Which is lower maintenence: Air cooled or water cooled

LoBlo · 07-10-10, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIREWALL

1. do you smoke ?
2. do you leave windows open ?
3. is your room above 72oF ?

Thanks for the reply. Nope, not a smoker and I rarely have an open window. I do however have my temperature above 72 (sometimes 75-80 degrees) often.... does that change the required maintenence?

FIREWALL · 07-10-10, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoBlo

Thanks for the reply. Nope, not a smoker and I rarely have an open window. I do however have my temperature above 72 (sometimes 75-80 degrees) often.... does that change the required maintenence?

No. LC would keep your CPU and Vid card and Chipset cooler.

CaptainHaplo · 07-10-10, 07:43 PM

Both require maintenance - air cooling its easy to forget to open things up and blow em out. So for the typical user - air is better because they don't think to do anything - at least until dust builds up and chokes things out and then everything overheats and becomes junk.

Watercooling systems almost all have an audible warning that your coolant is low, thereby saving your equipment. Since the water system is failyr well sealed - there is little loss over time.

Plus water works better.

Zachstar · 07-11-10, 03:56 AM

Computers are dust magnets it is just a fact of life. Also the superiority of water cooling has been shattered as of late by highly effective copper air cooling solutions.

Konovalov · 07-11-10, 10:51 AM

My personal preference is for air. Pretty easy to open the case and go to it with an air blower once every few months or when required. At the end of the day fans are still used in water cooled systems and I think it is pretty difficult to have a 100% complete dust free system. You can go air cooling over 4Ghz with ease and the cost is far less than a proper water cooled system. Also by proper water cooled I mean not one of these self contained water cooling setups such as the Corsair H50. At the end of the day go with what you feel comfortable with.

Zachstar · 07-11-10, 09:45 PM

Some people have even gone 4ghz on stock cooling (Don't try this tho as the experiments were controlled and the ambient temp was lower than most homes.)

Also there is a point I forgot to bring up. Most if not all modern chipsets require airflow to remain cool. Exhasust air from the CPU cooler usually does this right. However some water cooling kits do not come with the ability to cool chipsets. Quite a few expensive motherboards were fried because of this.

07-24-10, 01:06 PM

one thing i could never get past was you still need to air cool the radiator so even liquid cooling uses air cooling that puts out a lot of heat into the room and requires cleaning so if your trying to avoid dust cleanup your radiator will be the dust collector and you will still need airflow for the hdd and ram cooling.

maybe i have it wrong but IMO liquid cooling is only for overclocking systems with a lot of heat to deal with and things like maint/cleaning issues shouldnt be a deciding factor but just a side note

07-10-10, 07:43 PM	#3
CaptainHaplo Silent Hunter Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 4,404 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 0	Both require maintenance - air cooling its easy to forget to open things up and blow em out. So for the typical user - air is better because they don't think to do anything - at least until dust builds up and chokes things out and then everything overheats and becomes junk. Watercooling systems almost all have an audible warning that your coolant is low, thereby saving your equipment. Since the water system is failyr well sealed - there is little loss over time. Plus water works better. __________________ Good Hunting! Captain Haplo

07-11-10, 03:56 AM	#4
Zachstar Sea Lord Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Shreveport, Louisiana Posts: 1,956 Downloads: 13 Uploads: 0	Computers are dust magnets it is just a fact of life. Also the superiority of water cooling has been shattered as of late by highly effective copper air cooling solutions. __________________

07-11-10, 10:51 AM	#5
Konovalov Ocean Warrior Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: High Wycombe, Bucks, UK Posts: 2,811 Downloads: 9 Uploads: 0	My personal preference is for air. Pretty easy to open the case and go to it with an air blower once every few months or when required. At the end of the day fans are still used in water cooled systems and I think it is pretty difficult to have a 100% complete dust free system. You can go air cooling over 4Ghz with ease and the cost is far less than a proper water cooled system. Also by proper water cooled I mean not one of these self contained water cooling setups such as the Corsair H50. At the end of the day go with what you feel comfortable with. __________________ "In a Christian context, sexuality is traditionally seen as a consequence of the Fall, but for Muslims, it is an anticipation of paradise. So I can say, I think, that I was validly converted to Islam by a teenage French Jewish nudist." Sheikh Abdul-Hakim Murad (Timothy Winter)

07-11-10, 09:45 PM	#6
Zachstar Sea Lord Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Shreveport, Louisiana Posts: 1,956 Downloads: 13 Uploads: 0	Some people have even gone 4ghz on stock cooling (Don't try this tho as the experiments were controlled and the ambient temp was lower than most homes.) Also there is a point I forgot to bring up. Most if not all modern chipsets require airflow to remain cool. Exhasust air from the CPU cooler usually does this right. However some water cooling kits do not come with the ability to cool chipsets. Quite a few expensive motherboards were fried because of this. __________________

07-24-10, 01:06 PM	#7
Webster Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	one thing i could never get past was you still need to air cool the radiator so even liquid cooling uses air cooling that puts out a lot of heat into the room and requires cleaning so if your trying to avoid dust cleanup your radiator will be the dust collector and you will still need airflow for the hdd and ram cooling. maybe i have it wrong but IMO liquid cooling is only for overclocking systems with a lot of heat to deal with and things like maint/cleaning issues shouldnt be a deciding factor but just a side note