How does liquid cooling work?

[Bogstench]

I've wondered for a couple months now - in the back of my head, what is liquid cooling (so to speak) and how does it work? 

 

 I realize that the name of this cooling method is quite self-explanatory, however my question is more tinted towards things like 'lubes', reservoirs, water blocks, and radiators, etc. Why do some liquid cooling kits not come with a reservoir? I see a lot of people that purchase a H100i kit, or H80i, and what not. They only seem to have a radiator then obviously the CPU block. Unsure if it's obvious, but it seems a radiator with a fan(s) of the corresponding size is mandatory for it to operate correctly. Do the kits come with a 'lube' or not? What's the difference in the lubes? How do GPU water blocks work? These blocks just look like thicker plates of metal that sit over the GPU with 'lube' cooling it somehow. 

 

 Just curious because I've thought about potentially upgrading to a H100i or something along the lines of that later on to replace my EVO just so I can potentially overclock my i5 higher.

[wng_kingsley7]

So liquid cooling works like this to which I've sorta drawn it out roughly..so don't panic if its ugly....

@Bogstench here is my version of drawing it and my understanding. CBA to go too in depth

[Flyguygamer]

On the h100I and h80I the res is built in th the rad and the pump is built in to the cpu block. The fluid inside is water with additives. The tubing doesn't matter that much especially on the AIO coolers.

[Bogstench]

On the h100I and h80I the res is built in th the rad and the pump is built in to the cpu block. The fluid inside is water with additives. The tubing doesn't matter that much especially on the AIO coolers.

 

Right. Thanks.

[MG2R]

Water cooling works because:

1. Water has a higher thermal capacity than air, meaning that it can take more energy (heat) before its temperature raises one degree.
2. Heat transfer from metal to water is more efficient than from metal to air.
3. The water in a loop has more mass than the air going through the fins of a heatsink, meaning that it can take more energy (heat) before its temperature raises one degree.

These points combined make that the heat gets removed more efficiently from your CPU by a water loop than by a plain old heatsink. Couple that with the fact that you can easily create a bigger surface area when you aren't bound by the constraints of you motherboard (a radiator can be placed away from the motherboard) and you get a very capable cooling system when compared to air cooling.

 

Every water loop needs a 'buffer' of some sort, because the water will expand when it heats up. In a custom loop, this is mostly provided by a reservoir, but it can also be in the form of a piece of tubing that sits empty above the rest of the loop. In AIO water coolers, the radiators have a little reservoir built in.

 

The 'lube' you mention is called coolant and will almost always be (distilled) water, sometimes mixed with some chemicals to make its chemical and physical properties better.

[MikkoP]

Do you mean why is water cooling so effective when compared to air cooling? Water has very high thermal capacity so it's capable of storing a lot of heat. When the water is pumped through the tubes to the large heatsinks that conduit the thermal energy away from the water and then the fans dissipate the heat from the large surface area of the heatsink. 

 

All-in-one liquid coolers have the water inside them already. They don't need an external reservoir because they store the water inside. Custom loops use reservoirs because it's easier to fill using one (at least in my opinion) and with more water it's easier to keep it cooler. Also, water tends to expand a little when it heats.

 

Edit. Too slow...

[origx36]

in every water cooling loop(custom or somthing like an h100i)

there are a few basic things:

a radiator

a pump

and some type of block

 

here is an example of a symple custom loop

there is a loop and there are water inside

 the pump,it is pulling water to make them move in the loop,

lets say that then the next thing in the line is a RAD , the water are getting cooled,and move on

the next thing can be a cpu block the water help cool down the cpu and move on,(the water are now hotter)

then the will go to a reservoir.the reservoir contains the liquid and allows you to have refill the loop,and have more liquid.

then the water will go back to the pump and every thing will happen all over agian.

 

an example for a closed loop

the loop is already fiield with liquid so you do not need a reservoir,you are not suppoesd to refill it.

the loop is basicly the same as the custom loop above but in most custom systems the pump is built in the the cpu block.and there is no reservoir beacuse its allready filed

 

hope i healped

feel free to,correct me if im worng

[R4STABAN]

These days:

Noob buys fancy aircooler

Coldplate transfers heat to coolant

Coolant trNsfers heat to rad

Rad transfers heat to air

Fin

[Bogstench]

Oh, quite a few more replies since I last visited this. Thanks for the replies though, especially that drawing. Helped!