup, but I have spoken with several people (IT tech at work and such, whose very knowledgeable with hardware), and I've been advised against it. I still want to go ahead and do it, but I was curious if anyone had any horror stories about tubing breaking in the middle of the night and such, resulting in a lost rig?
Has anyone ever lost their system due to Water Cooling?
- Thread starter eTanium
- Start date
VengeanceUK
New member
only really if :
water cooling when done right should theoretically last as long as the pc's anticpated life (bar topping up the res etc)
- you build it badly
- buy cheap components
water cooling when done right should theoretically last as long as the pc's anticpated life (bar topping up the res etc)
VengeanceUK
New member
then your options are:
apart from that, there's not much else you could do apart from become an insomniac, watching your pc 24/7/365, or claim on household insurance if something did go pop.
if a waterpump did die, the cpu would eventually hit the thermal limit and go into shutdown mode anyway
- get a sealed unit (h100 etc)
- ignore water cooling altogether
- methodically check pipes every month or so, replacing "worn parts" as you go
apart from that, there's not much else you could do apart from become an insomniac, watching your pc 24/7/365, or claim on household insurance if something did go pop.
if a waterpump did die, the cpu would eventually hit the thermal limit and go into shutdown mode anyway
nepas
New member
just set your bios to stop overheat if you get worried,but a good pump will last a long time,and even if it fails due to the amount of water(in a proper loop)the temps wont skyrocket straight away.I once unplugged my D5 by accident and didn't notice for 6 hours lol.
I have never heard of hose cracking or drying out,yes it can go misty coloured and slighlty stiff(almost brittle like)but most tubing these days is high quality,not bloody homebase hosepipe!
S_I_N
New member
been doing almost every type of cooling for nearly 25 years and the only mishap I had was due to a single drop of water coming off a well wrapped (for condensation)(at least I thought it was well wrapped) tubing hanging over my 750$ (at the time) X800XTPE the rig was running at the time so if fried the card. But thats all I lost. I was runnign chilled water -40c
cpu was at -32c vid card ran about the same once i got it under chilled water.
Never had a tube crack. I had a few leaks but those are 99.99% of the time installion errors.
Take your time do it right and leak test well before putting power to the rig and you'll be fine.
Never had a tube crack. I had a few leaks but those are 99.99% of the time installion errors.
Take your time do it right and leak test well before putting power to the rig and you'll be fine.
I am using this pump/res combo for a i7k Ivy and GTX 680 loop:
http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...e=product_info&cPath=59_367&products_id=30282
I have heard good things about the pump and have been told it will doe the job well.
Also, how many feet of tubing do you think I'll need for this? I have a mid tower ATX case, and two radiators (much like Tom's SnowDrift build). I would like to flush out the rads with some extra tubing from the start. Is ten feet too much, or is it better to be on the safe side there?
http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...oduct_info&cPath=59_413_292&products_id=23370
jamesriley94
New member
I'm in a very similar situation as your build, never done watercooling and going for ivybridge, probably 7950 instead of the 680 though.
People have said for me that that pump is not sufficient for 2 blocks and 2 rads. Even Tom says that in the Snowdrift videos but he gets away with it cause he only used the rig for a day or two.
You need to look into DDCs or D5s. I'm personally going for the D5 in the new XSPC D5 reservoir.
Hope this helps
People have said for me that that pump is not sufficient for 2 blocks and 2 rads. Even Tom says that in the Snowdrift videos but he gets away with it cause he only used the rig for a day or two.
You need to look into DDCs or D5s. I'm personally going for the D5 in the new XSPC D5 reservoir.
Hope this helps
VengeanceUK
New member
also, consider using distilled water as it is much less conductive. Double distilled water is even better (abbreviated "ddH[sub]2[/sub]O", "Bidest. water" or "DDW")
if you can't get / make distilled water, try deionised water, melt some ice from the build up around your freezer = deionised water
if you can't get / make distilled water, try deionised water, melt some ice from the build up around your freezer = deionised water
If anyone has lost a rig 100% it will be their own fault. Do the job right and youll be fine.
Who told you that it wasn't powerful enough for a cpu & gpu loop together? It pushes 750lph. I guess that might be cutting it close. I was looking into the d5's from the start, but I was told they would be over kill. I wanted to go with the CD-750 because it was a res/pump combo and only 50 bucks!
I just came across this res:
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=34300
It looks the part, but the pump is going to be separate. =/
Which means I would have to couple it with a D5:
http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...e=product_info&cPath=59_201&products_id=33825
$$$ but you get what you pay for, I guess.
