If you are regularly using your computer, there is a good chance that you might have noticed that it tends to heat up after prolonged use, especially when you are using it to perform high-end processes like gaming and video editing that demands far too much from your system. Of course, there is always a fan in every system unit as all computers are meant to heat up one way or another – it is just that there are some that heats up more due to their use.
In case your computer’s cooling system is not doing the job as efficiently as you would like, it might be an excellent idea for you to switch to liquid cooling – a custom cooling system for your computer setup that uses, well, liquids to transfer the heat from your components, essentially cooling them throughout the process. It does come with a few risks for sure due to its complexity, but it is undeniable that it comes with certain perks that would make you love it more.
Why Water-Cooling is Superior (in some way)
You might have already figured it by now, but yes, water-cooling is, on some level, more effective than the conventional cooling setup, albeit it still has a few quirks and cons here and there.
Efficiency
Water is dangerous to have anywhere near an appliance as it might somehow fry up the components inside – and this is not necessarily wrong if you believe it. However, with the help of the intricate piping mechanism of a water-cooling system, it can make much use of water’s higher thermal conductivity, allowing it to transfer more heat and diffuse it more quickly than when a central air system is in place. It also might be surprising to add that some fans only kick up to gear when the system overheats. In contrast, your system is kept cool and at a suitable temperature when there is water consistently flowing through the system as it runs.
Noise
More heat? The usual solution: more fans. However, fans are mechanical components that would undeniably produce some level of noise – one that will go louder as you add more fans to keep up with your computer’s heating situation. On the one hand, water-cooling systems are performed using a self-contained loop of water – efficient, cool, and of course, quiet as it streams through.
Sustainability
Considering how an Air-Cooled computer utilizes the ambient air around the computer system to push out the heat., essentially, it only works to remove the excess heat that your computer is emanating due to their heating components. On the other hand, liquid cooling allows the computer to run at lower temperatures consistently due to its consistent flow – making for a more sustainable setup that can operate even when the PC is running casual demands.
Space
Once again, when there is more heat, the usual solution is to add more fans – a solution, that while is effective, is inefficient due to the space occupied by more hardware. On the other hand, liquid-cooling systems would generally take up less space as they will mainly be comprised of a series of pipes, but of course, it is relatively more complex to build and ensure that everything is sealed correctly.