- Joined
- Sep 7, 2001
- Location
- Seattle Washington
coolant comparison and hard data
i've been tabulating data on polar coolants used in computer water cooling setups for the past 3 weeks and these are my results.
My focus for this research was to find a coolant that would work at -30F for my project aka The Core Project. for those of you considering going a sub-Z route, or just want to put your coolant below freezing (32F), this is something you'll probably be interested in.
as for using antifreeze in your system, well, the numbers speak for themselves.
big props go out to Karsta (here on the forums) and myv65 (Dave Smith on the AMDmB forums- the author of that cooling article that Hoot has stickied at the top). both of whom i've been corresponding with and have been absolutely fantastic in providing me with answers and overall knowlege when i just plain ol got stuck somewhere, trying to understand all this. these are some REALLY knowlegeable and helpful guys, and not only in regards to coolants. they've been absolutely great. i can't express enough gratitude. big props also go out to Tenax too (also on the AMDmB forums). All three of them have been of invaluable aid. Thanks guys.
i can explain anything that you might have questions on here. and if i can't, i know a couple of guys that can.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: EDIT ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
it's been a long time since i initially posted this. much has changed and i've lost some of the original data due to HDD corruption and so forth. consequently, the original chart doesn't exist any longer. what DOES still exist are the graphs i created from the data in that chart, and those you can find by scrolling down the page here. sorry for the hassle and gunk, and i'm sorry the original chart doesn't exist any longer. if you want a quick and easy answer to what is the best stuff to use for a coolant, it's this...
#1 me love you long time GI....
Methanol/Distilled Water (33:66 ratio) aka windshield wiper fluid
although it's actual thermal properties aren't quite as good as straight up water, it's viscosity rocks the casbah and so what you're you loose in quality you make up for in quantity at about a 15% increase in performance over water... even at (or above) ambient room temp. sound great? well, truth is in all honesty you'll probably be hard pressed to see 15% performance increase in a real world scenario, but it should be there. this ratio will also give you an operational range of approximately 90C to -23C... or well below freezing. should use this stuff in a closed system though. or at least no bongs. this ratio of methanol to water isn't particularly lethal, but don't drink the stuff for gods sake. the other name for Methanol is wood alcohol. if you're operating above freezing temps at around ambient, go with 100% distilled water on general principle. it's just going to be better.
#2 100% Distilled water
best stuff around, damn hard to beat. no kidding. usually it's even better than the above stuff.
#3 Ethanol/Water (aka vodka) ratio varies
if you're going below zero and have moral issues with windshield wiper fluid and you just HAVE to get below zero, use Ethanol and water. Ethanol is Grain alcohol, and what they make booze out of. you want to use as little of this stuff in your water as possible so go sparingly. the more of this stuff you use, the less efficient your coolant is going to be because it's Ethanols thermal properties aren't as good as waters, and it's also thicker than water so the more of this stuff you use, the thicker your coolants going to get. don't tell your roomie you're cooling your stuff with Vodka or risk comming home to your boy on the floor with a hose in his pie hole being shotgunned by your Antec.
*** shudder ***
#4 Isopropyl/Water (aka 2-propanol aka rubbing alcohol)
ghetto fabulous baby, same cautions apply as above, this stuffs even worse than ethanol but it will work. the good points of it are your roomie won't touch it.
#5 Antifreeze/Water (50:50 ratio)
last and least good for your system... if you're hard up, don't have a leg to cut off for something better, on a desert island and only have this crap, well go for it. a 50:50 ratio will quarantee you down to -10 but the results are so disgusting compared to what you could get if you used any of the above items. i've included it here just because so many people consider this a viable option and actually do it. whats sad is they could have such better performance if they used the alcohols instead. ah well. C'est La Vie.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::: end of edit ::::::::::::::::::::::::::
please scroll down for the graphs and charts.
i hope this is helpful. enjoy your read.
RSB
i've been tabulating data on polar coolants used in computer water cooling setups for the past 3 weeks and these are my results.
My focus for this research was to find a coolant that would work at -30F for my project aka The Core Project. for those of you considering going a sub-Z route, or just want to put your coolant below freezing (32F), this is something you'll probably be interested in.
as for using antifreeze in your system, well, the numbers speak for themselves.
big props go out to Karsta (here on the forums) and myv65 (Dave Smith on the AMDmB forums- the author of that cooling article that Hoot has stickied at the top). both of whom i've been corresponding with and have been absolutely fantastic in providing me with answers and overall knowlege when i just plain ol got stuck somewhere, trying to understand all this. these are some REALLY knowlegeable and helpful guys, and not only in regards to coolants. they've been absolutely great. i can't express enough gratitude. big props also go out to Tenax too (also on the AMDmB forums). All three of them have been of invaluable aid. Thanks guys.
i can explain anything that you might have questions on here. and if i can't, i know a couple of guys that can.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: EDIT ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
it's been a long time since i initially posted this. much has changed and i've lost some of the original data due to HDD corruption and so forth. consequently, the original chart doesn't exist any longer. what DOES still exist are the graphs i created from the data in that chart, and those you can find by scrolling down the page here. sorry for the hassle and gunk, and i'm sorry the original chart doesn't exist any longer. if you want a quick and easy answer to what is the best stuff to use for a coolant, it's this...
#1 me love you long time GI....
Methanol/Distilled Water (33:66 ratio) aka windshield wiper fluid
although it's actual thermal properties aren't quite as good as straight up water, it's viscosity rocks the casbah and so what you're you loose in quality you make up for in quantity at about a 15% increase in performance over water... even at (or above) ambient room temp. sound great? well, truth is in all honesty you'll probably be hard pressed to see 15% performance increase in a real world scenario, but it should be there. this ratio will also give you an operational range of approximately 90C to -23C... or well below freezing. should use this stuff in a closed system though. or at least no bongs. this ratio of methanol to water isn't particularly lethal, but don't drink the stuff for gods sake. the other name for Methanol is wood alcohol. if you're operating above freezing temps at around ambient, go with 100% distilled water on general principle. it's just going to be better.
#2 100% Distilled water
best stuff around, damn hard to beat. no kidding. usually it's even better than the above stuff.
#3 Ethanol/Water (aka vodka) ratio varies
if you're going below zero and have moral issues with windshield wiper fluid and you just HAVE to get below zero, use Ethanol and water. Ethanol is Grain alcohol, and what they make booze out of. you want to use as little of this stuff in your water as possible so go sparingly. the more of this stuff you use, the less efficient your coolant is going to be because it's Ethanols thermal properties aren't as good as waters, and it's also thicker than water so the more of this stuff you use, the thicker your coolants going to get. don't tell your roomie you're cooling your stuff with Vodka or risk comming home to your boy on the floor with a hose in his pie hole being shotgunned by your Antec.
*** shudder ***
#4 Isopropyl/Water (aka 2-propanol aka rubbing alcohol)
ghetto fabulous baby, same cautions apply as above, this stuffs even worse than ethanol but it will work. the good points of it are your roomie won't touch it.
#5 Antifreeze/Water (50:50 ratio)
last and least good for your system... if you're hard up, don't have a leg to cut off for something better, on a desert island and only have this crap, well go for it. a 50:50 ratio will quarantee you down to -10 but the results are so disgusting compared to what you could get if you used any of the above items. i've included it here just because so many people consider this a viable option and actually do it. whats sad is they could have such better performance if they used the alcohols instead. ah well. C'est La Vie.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::: end of edit ::::::::::::::::::::::::::
please scroll down for the graphs and charts.
i hope this is helpful. enjoy your read.
RSB
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