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View Full Version : PSU Watercooling becoming mainstream


gmat
01-13-2003, 04:13 AM
... for modders of course.
(seen on Slashdot)
http://www.digital-explosion.co.uk/index.php?articleID=65
They kept it simple, i wonder how effective it is - those MOSFETs produce quite a lot of heat.

bigben2k
01-13-2003, 09:42 AM
I added a comment, in their forum, about discharging the capacitors:

"120 Vac is actually 340 Volts, peak to peak.

To discharge a cap, use a resistor.

Selecting a resistor, note that typical resistors are rated 1/4 Watt, use this equation:

P=VI
V=RI (aka I=V/R)
so
P=V^2/R (aka P/V^2=R)
where P is power (in Watts), R is resistance (in Ohms), and V is the voltage.

Assuming a 1/4 Watt resistor, V=340, this will give you an R of 462K Ohm, which will release a current of 0.002 milliamps (if my calculations are correct!). It could take a while... then you'd have to switch to a smaller resistor, as the voltage drops...

This would be much easier with a 5 Watt pot."

MeltMan
01-13-2003, 10:56 AM
Add in natural capacitor leakage. Big electrolytic capacitors leak down fast. The easiest way would to be simply pulling out the wall plug from the computer and wait a minute or so. The 5vsb lead will pull the psu down in about 30 seconds.

Plus keep in mind those caps are DC and wont shock you so much, but more "burn" your skin. Once the caps are under ~25V or so, you are pretty much completely safe.

jtroutma
01-14-2003, 12:46 AM
Has it been proven that watercooling a PSU can acutally make the unit perform better?

AS in, keep the voltages more stable or not degrade over time?

Just something I have been wondering..........

msv
01-14-2003, 01:16 AM
Right, MeltMan, unplug the cord and the capacitors will discharge in a matter of minutes.
Almost.
To completely discharge them, push the computers start button with the cord unplugged. Trying to start the computer this way sucks it dry of any electric charge in notime.
Also seems to discharge all the capacitors on the motherboard (not kidding) for good or ill.
regards
Mikael S.

bigben2k
01-14-2003, 08:59 AM
Yes, watercooling will help, a tiny, tiny little bit, in keeping the voltages more steady.

More importantly, it gets rid of the fan, and it will take care of the extra heat from a heavy load.

jtroutma
01-14-2003, 11:40 PM
Just wanted some confirmation that it can help (not a lot but some).... thank you!