Yeah I've had a few OEM watercooling loops leak after a 2-3 years. Annoying when its a motherboard, but possibly catastrophic if it's the mains voltage that gets wet.
No thanks on the water cooling in a power supply. As Blaid already said, its completely unnecessary and a leak inside a PSU would probably be the worst possible place to have one. Even if it never leaked, it'd worry me to no end to have something like that in a computer to the point where I'd only leave it plugged into the mains while I'm using it. That would never be turned on and unattended.
I ran a custom watercooled loop and heatsink through a power supply back in about 2001 when I was using an Astek Vapochill system paired with a watercooling system. Condensation issues and the prospect of leaks did put a damper on my enthusiasm. I wouldn't do it again.
Watercooled PSUs went on the market (at least) 15 years ago from Koolance. ([H]OCP claims theirs were first, but I could've sworn I saw one a year or two earlier from somewhere. Could've been a crazy modder I suppose.) The idea's never gone anywhere yet, and I don't expect Deepcool to change the status quo. It was a bad idea then. It's a bad idea now. It'll be a bad idea six or twelve months from now if this iteration ever hits the market.
But PSUs are so getting incredibly efficient and have large fans. You can also easily outspec your PSU for your system, so it runs passively almost all the time. We really don't need water cooled PSUs in our regular everyday desktop PCs.
I can certainly see the use for water cooled PSU's that are connected to a larger loop, preferably with drop free quick connects. It could enable modular PSUs, where they are small, and you could add in more as the system grows, while still avoiding small fans. To have a non modular closed loop, and non modular PSU less sense to me.
I can certainly see the use for water cooled PSU's that are connected to a larger loop, preferably with drop free quick connects. It could enable modular PSUs, where they are small, and you could add in more as the system grows, while still avoiding small fans. To have a non modular closed loop, and non modular PSU less sense to me.
Conceptually a good (if unoriginal) idea, but the implementation has two MASSIVE faults. First, when paying that much for a PSU it had better be one of the best, and Deepcools aren't. Their OEM (CWT, same as many Corsairs) is capable of better but they need to ask for it. Second, in a custom loop, which is the only sane place for a water-cooler PSU, aluminum water blocks are a full-stop, brick wall halt. I don't want lethal corrosion. Way too many "WC-ready" OEMs make this mistake.
There are PSUs out there that can output 4-600W passively, silently, without even building up heat. I use the Seasonic X-400 to drive a rig that is well over 400W in fll tilt, and has i7, 290X and all. Unless you have an SLI configuration, you don't need anything more. Granted, the Deepcool might be cheaper to manufacture and buy then a X-400/520 fanless.
A shame it's still ATX sized. One of the remaining components that can't be crammed smaller at the moment is the PSU. SFX, TFX or 1U, if these could be converted to watercooling and cut down further, you could integrate the cooling for an entire system into a single radiator, and pack the remaining component PCBs much tighter together without regard for airflow.
Yeah, water cooling a power supply seems to be something that doesn't provide a huge amount of value on its own, but if it becomes the only way to get a certain capability via esoteric form factor, it adds a lot of advantages. Something like a system built around a WC loop in a minimum case might see a huge advantage from being able to put the power supply wherever with no consideration for standard mountings or airflow.
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Blaid - Tuesday, January 12, 2016 - link
I enjoy a nice watercooling setup, but this seems....overkill and dangerous.saratoga4 - Tuesday, January 12, 2016 - link
Yeah I've had a few OEM watercooling loops leak after a 2-3 years. Annoying when its a motherboard, but possibly catastrophic if it's the mains voltage that gets wet.nathanddrews - Tuesday, January 12, 2016 - link
Besides, I thought a lot of these PSUs come with 14cm fans now, operating pretty quietly.BrokenCrayons - Tuesday, January 12, 2016 - link
No thanks on the water cooling in a power supply. As Blaid already said, its completely unnecessary and a leak inside a PSU would probably be the worst possible place to have one. Even if it never leaked, it'd worry me to no end to have something like that in a computer to the point where I'd only leave it plugged into the mains while I'm using it. That would never be turned on and unattended.ol1bit - Tuesday, January 12, 2016 - link
I'd say a CPU water leak is very bad as well! I can't think of anything in a computer I'd be ok with having a water leak.versesuvius - Tuesday, January 12, 2016 - link
Symptoms of a market that doesn't know where to go next.zodiacfml - Tuesday, January 12, 2016 - link
How does it cool the capacitors? I reckon this still needs some airflow.cjs150 - Tuesday, January 12, 2016 - link
I am long time WC for my PC. I seem to remember this being tried a few years back when PSU were less efficient, and it was overkill then.A really efficient PSU with a quiet fan will be quieter than the rest of a custom water cooling loop.
