Thermaltake Computer Water Cooling
Thermaltake computer water cooling fans and kits are an alternative method of cooling your PC. Instead of heatsinks and CPU fans, water-cooled conductive metal blocks are used to lower the temperature of the CPU with a system of radiators and reservoirs to store and cool the water.
Although water cooling systems are more niche than standard cooling systems, there are several systems currently available to suit your needs.
How does it work?
Water (or any other type of liquid coolant) is stored in a reservoir and pumped through to a block of copper or aluminium. The block is fixed to the CPU and fine channels in the block have the water pushed through them. This cools the block by absorbing the heat from it and therefore keeping the CPU from overheating.
The water is then pumped from the block to a radiator, where it is cooled by fans as it flows through. The water is then returned to the reservoir and the process begins again.
Parts and kits
The components needed for a water-cooling system are available separately, but you can also purchase them all in a kit. These kits consist of a water reservoir, tubing, radiator, CPU cooling block, radiator fans, a fan controller and a water pump.
The water pump is designed to keep a constant flow of water through the system, keeping the CPU block consistently cool. Some pumps also have an evaporation tube to minimise the loss of liquid.
The CPU cooling block is made of a conductive metal and has channels cut into it to pass water through. One side of the block is machined so it can be clamped to the motherboard.
Water cooling system radiators have fine channels which the water flows through and can often have up to four fans attached to them to cool the water as much as possible.
The radiator fans are generally as large as a case fan or CPU fan, and are typically around 120mm in diameter. For an added decorative touch the fans are often available with LED lighting in various colours. Fan controllers allow you to vary the fan speed (to control noise level) and switch LED colours at set intervals.