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Compressor Water Cooling


Date
: 03/26/03 – 01:28:20 AM

Author
:

Category
: Cooling

Page 1 : Introduction & Requirements

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Introduction

While happy with my passive water setup, I wanted more. So I tried a few different ideas.
really started this. He showed me his "computer in a fridge" idea, and after that I was hooked.
First I used ice in my reservoir without a radiator, pumping it directly to my CPU. (like many people have tried) This proved very fruitful and that's when I decided to try and build a compressor based water cooling system. So I didn't have to keep adding ice to my res.

I found one on the side of the road and being in the refrigeration trade, I was able to repair the unit for test purposes.
To my dismay, when I went to fire it up for this article, it wasn't cooling very well. I must have damaged it when I put it away last.

So to prove my point, I borrowed a water cooler (this one had a fridge in the bottom), which I thought was kind of neat but proved to be it's limiting factor, on how well the water cooler part worked. Both sections were run off the same compressor. There was with no adjustments to the temp control/differential. I left it stock.

Requirements

- CPU waterblock and mounting hardware
- Blue insulation foam
- Di-electric grease
- A magnetic driven water pump
- Accessories: hoses and clamps and a water cooler.

Now before starting, I would recommend insulating your socket, you don't want any condensation to occur.
A good source I found was at OcTools check out Condensation Prevention article. Thanks to Nikademus over there for helping me and answering a lot of my questions I first had. So after insulating your socket, now it is time to hook up the cooler.

Page 2 : Setup & Testing

Testing

Test System :

- Asus A7V133 Motherboard
- AMD Palomino 1700+(AGOGA) @ 2200+ 1820mhz 280sysbus, 140clock X'ier 13, Vcore 1.85
- 256MB Crucial PC133 CAS 2-2-2 (max 147MHz)
- 256MB Infenion PC133 CAS 2-2-2 (max 140MHz)
- Enermax EG465P-VE 431 Watts
- DIY'er Copper Water Block
- Little Giant Pump Co Model PES 120 PW (magnectic drive pump)
- Artic Silver3
- GF4 Mx420 Pro64S (310/405)
- SoundBlaster 128
- 20gig Maxtor 5400RPM ATA100
- LG 12x 8x 32x CD/RW 8Meg buffer
- 17" Komodo 1280×1024

44 idle – 50 + load on ThermalTake Volcano 7
41 idle – 46 load on passive water with DIY'er Copper Water Block
31 idle – 36 load on stock water cooler with DIY'er Copper Water Block
24 idle – 27 load on Homebrewed water cooler unit with DIY'er Copper Water Block

Setup

The unit I borrowed needed the top removed so I could get at the cooler reservoir.
I placed my pump in there, ran my hoses to my computer and the return line. I bled the system of air and fired up the water cooler and waited till it got to temperature.

I turned it off at 3-4 C (37.4 F), not quite 0 C, but close. Now it was time to fire up the computer.

31 C after boot up, not bad that is 10 degrees cooler than passive water cooling.

Now it was time to RC5 to get the CPU temp up and see how long the chilled water would last, before the cooler would have to turn back on. It took just over 45 minutes for the cooler to turn back on. It began cooling again at 12- 13 C (52.3 F).

This showed me that the stock cooler had about 12-15 degrees differential, which kind of sucks, because it allowed the water to get warm. Using Asus probe, my CPU measured temps to 36 C, while at 100% usage via RC5'ing. This processor usage makes it more difficult for the cooler to catch up again.
This brings us back to the fact, that there was a fridge in this model, reducing the amount of cooling the water section could do.

Well not a whole lot more to show!
As u can see the water cooler does do the job as a CPU cooler even when stock.
So it's pretty much that simple, with a stock water cooler and a few adjustments to temp control and differential. For the same price of passive air cooling, you can use a water cooler to get better performance.

This unit here with the fridge, I would not recommend, as this is where it showed it had a hard time keeping up. It took it another 45min too cool back down to 37 F and turn off, while RC5'ing.
Like I said it was do to fact that the compressor was doing two jobs at once.
I would only recommend getting a straight water cooler, no bells or whistles.

Page 3 : Tips & Hints

Tips and Hints

When you look at your water cooler the differential is adjustable by a screw on the temperature control (usually on the back side).

The temperature control may have a slotted pin or may have a knob on it, adjust it to your liking.

On my original test cooler I adjusted the temp control to -1 C and set the differential to 7 degrees, This caused the cooler to turn on and off more often, but was better able to keep up with my processor. With less of a temperature rise on the CPU. I also added a touch of antifreeze.

Also cutting a lid out of styrofoam, for the top of the water cooler would help keep the water chilled (keeping heat loss to a min), as well as some pipe insulation to cover the hoses.
You will notice the back of the water cooler getting warm, placing a small boxer fan at the bottom blowing on the coils on the back will help improve the effectiveness of the unit also prolonging its life.

Page 4 : Conclusion

Conclusion

Good

- Quiet running
- Quick setup – minus insulation of socket
- 10 degree drop in temps
- About the same price Setup as a passive cooling setup.

Bad

- Need the room for it
- Insulation of socket is a must.
- Adjustment of the temp control/differential was needed to fine tune the cooler.

So in all, it's not as good as Vapochill or other phase cooling, but affordable for almost everyone. More bang for your buck than just passive water cooling or air. Improves your chances of achieving a higher overclock, and prolonging the life of your OC'ed CPU.