Basically this is entirely pointless. If you are worried about noise from a PSU, get a fanless design
willis936 - Tuesday, January 12, 2016 - link
And if you need more power then get more power suppliesSlash3 - Wednesday, January 13, 2016 - link
I ran a custom watercooled loop and heatsink through a power supply back in about 2001 when I was using an Astek Vapochill system paired with a watercooling system. Condensation issues and the prospect of leaks did put a damper on my enthusiasm. I wouldn't do it again.Flunk - Tuesday, January 12, 2016 - link
Totally stupid, will they sell? Maybe, who knows. I salute Deepcool for trying.DanNeely - Tuesday, January 12, 2016 - link
Watercooled PSUs went on the market (at least) 15 years ago from Koolance. ([H]OCP claims theirs were first, but I could've sworn I saw one a year or two earlier from somewhere. Could've been a crazy modder I suppose.) The idea's never gone anywhere yet, and I don't expect Deepcool to change the status quo. It was a bad idea then. It's a bad idea now. It'll be a bad idea six or twelve months from now if this iteration ever hits the market.http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article/2008/07/21/k...
piroroadkill - Tuesday, January 12, 2016 - link
But PSUs are so getting incredibly efficient and have large fans. You can also easily outspec your PSU for your system, so it runs passively almost all the time. We really don't need water cooled PSUs in our regular everyday desktop PCs.Gadgety - Tuesday, January 12, 2016 - link
I can certainly see the use for water cooled PSU's that are connected to a larger loop, preferably with drop free quick connects. It could enable modular PSUs, where they are small, and you could add in more as the system grows, while still avoiding small fans. To have a non modular closed loop, and non modular PSU less sense to me.Gadgety - Tuesday, January 12, 2016 - link
I can certainly see the use for water cooled PSU's that are connected to a larger loop, preferably with drop free quick connects. It could enable modular PSUs, where they are small, and you could add in more as the system grows, while still avoiding small fans. To have a non modular closed loop, and non modular PSU less sense to me.Rocket Taco - Tuesday, January 12, 2016 - link
Conceptually a good (if unoriginal) idea, but the implementation has two MASSIVE faults. First, when paying that much for a PSU it had better be one of the best, and Deepcools aren't. Their OEM (CWT, same as many Corsairs) is capable of better but they need to ask for it. Second, in a custom loop, which is the only sane place for a water-cooler PSU, aluminum water blocks are a full-stop, brick wall halt. I don't want lethal corrosion. Way too many "WC-ready" OEMs make this mistake.nagi603 - Wednesday, January 13, 2016 - link
There are PSUs out there that can output 4-600W passively, silently, without even building up heat. I use the Seasonic X-400 to drive a rig that is well over 400W in fll tilt, and has i7, 290X and all. Unless you have an SLI configuration, you don't need anything more. Granted, the Deepcool might be cheaper to manufacture and buy then a X-400/520 fanless.xthetenth - Wednesday, January 13, 2016 - link
I honestly wonder if my 750W Snow Silent will ever use its fan.edzieba - Wednesday, January 13, 2016 - link
A shame it's still ATX sized. One of the remaining components that can't be crammed smaller at the moment is the PSU. SFX, TFX or 1U, if these could be converted to watercooling and cut down further, you could integrate the cooling for an entire system into a single radiator, and pack the remaining component PCBs much tighter together without regard for airflow.xthetenth - Wednesday, January 13, 2016 - link
Yeah, water cooling a power supply seems to be something that doesn't provide a huge amount of value on its own, but if it becomes the only way to get a certain capability via esoteric form factor, it adds a lot of advantages. Something like a system built around a WC loop in a minimum case might see a huge advantage from being able to put the power supply wherever with no consideration for standard mountings or airflow.azrael- - Thursday, January 14, 2016 - link
There was a time when PSUs were used to help cool your system.This? No ...just, no.