It was only a matter of time, a water cooled PSU

[scott d]

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=4570

I guess it's just the natural evolution of things. If we're going to put water in a computer, we may as well put it where it would be the most dangerous :shrug: Someone needs to get one of these and post a review.

[SolidxSnake]

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=4570

I guess it's just the natural evolution of things. If we're going to put water in a computer, we may as well put it where it would be the most dangerous :shrug: Someone needs to get one of these and post a review.


I could really use that if it's not a dud..Alphacool??

if that was a fortron i'd be all over it

[scott d]

Stats are pretty good, but I don't really know how trustworthy they are.

Total Wattage 500 Watts
+3.3 V 28A
+5V 30A
+12V1 22A
+12V2 22A

Alphacool is a cooling company, it would be helpful to know who actually makes this PSU.

[voigts]

If you take a close look at it, the water doesn't enter the PSU so I don't see where it is dangerous. It only transfers heat away from a large aluminum heatsink that draws heat from the unit.

I agree that it would be nice to know who makes the PSU. I can't afford it, but I would love to have one of those just to get rid of another fan and source of noise.

[scott d]

If you take a close look at it, the water doesn't enter the PSU so I don't see where it is dangerous. It only transfers heat away from a large aluminum heatsink that draws heat from the unit.

I agree that it would be nice to know who makes the PSU. I can't afford it, but I would love to have one of those just to get rid of another fan and source of noise.

heh, i was just joking, dangerous doesn't worry me, i like to live on the edge :p

[thorilan]

there have been water cooled PSUs out for a very long time. in fact about 2.5 years ago here on these forums one was made and posted.

[Bad Maniac]

Yeah a few people have made their own ones, it's not very hard in fact. Most people just make a simple U-turn style waterblock to replace the heatsink on the volt regulators and Mos-Fets, and then drill holes for the tubing in the side of the PSU, not at all a new idea. Tho this might be the first commercially available unit.
Is it necessary? Not when you can get virtually inadible 140mm fan PSU's or even totally passive ones. But it does have a certain cool factor. :)

[donv]

i think $279 is a bit expensive though tbh. All it has is a certain wow factor, "woah dude, water in a PSU, XTREME!!!11". As said above, one can get virtually silent air cooled PSU's for a lot cheaper.

That said, 2x22A 12v rails is nice. But overall, i'd imagine it's a lot more hassle than it's really worth.

[Arca_ex]

If you think that's cool, look at what this guy is doing. Part of his project is having waterblocks inside his PSU, all homemade.

Linky. (http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=105157&page=1&pp=20)

[voigts]

If you think that's cool, look at what this guy is doing. Part of his project is having waterblocks inside his PSU, all homemade.

Linky. (http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=105157&page=1&pp=20)

That guy has WAY too much time on his hands, not to mention money for copper. i would like to know how much he has spent on copper alone as copper lately has shot up ridiculously.

The shame is that for spending so much time and making so many fantastic blocks, he really all in all has a very inefficient setup by splitting his pump flow into 6 directions. I would really think you would want two separate loops for all of that.

The watercooled PS is sweet.

[Arca_ex]

Yeah, or like daisy chained Iwaki's. I just want to see it all together and see some temps. I would love to have a machine shop like that. Back when I lived in Minnesota I had access to a few really nice places, one even had a computer controlled machine tool.

[Pf.Farnsworth]

If you think that's cool, look at what this guy is doing. Part of his project is having waterblocks inside his PSU, all homemade.

Linky. (http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=105157&page=1&pp=20)


Sadly he would have gotten much better preformance if he:

-bought all the components instead of making his own.
-did not cool stupid sh** like ram that doesnt do anything for him but ruin his preformance by raising his coolant and hence cpu/gpu temperatures, where it actually counts :rolleyes:
-cooled things like the psu that dump alot of heat with some silent fans that he wouldnt hear anyway.
-didnt cool a thousand things that dont need to be cooled and ruined his flow rates
-didnt cool a thousand things that dont need to be cooled or water cooled atleast and brought his temperatures way up

[lowfat]

way too expensive for a PSU like that.