Now, standard compression fittings should be able to go right into the back of that res, no? Such as these:
http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...t_info&cPath=59_346_203_478&products_id=31103
Master&Puppet
New member
This doesn't actually matter - they ions will leach back into the water through exposure to air and the even the tubing and reses. After a little while it will be as conductive as normal water! This is not something to be afraid of - build it and test it properly before you put power into the components.
jamesriley94
New member
I've posted the same thing a couple of weeks ago and got that for a reply.
Also, if you watch the TTL Snowdrift video he says he wouldnt be happy with it for a full rig, he only got away with it cause the rig was only up for a couple of days.
It also isnt just about LPH, it's about pressure, which the xspc pump lacks below the D5.
Michaeljcox24
New member
I was in Overclockers UK the other day and there was a lad who had an absolute stunner of a missis returning an XSPC rad that had leaked while he was asleep. Luckily, he had mounted it outside of the case, so nothing got damaged.
Put me right off w/c to be honest. I desperately need to do it, as I've got 2 580 Phantoms in SLI. Haf-X cools them down a fair bit but it's still quite a loud rig when gaming on a beefy game.
In the grand scheme of things, there are loads of instances where water is used to cool things down that are close to electrical components. I work on furnaces that have water cooled copper coils running 4000 amps, so I'm kind of used to it in the work place.
At home though, it's my money, and I would have to pay if anything went pear shaped.
So yeah, two lessons learned.
Water cooling can, and does leak, but I think it's very rare.
Lads into tech can pull stunners when they put their mind to it.
Put me right off w/c to be honest. I desperately need to do it, as I've got 2 580 Phantoms in SLI. Haf-X cools them down a fair bit but it's still quite a loud rig when gaming on a beefy game.
In the grand scheme of things, there are loads of instances where water is used to cool things down that are close to electrical components. I work on furnaces that have water cooled copper coils running 4000 amps, so I'm kind of used to it in the work place.
At home though, it's my money, and I would have to pay if anything went pear shaped.
So yeah, two lessons learned.
Water cooling can, and does leak, but I think it's very rare.
Lads into tech can pull stunners when they put their mind to it.
Haha, yes! That is what worries me. If I had some assurances that it wouldn't destroy things, then I would feel better, but I have to roll the dice.
If it does fail, there goes my PC (maybe) and my security deposit (definitely)! I am going to end up with a blue spot on the rug in the corner of the room if something fails! Haha.
It works, and I need it. It gets hot in my 3rd floor apartment during the summer. I'm a tech nerd and I've always wanted to do a water cooling ring. Now is the time, I guess.
I've lost two in the past, both coincindently were DFI boards, luckily it was only the boards that died. First time, cant remember what i was doing, replacing a block or maybe just the changing the water out but i forgot to plug the pump back into the pc's power supply as it'd been on a redundant psu for bleeding the the loop, fired up windows and carried on happily minding my own, took about 5 mins before the cpu was idleing at over +90'c and about a another 5 mins for me to realise. think I damaged the VRM's but the board was so unstable after that i had to replace it.
Second time was a matx dfi board that I was cramming into a lain li PC350 with xfire 4850's, the 2nd gpu card need a 90 straight out of it but i couldnt fit compression as it was either too close to the block or fouled the side of the case so just went with a barb but no clamp, worked great for about 6 months until one day the hose pinged off the barb and dumped half the loop over the board and my desk. amazingly the graphics card surviived that ordeal, the board wasnt so lucky as the pc was powered up when this happened.
accidents can happen if your not careful or try to cut corners, which is why now almost half the cost of my loop is just in fittings.
Second time was a matx dfi board that I was cramming into a lain li PC350 with xfire 4850's, the 2nd gpu card need a 90 straight out of it but i couldnt fit compression as it was either too close to the block or fouled the side of the case so just went with a barb but no clamp, worked great for about 6 months until one day the hose pinged off the barb and dumped half the loop over the board and my desk. amazingly the graphics card surviived that ordeal, the board wasnt so lucky as the pc was powered up when this happened.
accidents can happen if your not careful or try to cut corners, which is why now almost half the cost of my loop is just in fittings.
I ordered some stuff up today. I bought what I believe to be the bare minimum on fittings. If I end up needing more, I'll have to order them and wait a little longer. I am not going to cut corners on it, but I also don't want spare parts.
VengeanceUK
New member
my god theres a name i not heard for a while, whatever happened to dfi?
