Is there any additional maintenance on water cooled systems, other than the periodic blowing out the dust? Do most folks with 4-4.4 Ghz i7 CPUs have water cooling?Bruce

I don't use water but I think you have to top it up once and awhile, My buddy had one and one of the hoses cracked an leaked the fluid over everything and fried his mobo, so I'm a little nervous to use water.

I don't use water but I think you have to top it up once and awhile, My buddy had one and one of the hoses cracked an leaked the fluid over everything and fried his mobo, so I'm a little nervous to use water.

Ooooh, that's a bit scary!! Something to think about!

http://www.overclockers.com/annual-water-c...ebuild-journal/Thats a once a year cleaning. Don't use colored water either, tends to gunk up stuff.

Just top it off and keep an eye out for beginning leaks. On one system that is almost 4 years old, never had a leak but I always checked visually before startup. I have another system that's not as old but still no leaks. It's not really an issue if you are careful. If you go mucking about inside the machine and bump the fittings, check them. Just like checking the cables on your drives etc after messing around inside.Other than those things, nothing special.My newest system is at 4.43ghz on air with no problems.

http://www.overclockers.com/annual-water-c...ebuild-journal/Thats a once a year cleaning. Don't use colored water either, tends to gunk up stuff.

That settles that!! No way in hell I'm going to do that!!Thanks for the link!!

Just top it off and keep an eye out for beginning leaks. On one system that is almost 4 years old, never had a leak but I always checked visually before startup. I have another system that's not as old but still no leaks. It's not really an issue if you are careful. If you go mucking about inside the machine and bump the fittings, check them. Just like checking the cables on your drives etc after messing around inside.Other than those things, nothing special.My newest system is at 4.43ghz on air with no problems.

Air it is!!

That settles that!! No way in hell I'm going to do that!!Thanks for the link!!Air it is!!

You give up too easily :( I've had mine going for a couple months now and have had no issues. Take your time, research, build/install with care and there should be nothing to fret about.What I like best is its soooooooo quiet now.

I have the Corsair H50 which is a closed loop system and requires no upkeep. Blow out the radiator every once in a while. Keeps my temps around 30*c idle and 45*c during gaming. Chugs along at 68*C using prime95. http://www.corsair.com/products/h50/default.aspx

I have the Corsair H50 which is a closed loop system and requires no upkeep. Blow out the radiator every once in a while. Keeps my temps around 30*c idle and 45*c during gaming. Chugs along at 68*C using prime95. http://www.corsair.com/products/h50/default.aspx

Now we're talking! Will take a close look at this one! Thanks.

You give up too easily :( I've had mine going for a couple months now and have had no issues. Take your time, research, build/install with care and there should be nothing to fret about.What I like best is its soooooooo quiet now.

Way to easily.I have watercooling since 5 years now I believe, I exchanged hoses a lot (3 systems exchanged on the current watercooling setup), and NEVER had a single problem.Only maintenance it requires is a little water every now and then, depending how hot it is and how long I'm keeping my computer on. Since I do some hardware change every 1-2 years, I'm bound to blow the water out, thus making a complete change. But I would do the whole water exchange anyway every 1 year or so.The hoses will crack if you do stupid stuff with them - bend them nicely and not too much, and you are good to go. I say, always better to have a hose too much and go longer way, than shorter and risk a crack. My shortest hose goes from the CPU to the GPU.I did not necessarily put new hoses in, I exchanged them since I added new drives cooling box, another GPU, so connectors were on another place, new CPU waterblock etc.When I bought the hoses, I told the guy I want the best quality there is, they should be blue and I took 5m, from which I still have some left.Using destilled water almost makes sure you won't ruin anything if you have a leak, it doesn't oxydate nor it's conductive. I had already couple of drops of it on my GPU, wiped it off, nothing happened.The HUGE advantage when using complete watercooling setup is that you have virtually no noise coming from the computer, or if you overclock like I do, very little noise, that is much less than on air, no matter what anyone says. Secondly, the temperatures are way lower and usually keep there even if the room temperature goes up (the effectiveness is much higher).There was a huge discussion thread on this matter couple of months ago, and I believe in this forum too, you could try searching for it!I hope this helps.

Using destilled water almost makes sure you won't ruin anything if you have a leak, it doesn't oxydate nor it's conductive. I had already couple of drops of it on my GPU, wiped it off, nothing happened.

