Please help on CPU watercooling

[UnicornStrength]

Hey, i was watching some videos on how to install a cpu water cooler, (mine is kraken x61) and i noticed that people like paul from newegg, mentioned that their fan is an exhaust. When they installed the fan on the radiator, it was an exhaust fan? I want to know the reason for this. Wouldnt putting exhaust push out air so the radiator cant collect any to power the cpu? Please help,i really need help i dont want to mess up anything.

[JebKerman]

Hey, i was watching some videos on how to install a cpu water cooler, (mine is kraken x61) and i noticed that people like paul from newegg, mentioned that their fan is an exhaust. When they installed the fan on the radiator, it was an exhaust fan? I want to know the reason for this. Wouldnt putting exhaust push out air so the radiator cant collect any to power the cpu? Please help,i really need help i dont want to mess up anything.

exhaust means it takes the air from inside the case to the outside, THROUGH the radiator. fans move air not create it.

[UnicornStrength]

exhaust means it takes the air from inside the case to the outside, THROUGH the radiator.

exactly, it would take it from inside to outside, and that means its pushing air outside, not allowing the radiator to pick up air to transfer to the cpu

[Oshino Shinobu]

The cooler works by having the fans blow through the radiator, moving the heat from the liquid away from the loop and the case. Technically, it's not cooling the CPU, but rather moving the heat away from it. 

 

They have it set as exhaust so that the hot air generated by the air flowing through the radiator goes outside of the case, rather than inside, which would warm up other components. 

[JebKerman]

exactly, it would take it from inside to outside, and that means its pushing air outside, not allowing the radiator to pick up air to transfer to the cpu

if they set up the radiator in "pull" as an exhaust then the air goes:

 

Inside Case -> Radiator -> Fans -> Outside Case

[Oshino Shinobu]

exactly, it would take it from inside to outside, and that means its pushing air outside, not allowing the radiator to pick up air to transfer to the cpu

The liquid in the cooler gathers heat from the CPU. It then flows to the radiator, where the fans will cool the liquid by blowing air through the radiator fins, which moves the heat away from the liquid. The liquid then circles back to the CPU to gather more heat. 

 

The cooler doesn't run cold liquid to the CPU or anything, its purpose is to transfer heat from the CPU away from it. 

[Oshino Shinobu]

@UnicornStrength this video gives a basic explanation to how liquid coolers work. 

 

[UnicornStrength]

@UnicornStrength this video gives a basic explanation to how liquid coolers work. 

 

what you explained makes complete sense, but all i'm saying is, the exhaust will be pushing air out, not allowing the radiator to gain air 

 

 

EDIT: also, in that video, the cooler is where it is, but in the videos ive watched, its the opposite place, the radiator and cooler switch places

[JebKerman]

what you explained makes complete sense, but all i'm saying is, the exhaust will be pushing air out, not allowing the radiator to gain air 

OK, fans don't create air, they move it. They take air from one side of the fan, to the other, if one side of the fan happens to be covered by a radiator, then it must pull air through the radiator. the video's thumbnail shows what I mean, air inside the case is pulled through the radiator by the fan before exiting the case.

[UnicornStrength]

OK, fans don't create air, they move it. They take air from one side of the fan, to the other, if one side of the fan happens to be covered by a radiator, then it must pull air through the radiator. the video's thumbnail shows what I mean, air inside the case is pulled through the radiator by the fan before exiting the case.

exactly, thats the way i was thinking it should be, but in every vid on youtube, the fan is covering the radiator, thats what im saying

[Oshino Shinobu]

what you explained makes complete sense, but all i'm saying is, the exhaust will be pushing air out, not allowing the radiator to gain air 

 

 

EDIT: also, in that video, the cooler is where it is, but in the videos ive watched, its the opposite place, the radiator and cooler switch places

Air is still flowing through the radiator, either way. Exhaust simply refers to the direction of the airflow, relative to the case. The air that passes through the radiator comes out hot, so it is better to have the hot air being put outside of the case. The radiator does not gain air, it is there to provide surface area for heat to be transferred to the air passing through it. 

 

The cooler must be on the CPU. If the radiator was on the CPU, it wouldn't do anything.

[Oshino Shinobu]

exactly, thats the way i was thinking it should be, but in every vid on youtube, the fan is covering the radiator, thats what im saying

The fan is always connected to the radiator. It needs to be there in order to move air through the radiator. 

[UnicornStrength]

Air is still flowing through the radiator, either way. Exhaust simply refers to the direction of the airflow, relative to the case. The air that passes through the radiator comes out hot, so it is better to have the hot air being put outside of the case. The radiator does not gain air, it is there to provide surface area for heat to be transferred to the air passing through it. 

 

The cooler must be on the CPU. If the radiator was on the CPU, it wouldn't do anything.

wait.. did you say the radiator doesnt use air? how does it create water then?

[JebKerman]

exactly, thats the way i was thinking it should be, but in every vid on youtube, the fan is covering the radiator, thats what im saying

The radiator is not a solid block it is filled with fins with gaps in between to let air pass through.

[Oshino Shinobu]

wait.. did you say the radiator doesnt use air? how does it create water then?

The loop is filled with water already. It doesn't create water. In fact, the cooler doesn't create anything. 

