Watercooling Fluid Shootout

Fluid XP is NASTY stuff. I tried the red stuff a while back, and within a few months, the entire liquid began to destabilize and decompose. Solids start to precipitate and clog everything up, and the entire loop becomes cloudy, mucky, and stained. This stuff doesn't just stain the walls of the tubing as other dyes do, it cakes stuff on there.

Stay away from Fluid XP. The only good thing about using it is that it will convince you to just stick with distilled water and minor additives. I hope Fluid XP drowns in their dishonest claims and lousy products all the way to bankrupcy. They're almost as chavy as Silenx.

I would like to know about the leaks in a dusty pc. I unfortunately have a couple long hair large dogs, coupled with hard flooring, and a big back yard, creates a dust bowl in my rig. I tried using filters, but they clog up so much that it just wasn't worth the effort. And now that I've upgraded to a better, (hotter), cpu, I am leaning more to going water cooled. As my rig is an old Antec SoHo server case, (go-kart frame I believe was the review for it), is so heavy, I fear coupled with water lines, I might neglect dusting even more than I do now. So when these NCF's hit a dirty board, how much does that affect the NCf?

Most likely these fluids are from 3M, they make a variety of dielectric fluids for heat transfer applications. That they are not as thermally conductive as water is a given, that they will not fry your system is their primary value. Even RODI water will conduct electricity, once it contacts a board or connector it will pick up contaminates and ionize, there is no such thing as safe water.

A very informative article! At least for myself and all other watercooling noobs, I now have a much better idea of what to use than before I read the article.
The experts can argue all day over the UV lumious spectrum, flux capasitors and lithium crystals in your loop, but then I don't think that was the basis for the article anyways...

Your test only lacked one important factor: Will it wash out of you favorite shirt?:D

Originally Posted by zero0ne
distilled water isnt conductive....

the trace elements in faucet water is what makes it conductive.

And once it's in your loop it's going to pick up ions or trace metals from blocks, and overtime it will BECOME conductive. Same with dionized water - there may not any ions in it when you get it, but the water will strip them out of the loop.

Does the ambient temperature change how affective any of the NCF are?
It will obviously change how hot they all are, but maybe some are better at transferring heat when they are hotter?
Sorry, it's been to long since I did any physics or the like... But I have been considering water cooling and live in Darwin... Average daily temps of 30+C this time of year.

Umm, how does the Feser One hold up against PC ICE? Here in the states, they cost about the same (probaby because the dollar is worthless now) and I'm not sure which is better for the rig I'm planning to make.

So we should all know now that pure H20 isn't conductive. Only conductive elements in the water are. So by using distilled water we introduce pure water into the loops (ideally). The water may then, over time, become more conductive due to the conductive impurities in the loops (contact with metal, etc). Logically, the same process should apply to any other liquid that is "non conductive" in that it may become conductive if contaminated within the loops. Therefore, both water and the mentioned products should be realatively equal in conductivity (hypothetically), and neither should be "safer". If you happen to spill either one on your board then the determining factor should be the amount of conducting contaminants on your board. Not the liquid.

By the way, there is an easy test for this theory (even though I will not be trying it).
1. Take a portion of water and test it's conductivity.
2. Add a portion of conductive material to water (table salt, sugar, etc)
3. Test the water's conductivity
4. Repeat 1-3 for product

I would actually be interested to see numerical results of a test like this, if done properly using identical portions and testing procedures (ie. same distance between test leads, etc).

This does not take into account algae, appearance, or anything other than the conductivity. Although, theoretically again, if the water is pure then algae should not be a threat.

Enjoy.

Originally Posted by Project_Nightmare
Umm, how does the Feser One hold up against PC ICE? Here in the states, they cost about the same (probaby because the dollar is worthless now) and I'm not sure which is better for the rig I'm planning to make.

