60 MAXIMUMPC september 2007
how (^2) ImprovIng your pc experIence, one step at a tIme
a few fans—you need to draw a bit of juice
or your power supply will burn out.
That’s it! But don’t consider yourself fin-
ished just because your kit didn’t start shoot-
ing water. Let it run for a bit—a full day, if
you’re patient. Trust us, it’s a lot better to find
leaks before they have a chance to drip all
over your expensive computer parts.
4 Fill It Up
You’ve cleaned your
kit, checked it for
leaks, and are now
ready to take the
final plunge and
stick your water-
cooling gear back
into your system
for good. Filling a
water-cooling sys-
tem is simple, but
there are still a few
ways to ensure that
it’s a smooth, spill-
free process.
If you’re using a
reservoir, just pour
your liquid of choice
into the bay, sit
back, and let the magic happen. As soon as you see some water com-
ing through the output of your pump, it should be safe to turn on the
system and let your pump do the work for you. Just be sure to keep the
reservoir filled.
For those who are cooling sans reservoir, it’s a similar process, but
pour the coolant slowly into your T-line; we’ve often found ourselves
daydreaming during a steady pour, only to end up with coolant all over
the place after misjudging the overall flow rate of the water-cooling
setup. However, one benefit of using a T-line is that you can take a little
more time to fill the machine before turning it on. Just use the same
trick as before, in which you hold the T-line as high as you can when
filling it, letting air pressure push the fluid through your system for you.
There’s little more embarrassing than
surviving the entire maintenance process
only to spill a ton of liquid because you
weren’t paying attention when filling.
Wait! What’s that? Your fluid isn’t chugging around as fast
as you think it should, and you’re seeing a lot of air bubbles
churn through your tubes? Well, these problems are related.
The air traveling through your pipes impedes the performance
of your water-cooling setup, but fear not. It happens every
time you install a water-cooling unit, and it’s easy to fix.
If you have a reservoir, just pop off the cap and let your
machine run. The bubbles will make their way back into your
reservoir and happily escape into the atmosphere. Let your rig
run for a few hours (or overnight), and all the trapped air will
be gone. T-line users will find the process a bit more tedious,
but you can always tape the line to the side of your case. Just
be sure it’s up high to discourage any fluid from making an
appearance on your floor.
Bubbles impede your pump’s ability to... pump.
Nix the bubbles to increase performance.
5 Bursting Your Bubbles
Sprung a leak? Totally stuck with your installa-
tion? Need a quick read while your kit debub-
bles? Here are some tips to help you achieve
maximum water-cooling awesomeness.
- don’t hulk up
Tightening the fittings for your water blocks or
radiators doesn’t require a Herculean effort.
Resist the twisting temptation and you’ll be
rewarded with a leak-free setup. The bolts should
be hand-tightened; torquing them more than that
only damages the block and rubber fittings.
2. hot! hot! hot!
Putting 1/2-inch tubing on a 1/2-inch fitting is
tough enough. Jamming 3/8-inch tubing on a
1/2-inch fitting is nigh impossible without the
help of some hot water. Boil up some water and
stick your tubing into the steaming mix for a
few seconds. You’ll find the fitting process much
easier.
3. check your levels
You know what fluids do? They evaporate. Check
your levels once a month and fill up your rig as need
be. There’s no point in water cooling if you don’t
have enough liquid running through your pipes.- don’t get kinky
The best water-cooling setups maintain as short
a distance as possible between cooling points—
such as the CPU and the videocard, for example.
But give yourself enough wiggle room so that you
don’t create any kinks in the tube. Crimping and
pinching only hurts your overall water flow, which
reduces the cooling potential of your rig.
how 2 mini