 

It's a process of the liquid already inside the loop gaining heat from the CPU, moving to the radiator, then the heat being moved away from the radiator by the air flowing through it, then the "cooled" (not hot) liquid returning to the CPU to move more heat away. 

 

EDIT: This video may help a bit as well

 

[UnicornStrength]

The loop is filled with water already. It doesn't create water. In fact, the cooler doesn't create anything. 

 

It's a process of the liquid already inside the loop gaining heat from the CPU, moving to the radiator, then the heat being moved away from the radiator by the air flowing through it, then the "cooled" (not hot) liquid returning to the CPU to move more heat away. 

oh, i thought the radiator got air, and created water for it to go through the tube. that makes sense. my post was about the radiator not being able to pick up air since the exhaust is pushing air away from the radiator so it wouldnt be able to intake. this all makes sense now. ARIGATO GOZAIMAS i saw your post about the anime, i watch a lot my self, even the ones that one knows about. thank you too jebkerman

[Deli]

wait.. did you say the radiator doesnt use air? how does it create water then?

"Create" air and water. Your wording is so funny.

[Oshino Shinobu]

oh, i thought the radiator got air, and created water for it to go through the tube. that makes sense. my post was about the radiator not being able to pick up air since the exhaust is pushing air away from the radiator so it wouldnt be able to intake. this all makes sense now. ARIGATO GOZAIMAS i saw your post about the anime, i watch a lot my self, even the ones that one knows about. thank you too jebkerman

No problem. The radiator has tubes running through it with the liquid inside. The fins are there to increase the surface area for the heat transfer from the liquid in the radiator to the air that is passing through it. You could have the radiator outside of the case completely and it would still work, provided it has air passing through it.

 

The direction of the air is not relevant for the radiator, as it is referring to the direction of the air in relation to the case. For exhaust, it is moving air from within the case, to the outside. With intake, it is the other way round. Either way, air is passing through the radiator, therefore moving heat away from the liquid inside. The reason for most people having the fans as an exhaust is so that the hot air that is produced when the cool air passes through the radiator is moved outside of the case, rather than heating up the air on the inside of the case. 

[JebKerman]

wait.. did you say the radiator doesnt use air? how does it create water then?

Looks like we're going back to basics.

 

 

An AIO is already filled with liquid and is split into two main parts. The CPU block and the Radiator, these are connected by tubing.

 

The CPU block contains a pump, which moves the water between these two components in a loop.

 

Heat is lost like this:

The CPU block absorbs the heat generated by the CPU into the liquid, warming the liquid up.

The pump moves this warmer liquid away from the CPU block to the radiator.

The liquid flows through the radiator's fins, transferring the heat to the air moving between the fins.

The now cooler liquid is then pulled out of the radiator, back to the CPU block to be heated up again. And the cycle repeats.

 

In order for the radiator to dissipate heat properly, air needs to flow through the fins. This is done by having the fan(s) push or pull air through it.

[UnicornStrength]

No problem. The radiator has tubes running through it with the liquid inside. The fins are there to increase the surface area for the heat transfer from the liquid in the radiator to the air that is passing through it. You could have the radiator outside of the case completely and it would still work, provided it has air passing through it.

 

The direction of the air is not relevant for the radiator, as it is referring to the direction of the air in relation to the case. For exhaust, it is moving air from within the case, to the outside. With intake, it is the other way round. Either way, air is passing through the radiator, therefore moving heat away from the liquid inside. The reason for most people having the fans as an exhaust is so that the hot air that is produced when the cool air passes through the radiator is moved outside of the case, rather than heating up the air on the inside of the case. 

cool, thanks for all this info, really helped me out. Just in case if you wanted to know what my pc specs are ( and i'm probably building this tomorrow)

 

 

CPU:Intel 5820k @4.5ghz

CPU COOLER: NZXT x61 Kraken (280mm)

Motherboard: Asus x99 A-ATX

RAM: Corsair 16gb ddr4 (4x4)@2666mhz

Graphics card: Gigabyte gtx 980 ti @1500mhz

PSU: Corsair AX 860

STORAGE: 1tb WD black & Samsung 850 Evo 500gb

Case: Fractal Design r5

Optical Drive: Asus

Some other stuff like: Steelseries elite prism gaming headset jet-black

Razor naga MMO gaming mouse &steelseries mousepad

[UnicornStrength]

Looks like we're going back to basics.

 

 

An AIO is already filled with liquid and is split into two main parts. The CPU block and the Radiator, these are connected by tubing.

 

The CPU block contains a pump, which moves the water between these two components in a loop.

 

Heat is lost like this:

The CPU block absorbs the heat generated by the CPU into the liquid, warming the liquid up.

The pump moves this warmer liquid away from the CPU block to the radiator.

The liquid flows through the radiator's fins, transferring the heat to the air moving between the fins.

The now cooler liquid is then pulled out of the radiator, back to the CPU block to be heated up again. And the cycle repeats.

 

In order for the radiator to dissipate heat properly, air needs to flow through the fins. This is done by having the fan(s) push or pull air through it.

this all makes sense now ty, i didnt know that water was already inside the tube, so basically its just cooling the water and re using it