How does water cooling work?

[RyanE512]

I have wondered this for a long time: How does water cooling work? How does WATER cool the CPU without destroying it, as CPUs are not waterproof.

[Elven]

@RyanE512

 

Hey. For water cooling there is a radiator, CPU/GPU (depending on what is being cooled) block, pump, tubing and fans.

 

The CPU block as attached to the CPU making a tight seal between the block and CPU with thermal paste applied, in the same manner as an aircooled heatsink is used. This dissipates the heat from the CPU chip. Water is pumped around a sealed loop through the tubing to the radiator. 

 

A radiator is a large array of fins that have a large surface area. The water passes through the fins and the fans push air across the fins. This is how the heat is dissipated from the water cooling loop. 

 

The process is repeated (rinse and repeat). Hence keeping the chip cool.

[jonasa97]

The water doesn't actually touch the CPU. The water flows through a block of copper which in turn is in contact with the CPU lid.

[OmanGS]

The water is closed off from the components. The water travels through copper blocks (or whatever material may be used) that heat up and heat up the water, which is then pushed to radiators through tubing and is subsequently cooled off.

 

It's a big loop that allows the water time to cool off before it's pushed back past the components and heated up again.

 

Here's a link to explain it a little more.

[SeanAngelo]

it's like air cpu coolers, there is a copper plate that touches the CPU itself, think of that in a CPU water cooling block, it's exactly the same but the water makes contact with the copper block and dissipates the heat and it proceeds to the radiator. Same goes with GPU blocks. Think of it as a cycle.

[BrightCandle]

Really water cooling is just air cooling. It still uses big chunks of metal and fans forced over it to remove heat from the metal and transfer it to the air around the component. The only real difference is that the heat is moved away from the component in the water and then is dissipated in the radiator. That is kind of like the modern air coolers that use heat pipes, so those a liquid/gas to move the heat away from the bottom of the heatsink to the top, same principle just water carries it further away.

[Joshua Ondangan]

water travels to the components cia block and tubes and then goes to the radiator 

 

radiator with the fans with it takes all the head away.

[Nallown]

Almost the same principles apply but instead of helium you use h2o