Water-cooling good.
January 19th, 2006 by Jerry
So with my recent computer upgrades (including new motherboard, AMD 64-bit processor, memory, and video), I decided to try out a relatively cheap water-cooling kit. I figured it would be at least as good as a nice heatsink and fan, since my case has decent ventilation. Normally, a processor runs between 100 and 125 degrees (F). Anything above 130 is quite hot, and anything above 140 is considered border-line meltdown. After the fiasco of installing the water-cooling system without planning out how to get it in the case (involving 3 separate motherboard installations to determine the proper logistics), I found that the thingy that sits on the processor collecting its heat was not scalding to the touch. It wasn’t even what I would call warm. It was tepid, lukewarm. According to the the thermometer sensor taped to the heat exchanger, it was only 5-6 degrees warmer than the ambient case temperature. This still boggles my mind. I know for a fact that processors get very hot, so where’s all the heat going? Perhaps into one or both of the big honkin’ radiators included. Well worth the hours of frustration trying to get it installed, and well worth the nagging mental image of the havoc wrought by a coolant leak.