Computer Water-Cooling System

One of my favorite activities when I have some free time is playing video games. Specifically, when asked which platform I enjoy playing on, PC gaming comes to mind. One aspect of PC gaming I enjoy as much, if not more than the games themselves, is working on assembling and customizing my PC. After I had built a few computers I embarked on the challenge of building a closed-loop watercooling system for the main components inside my PC.

I had previously completed a water-cooling loop for the CPU (central processing unit) of my computer, however most of the computer’s power draw, and therefore the main heat load while gaming comes from the GPU (graphics processing unit). The above picture shows the GPU missing its heatsink and fans awaiting the installation of a water block. Replacing a GPU air-cooled heatsink with a water block is a more complicated process than replacing the CPU heatsink because the memory and power delivery have to be cooled along with the die. Thermal paste and thermal pads were used to conduct heat from the GPU’s various components to the water block.

The final product is shown above and the performance was much better than the original air-cooled heatsink, particularly when it came to total system noise. One of the main benefits of water-cooling in the PC world is the reduction in noise for a given performance target which I definitely noticed. Because of water’s high specific heat and the large volume of water in the system, not only does it take a long time for the system to reach its maximum temperature, but the computer is now resilient to sudden spikes in usage causing high temperatures and loud fan noise due to the large thermal mass of the water.