How much heat does a cooling system generate?

[TheHuckster]

Hey, all,

I imagine that a cooling system, just like any other such system like a refrigerator or an air conditioner, needs to eject heat into the air in the room. Can anyone give me a rough estimate of just how much heat the radiator unit gives off? Is it as much as an air-cooled system, and are there ways to manage the heat?

Thanks.

 

[ShortAlieN]

The heat is not generated from the cooling system, the heat is generated from the chips that you are cooling. Cooling systems, Air, liquid, or whatever you may use, is designed to take the heat and move it somewhere else to keep the chips from a having shortened lifespan. A liquid cooling system is a more efficient way of taking the heat away from where it is produced and distributing it elsewhere. With a liquid cooling system the heat is removed with the radiators. Air cooling uses heatpipes with fins and fans to remove the heat. The more efficient the cooling system is, the cooler the chips will stay.

 

[KaraMurat]

The heat given off by the radiator depends on the temperatures your components get to. To stop the heat building up fans are used to dissipate the heat from the radiator, making the radiator cooler meaning the liquid is cooler.

 

[dugdiamond]

the same amount as a woodchuck chucking wood, if that woodchuck in question could chuck wood!!!

 

[yggdrasil]

Poor water cooling unit - Lots.

Good water cooling unit - Less.

As already said it all depends on your system, what it is your cooling and so on.

I am unsure why you ask such a bland question as your first post on this board.

 

[TheHuckster]

I am unsure why you ask such a bland question as your first post on this board.

Umm... maybe because most of the other newbie questions like how water cooling works and reviews of various kits and components are already on the web, and when I wanted to know about how hot my room was going to get with a water cooling system as opposed to a traditional fan cooling system, I didn't see any easy answers on google.

My air conditioner, for example, is a portable unit which contains an big fat tube that needs to go outside. This tube ejects not only the heat that the air conditioner is pumping out, but the heat that the air conditioner generates just by working (just like any other machine that does work, the very process of cooling air generates heat). A water cooling unit works essentially the same way as an air conditioner, as far as I can tell.

So, maybe I should rephrase my question. My computer, right now, is your typical setup: fans in the case keeping the air moving. Cool air comes in, warm air comes out of the case and into my room. In your experience, have you found a water cooled computer to eject more heat into the air, or is it about the same? Yes, I know it depends on how much you overclock, the type of hardware you get, and so forth, I'm just asking on average. I consider this an important question because I have a small room which already gets hot quickly if the A/C is not on during the summer afternoons when the sun is shining into the room.

 

[KaraMurat]

I think as the water cooling will bring down the temps of the components, I believe the heat given off will be less than the heat given off from air cooling as air cooling heats up more than water cooling (radiator).

 

[hmmblah]

Umm... maybe because most of the other newbie questions like how water cooling works and reviews of various kits and components are already on the web, and when I wanted to know about how hot my room was going to get with a water cooling system as opposed to a traditional fan cooling system, I didn't see any easy answers on google.

My air conditioner, for example, is a portable unit which contains an big fat tube that needs to go outside. This tube ejects not only the heat that the air conditioner is pumping out, but the heat that the air conditioner generates just by working (just like any other machine that does work, the very process of cooling air generates heat). A water cooling unit works essentially the same way as an air conditioner, as far as I can tell.

So, maybe I should rephrase my question. My computer, right now, is your typical setup: fans in the case keeping the air moving. Cool air comes in, warm air comes out of the case and into my room. In your experience, have you found a water cooled computer to eject more heat into the air, or is it about the same? Yes, I know it depends on how much you overclock, the type of hardware you get, and so forth, I'm just asking on average. I consider this an important question because I have a small room which already gets hot quickly if the A/C is not on during the summer afternoons when the sun is shining into the room.

The pump in a WC loop will add a negligible amount of heat to the system. Not enough to add extra heat to your room though. Most pumps are passively cooled by the air in your case although some are mounted within a res so they are cooled by the water and in-turn add their heat to the loop.

I think as the water cooling will bring down the temps of the components, I believe the heat given off will be less than the heat given off from air cooling as air cooling heats up more than water cooling (radiator).

The same amount of heat is still there, just in a different spot. Instead of the heat being in the component causing it to be warmer, the heat will instead end up in the rad which is cooled by fans, thereby releasing the heat into the air. Your components are cooler, but the heat still has to go somewhere.

 

[KaraMurat]

The same amount of heat is still there, just in a different spot. Instead of the heat being in the component causing it to be warmer, the heat will instead end up in the rad which is cooled by fans, thereby releasing the heat into the air. Your components are cooler, but the heat still has to go somewhere.

Ahh I see, thanks for clearing that up.

 

[SPS]

I think as the water cooling will bring down the temps of the components, I believe the heat given off will be less than the heat given off from air cooling as air cooling heats up more than water cooling (radiator).

If you think about it lol, cooler component temps must mean that more heat is obviously being removed ...into the air

 

[TheHuckster]

If you think about it lol, cooler component temps must mean that more heat is obviously being removed ...into the air

That was sort of the gist of my question. Alright, I think I have a better idea of what I might be getting into if I watercool my computer. I might have to sacrifice some increased room temperature for better performance as I sort of anticipated. Thanks.

 

[Jamsand]

I can heat my room with my pc if i close the door