I have to disagree with this part of Word Not Allowed's post. Distilled water will pick up contaminants from the coatings on the inside of radiators, cooling blocks etc, and will pick up free ions from the metal in the system, and it quickly becomes sufficiently conductive to smoke the mobo if you develop a leak.That said, I'm a big believer in water cooling...I designed/built my system so that most of the cooling system (pump, radiators, surge tank and associated plumbing) is in a separate enclosure outside the computer case. The only joints inside the computer case are the two connections to the CPU water block, and I check those through the window in my case every time I power the system up.As for periodic maintenance, I drain the surge tank and refill it with fresh distilled water and a drop of biocide every month or so, which keeps ionic concentrations down and enough fresh biocide to keep things from growing in the system. So far all I get from the system is still clear water, and if I ever do see particulates (crud) suspended in the drained fluid, I'll immediately flush the system completely. That said, benzylkonium chloride biocide is long lasting and will very effectively keep things from growing in the system when used at the recommended concentrations.RegardsBob ScottColonel, USAF (ret)ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VColorado Springs, CO

Gents -In order to give up on something you have to have started it. I haven't started anything, ergo, I haven't given up on anything!Any noise from the box is completely overridden by engine noise, as this will be an FSX only unit. My computers are in my basement which is always cool even on the hottest days of summer. Hondabuff has the correct answer. It's either a maintenance free liquid cooling system, or air! I change the fluids in my motocycles, but I'm not about to mess around inside my computers except to blow them out on occasion!I really do appreciate all the input as it makes this decision a lot easier. Btw, I did a search on liquid cooling maintenance and didn't see a topic specific thread. Bruce

I have to disagree with this part of Word Not Allowed's post. Distilled water will pick up contaminants from the coatings on the inside of radiators, cooling blocks etc, and will pick up free ions from the metal in the system, and it quickly becomes sufficiently conductive to smoke the mobo if you develop a leak.That said, I'm a big believer in water cooling...I designed/built my system so that most of the cooling system (pump, radiators, surge tank and associated plumbing) is in a separate enclosure outside the computer case. The only joints inside the computer case are the two connections to the CPU water block, and I check those through the window in my case every time I power the system up.As for periodic maintenance, I drain the surge tank and refill it with fresh distilled water and a drop of biocide every month or so, which keeps ionic concentrations down and enough fresh biocide to keep things from growing in the system. So far all I get from the system is still clear water, and if I ever do see particulates (crud) suspended in the drained fluid, I'll immediately flush the system completely. That said, benzylkonium chloride biocide is long lasting and will very effectively keep things from growing in the system when used at the recommended concentrations.RegardsBob ScottColonel, USAF (ret)ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VColorado Springs, CO

Hey, Col. Bob!! Good to see you back here!! What is your opinion on the so called *maintenance free* type system that Hondabuff mentioned above? I'm not into chemistry, so I need simple!Bruce

I have to disagree with this part of Word Not Allowed's post. Distilled water will pick up contaminants from the coatings on the inside of radiators, cooling blocks etc, and will pick up free ions from the metal in the system, and it quickly becomes sufficiently conductive to smoke the mobo if you develop a leak.That said, I'm a big believer in water cooling...I designed/built my system so that most of the cooling system (pump, radiators, surge tank and associated plumbing) is in a separate enclosure outside the computer case. The only joints inside the computer case are the two connections to the CPU water block, and I check those through the window in my case every time I power the system up.As for periodic maintenance, I drain the surge tank and refill it with fresh distilled water and a drop of biocide every month or so, which keeps ionic concentrations down and enough fresh biocide to keep things from growing in the system. So far all I get from the system is still clear water, and if I ever do see particulates (crud) suspended in the drained fluid, I'll immediately flush the system completely. That said, benzylkonium chloride biocide is long lasting and will very effectively keep things from growing in the system when used at the recommended concentrations.RegardsBob ScottColonel, USAF (ret)ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VColorado Springs, CO

Bob, do you really thing all this chemistry is needed? I asked my guy where I bought all my watercooling, he said just exchange the whole water every now and then, it's way cheaper and more ecological. He said not to use any cleaners or whatever, since it does not make parts last longer and if you exchange water on regular basis (once a year), you are good to go for many many years.Beside, most insides of my watercooling are copper. Copper is just below silver, when measured in electrical conductivity (wikipedia). Now I know why I was buying high quality stuff ;-)Though you say that water will pick contaminants, just over how long the period? As said, exchanging water regularly keeps me away from such problems...I know Bruce said no liquid change interested, but I just wanted to clarify this point.

Is there any additional maintenance on water cooled systems, other than the periodic blowing out the dust? Do most folks with 4-4.4 Ghz i7 CPUs have water cooling?Bruce

I am on air at 4.2GHz. If you have a decent cooler with a decent fan 4.2GHz on air is not a problem.When I say decent I am talking about a TRUE, Venomous X-RT or better yet if it will fit a Noctua NH-DH14.