[Alien1099]

Sadly he would have gotten much better preformance if he:

-bought all the components instead of making his own.
-did not cool stupid sh** like ram that doesnt do anything for him but ruin his preformance by raising his coolant and hence cpu/gpu temperatures, where it actually counts :rolleyes:
-cooled things like the psu that dump alot of heat with some silent fans that he wouldnt hear anyway.
-didnt cool a thousand things that dont need to be cooled and ruined his flow rates
-didnt cool a thousand things that dont need to be cooled or water cooled atleast and brought his temperatures way up

You took the words right out of my mouth. You really only need or even want 2-3 things cooled in your water cooling setup. Those things being your CPU and GPU (or 2). Anything more is going to be introducing more heat, more tubing, and more resistance into the loop without any gains in performance. He must have a lot of time, money, and boredom on his hands. It's admirable that he's doing it all himself, but he really would have been better off buying the parts already made by reputable companies and not cooling so many components.

The KISS Rule applies here. Keep it simple/stupid.

[Speedmonkay]

You took the words right out of my mouth. You really only need or even want 2-3 things cooled in your water cooling setup. Those things being your CPU and GPU (or 2). Anything more is going to be introducing more heat, more tubing, and more resistance into the loop without any gains in performance. He must have a lot of time, money, and boredom on his hands. It's admirable that he's doing it all himself, but he really would have been better off buying the parts already made by reputable companies and not cooling so many components.

To some people custom modding is a hobby. Where time and money doesnt matter as long as you have it. He screwed up alot in the process and he learned. The goal was to water cool everything that put off heat. It wasnt really that great for cooling due to all the tubing and resistance throughout but he accomplished his initial goal and learned alot in the process which is always great. Ghettocomp's Halloween mod wasnt a totally efficient mod (nor did it last long) but he had a goal to make a pumpkin into a computer case and he did it (quite nicely I might add). Buying part already made by companies is much easier, cheaper, and they might but it take some of the fun out of modding especially if you like to make your own pieces. I, myself, would love to learn how to start making my own watercooling pieces and doing more custom case mods. Just so I can say "Yeah I made that Res and waterblock!" instead of saying I got it from NewEgg or Directron. SO big props to him for making all his own pieces and reaching his goal !

[Epox4life]

whats need phase change cooled PSU.:rolleyes:

[CCUABIDExORxDIE]

whats need phase change cooled PSU.:rolleyes:

an x1900xtx crossfire setup and a 7ghz Pentium D. thats what.

[Alien1099]

To some people custom modding is a hobby. Where time and money doesnt matter as long as you have it. He screwed up alot in the process and he learned. The goal was to water cool everything that put off heat. It wasnt really that great for cooling due to all the tubing and resistance throughout but he accomplished his initial goal and learned alot in the process which is always great. Ghettocomp's Halloween mod wasnt a totally efficient mod (nor did it last long) but he had a goal to make a pumpkin into a computer case and he did it (quite nicely I might add). Buying part already made by companies is much easier, cheaper, and they might but it take some of the fun out of modding especially if you like to make your own pieces. I, myself, would love to learn how to start making my own watercooling pieces and doing more custom case mods. Just so I can say "Yeah I made that Res and waterblock!" instead of saying I got it from NewEgg or Directron. SO big props to him for making all his own pieces and reaching his goal !

I gave him props for doing it all himself (the admirable comment), but don't mistake having a goal and having dedication as a positive thing in a case like this. If your goal is to make a serious, time consuming, expensive, and pretty inefficient cooling setup by overworking and hindering your cooling system, then his way is the way to go and he succeded.

The Halloween mod you spoke of isn't really the same thing at all. If he'd planned on making it the permanant home for his PC I'd have given a "what the heck? is he serious?" reaction as well.

