Liquid Cooling

Nope, no maintenance other than checking for liquid evaporation after a few years. There is an internal reservoir tank which holds extra liquid. If you run low, just give us a call and we will take care of you.

Has liquid cooling really come this far? No maintenance? Isn't there any concerns with condensation still? What about leakage possibilities? I ask this because I'm considering having my next DSO pc overclocked and I know good cooling will enable the best results.

Originally posted by SunfighterLC ... living in arkansas, the late summers get pretty brutal and even with air conditioning this room isnt the coolest thing around. 80-85 degress usually, mostly thanks to the massive amounts of electronics i have in this room.

d00d! Are you running vacuum tube amplifiers??? I know that's the only time my room has gotten that hot!

Hey now, actually arkansas IS full of complete idiots. Im not a native, I moved down here about 3 years ago from Michigan. =P.

To all:

Liquid cooling has been pretty hands off for quite a while now. The majority of folks are still very leary of using it though because, well, hello, its not normal to mix electronics and fluid.

liquid cooling is safe and virtually maintenance free. Every once in a while check your fluid level (and yes, the resovoir is clear so you can see it)

Even if you somehow had a leak, the fluid is non conductive so you wont kill components.

Before getting my DS system I had already built puters with liquid cooling. After getting my rig, I can say they know thier stuff... it was done VERY well and you wont be dissapointed

Just my opinion on the liquid cooling system we use.

The liquid we use for liquid cooling isn't even really conductive. I mean, it is in the sense that all liquid is, but I've seen this stuff drip onto an unprotected motherboard while in operation and cause no damage. The stuff won't fry out a system or anything just by leaking. The stuff we use is an oil that was invented for the purpose of liquid cooling a PC about two years ago, if I recall. (Fluid HP +) It's relatively maintenance free. You only have to add more fluid, provided there isn't a problem. However, liquid cooling does kind of require that you are comfortable using it. As you will have to drain the fluid for troublshooting purposes if there is a problem.

For instance, a person with two or three video cards in SLI. A card goes bad. Now you have to find out which one by running each card in the top slot to see which one fails to POST (or what have you). With triple SLI, you may already have a problem. Maybe your tubes won't reach, so you have to unhook a card. At this point you would have to empty out your liquid cooling, and then re-fill it to test the card. (Or put back on an AIR cooling block). When it comes to replacing or upgrading any hardware, you will obviously have to know how to remove and replace the liquid cooling. Or have us at DS do it for you.

So over all, our liquid cooling is safe, reliable, and maintenance free. But I still recommend it for enthusiasts. Just because you'll have to deal with the liquid cooling when you have to do any other form of in depth troubleshooting or upgrading. Unless of course you have the time to send it to us. We really don't mind doing upgrades or service. I'm just keeping the average customer's time restraints in mind. 

An excerpt from Dave's post above:

Originally posted by Dashuu However, liquid cooling does kind of require that you are comfortable using it. As you will have to drain the fluid for troubleshooting purposes if there is a problem. For instance, a person with two or three video cards in SLI. A card goes bad. Now you have to find out which one by running each card in the top slot to see which one fails to POST (or what have you). With triple SLI, you may already have a problem. Maybe your tubes won't reach, so you have to unhook a card. At this point you would have to empty out your liquid cooling, and then re-fill it to test the card. (Or put back on an AIR cooling block). When it comes to replacing or upgrading any hardware, you will obviously have to know how to remove and replace the liquid cooling. Or have us at DS do it for you. So over all, our liquid cooling is safe, reliable, and maintenance free. But I still recommend it for enthusiasts. Just because you'll have to deal with the liquid cooling when you have to do any other form of in depth troubleshooting or upgrading. Unless of course you have the time to send it to us. We really don't mind doing upgrades or service. I'm just keeping the average customer's time restraints in mind.

The portions in bold represent the downsides to liquid cooling. These were precisely the reasons behind my suggestion to go with stage 3 air cooling.