By: Ross 'Tweakmonster' Wenger, Nov.2002

With PC's getting faster and creating more heat, many enthusiasts are making the switch over to quieter and more efficient means of cooling their computers so they do not have to sit beside a noisy case driving them crazy every day. I know I hopped on the water cooling bandwagon for this very reason, and have never looked back. Why would you want to run water, or any other liquids, through your expensive computer which is full of sensitive electronic devices? Here are a few key reasons:

• Much quieter and more efficient operation than air cooling
• Noticeable reduction in the amount of ambient heat in the case
• Increases overclocking potential and system stability
• Looks plain awesome with some blacklight dye in the coolant!
• Allows you to put your 'L33T' case modding skillz to work!
• Will make people gawk in amazement when they realize you actually did run water through your computer to cool it

As you can see, there are quite a few reasons to take the water cooling 'plunge' when you get up the nerve (and time). To understand the basic theory and physics behind a closed-loop liquid cooling system, we need go no further than a typical automobile.

Imagine from the diagram above that the CPU and GPU water blocks are your car's engine, which is what creates the heat that needs to be removed. Now imagine that the pump is the car's water pump, driven by the engine. And last, imagine that the reservoir and the radiator are the car's radiator assembly, which is what transfers the heat from the coolant to the ambient air. The red lines are merely the hoses that connect the system together. Plain and simply put, water cooling a computer is exactly the same as cooling an automobile engine, and we are using it to do the exact same thing an automotive cooling system does...transfer heat that the engine creates to the radiator for release into the ambient air.

Now that our basic understanding of a water cooling system is covered, let's move on to our project, shall we?