Water Cooled PCs

While every component inside a PC does produce waste heat, most components can be kept adequately cool with a combination of a copper heatsink and a fan blowing air over the item and out of the case. However, as air isn't a particularly good conductor of heat energy, if you want a high performance PC you should seriously consider a water cooled PC.

How we Water Cool Your PC

You'll find far more components inside a water cooled PC than an air cooled PC. The extra elements form a loop, through which water flows to transfer heat away from the inner workings of the PC.

The most important component in a water cooling loop are the waterblocks, which we fit onto the main heat-producing components such as the CPU and graphics card(s) in place of a heatsink and fan. We recommend EK waterblocks in our water cooled PCs as they perform the best and are available in a wide range of materials and finishes so we can colour match everything inside your PC.

The second most important component in a water cooling loop is the radiator, which conducts heat from the water to the surrounding air via an array of fins and fans. As water is approximately 24 times better than air at conducting heat, and the radiators are much larger than a traditional heatsink, this is what makes water cooling much more effective than air cooling.

To ensure your PC delivers maximum performance with minimum noise we fit Scan 3XS water cooled PCs with special fans that have a high static pressure. This means they push more air through the radiator than standard case fans which have a low static pressure. In some water cooled PCs such as the 3XS Bear and 3XS Barracuda we fit multiple radiators to ensure the lowest temperature and noise.

The loop also needs a pump to move the water between the waterblocks and radiator. As pumps tend to be the noisiest component in a loop we design our watercooled PCs so that the pump is hidden away at the bottom of the case, and mounted using some special foam that absorbs excess vibrations. We recommend EK pumps in our systems as these have the highest flow rates and head pressure and are also very quiet.

The loop also requires a reservoir, which acts as a baffle, trapping any air bubbles inside the other components that would adversely effect cooling and noise. The reservoir also acts as the filling point for the loop, allowing our engineers to pour in the water safely and is great centrepiece for the loop with many different cosmetic designs available.

All these components are connected by tubing which carries water between them. Tubing is available in two main types - flexible and hardline. Flexible tubing is a plastic hose that is transparent so you can see the water flowing round the loop. Flexible tubing is available in a multitude of colours and is the most cost effective way to connect a loop together.

For a more distinctive finish consider hardline tubing. This is made up of sections of non-flexible tubing that our engineers heat and bend to shape and the end result is stunning with straight edges and corners instead of the chaotic curves of flexible tubing.