I've never made my own custom water cooling setup myself, but I've done enough casual reading on the forum to know what he was doing was a bad idea and defeats the whole purpose of water cooling in the first place.

Of course, as always it's his money, his time, and his computer. He can do what he wants.

It's like those people that "pimp" out their Ford F250 truck and put monster 36" tires on it and a huge lift and think now they've got a superior offroad vehicle. Sure it may "look nice" (and that's subjective), but a much less expensive and less blinged out Toyota Tacoma with smaller lift and tires will leave it in the dust offroad and go places that truck couldn't. But I guess as long as the F250 owner is happy that's all that matters.

Just don't be so surprised when people chuckle.

[Encore2097]

an x1900xtx crossfire setup and a 7ghz Pentium D. thats what.

Is there going to be a PSU oc sub-thread post now? :p

"I OC'd my PSU to 1000 giga-watts"

[Spade]

this isn't even the first commericially available water-cooled psu.

[Arca_ex]

Is there going to be a PSU oc sub-thread post now? :p

"I OC'd my PSU to 1000 giga-watts"

Pshh, 1000 giga-watts is nothing, when I OC my PSU, I'm going to go till it's producing as much power as a nuclear power plant, then when it blows im taking a huge part of the power grid with me!

[Spade]

Is there going to be a PSU oc sub-thread post now? :p

"I OC'd my PSU to 1000 giga-watts"

maaaaybe. i suppose it's technically possible to overclock your PSU..

but that would really just be hard-modding it with upgraded components..

start a new thread and be the first then!

[Kevin007]

Now we need a watercooled HDD!!! :eek:

[citronym]

Isn't tweaking your rail voltage 'overclocking'?

Yes? Then my psu is overclocked!

[infinitevalence]

http://www.overclockers.com/articles369/

04/01 Koolance has a water cooled PSU reviewed by Scott....


The sad thing is i remember reading this when it came out.

[citronym]

Now we need a watercooled HDD!!! :eek:
There is HDD watercoolers.

[Kevin007]

There is HDD watercoolers.
Well I know, but that would just be insane. But I guess if it wasn't an important stuff hard drive :shrug:

[Spade]

what he is trying to say is that water-cooled HD's have existed for years now too

[Moto7451]

HDD Water cooling isn't really effective unless you're talking about a large number of high speed drives. A simple fan is more than enough to cool a couple HDs.

[voigts]

HDD Water cooling isn't really effective unless you're talking about a large number of high speed drives. A simple fan is more than enough to cool a couple HDs.

It's hard for me to resist a comment on this.

I have yet to hear anyone who makes this kind of statement actually watercool a hard drive. I am using a DD Aquadrive on 2 plain 160gb 7200rpm hard drives. Watercooling is not necessary to be sure. However, watercooling them knocks about 7c off of temps vs having them just sitting in front of a 120mm intake fan. My hard drives never even go near 40c.

Regardless of what the manufacturers say are the operating temps of hard drives, I have seen many a hard drive die an early death due to temperatures. Heat is the #1 enemy of hard drives. Given that my data is more important than anything else on this system, keeping them cool to me helps ensure the longevity of my HDs, and hence my data (although I do back up to DVD every now and then). Granted if you have 10K rpm raptor hard drives, they will benefit even more from watercooling them. I would say that watercooling hard drives is effective if it meets desired goals.

There are a lot of people that would say that watercooling a PSU is stupid and useless. For pure performance and OC sake, yes, but if your goal is to eliminate another fan for silence, then it makes perfectly good sense if you can afford it. If I had the money, I would get one in a heartbeat just to get rid of another fan. But that is just me... :)

[TreeNode]

Regarding the OP, the most heat that is being blown out of my case is from the power source now that it's water cooled, but either way, the the heat will be in the air in some form.

[Spade]

I agree. enjoy the silence

[soulfly1448]

That would be cool. Heh, pun intended.