Self-Contained PC Liquid Coolers Explored 86
MojoKid writes "Over the last few years an increasing number of liquid coolers have been positioned as high-end alternatives to traditional heatsink and fan combinations. This has been particularly true in the boutique and high-end PC market, where a number of manufacturers now offer liquid coolers in one form or another. These kits are a far cry from the water coolers enthusiasts have been building for years. DIY water coolers typically involve separate reservoirs and external pumps. The systems tested here, including Intel's OEM cooler that was released with their Sandy Bridge-E CPU, contain significantly less fluid and use small pumps directly integrated into the cooling block as a self-contained solution. Integrated all-in-one kits may not offer the theoretical performance of a high-end home-built system, but they're vastly easier to install and require virtually no maintenance. The tradeoffs are more than fair, provided that the coolers perform as advertised."
All these fancy coolers (Score:2, Insightful)
And you still use your computer to read Slashdot all day.
Re:All in one (Score:4, Insightful)
I see a few advantages of sealed unit watercoolers compared to their heatpipe based competition
1:they tend to be smaller and lighter
2: there is some flexibility in radiator placement (good for those building small form factor systems)
3: they exhaust the CPU heat straight out of the case from the rad rather than relying on general case airflow to take it out
4: a large portion of their weight is mounted on the case rather than the motherboard. That means less risk of damage when moving the machine.