Having used both in builds, Feser is hands-down the best of the two by far. It doesn't leave what could be described as a sticky 'film' on your hands and other surfaces if you spill any, unlike PC-Ice. It actually feels kind of like water. PC-Ice feels like a gross fluid. Go for the Feser, man.

Originally Posted by E.E.L. Ambiense

Quote:

Originally Posted by Project_Nightmare
Umm, how does the Feser One hold up against PC ICE? Here in the states, they cost about the same (probaby because the dollar is worthless now) and I'm not sure which is better for the rig I'm planning to make.

Having used both in builds, Feser is hands-down the best of the two by far. It doesn't leave what could be described as a sticky 'film' on your hands and other surfaces if you spill any, unlike PC-Ice. It actually feels kind of like water. PC-Ice feels like a gross fluid. Go for the Feser, man.

Finally, a post online that shows me which path to take!
This might be a stupid question since I already can predict the answer, but does Feser One cause any problems with acrylic and the adhesive in the reservoir?

I just wanted to say that ive been using feser for a long time to and TBH theres nothing better. I know the owner personally and i know how much know how and actual sience thats behind the coolant. Its not just pouring chemicals together and making it look cool but it actually takes alot of work to make something ike this. Great stuff at a great price!!

Hmmm, I find it interesting that Fluid XP+ is such a bad company by what I am reading in these posts that they are even still in business. I mean after all their products have been around since 2003.

I wonder what the testing would have concluded if maybe the tester diluted it down to his specific need, as that is what it was developed for, customization. According to the fluidxp.com website, Ultra was intended for the experienced water coolers that wanted to get the extra little bit of thermal conductivity so it allows them to add water, which by the way, both feser and pc ice are loaded with.

I also did not see any testing done according to the American Standard Testing Measurement procedures for non-conductivity. If you take the fact of Ultra being a product that can be diluted down to 30% of distilled or deionized water and still do all the things it does, it makes it a very good value. I am sure that all of you in this forum are very intelligent when it comes to water cooling and don't just base your belief on a label.

That is good, researching a product before you put it into that costly rig is very good. Hopefully, most of you understand about true ph and specific densities and all that techno stuff. Like why would you use a coolant versus say Ultra Pure Water that has a ph rated 2 to 3 which is on the acidic side, hmmm, could it be that according to a water specialist that Ultra Pure water will remove the calcium from your teeth, now I wonder what that would do to say a nice new metal radiator and block.

Anyone out there know what Ultra Pure water might do to metal? Thanks for the info

Oh, I just noticed that Wolverine knows the owner at feser. That is good, I work for Integrity PC. Chow.

So basically there is no non conductive fluid?

i use fluid xp and i love the stuff i have a Q6600 and a oc'ed 8800gts 320 and it keeps it so cool and its in the same loop i wudnt use anything else

I have always used Feser One, always worked like a charm, never let me down.

Originally Posted by Drexial
"the feser company" = the most annoying website ever.

the fluid looks like the way to go though. wish they had a non UV fluid though. Not really looking for that glow in my case.

Well I admit that it ain't the best site ever but it just doesn't matter because you are expected to buy from an external retailer such as "TheCoolingShop" because it isn't a "Direct Outlet" to public consumers.

Sorry gang, I can't agree with any of these comments. I just lost a 200 dollar 9800 GTX+ because this crap leaked on it. If you want to believe the companies' claims, go ahead, I did too. Not anymore. My rig is smoked thanks to this obviously misleadingly labled product. DO NOT BUY THIS STUFF IF YOU VALUE YOUR SYSTEM LIKE I DO. I work way to hard to pay way to much for my rig to have this product SMOKE it. Check out this link..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOWLv2YHE_c and no, I'm not in it. I don't even know these folks. BUT, the experiment the perform SHOWS the destructive power of this product. IT's JUNK, STAY AWAY FROM IT AT ALL COSTS!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by ITGUY
Sorry gang, I can't agree with any of these comments. I just lost a 200 dollar 9800 GTX+ because this crap leaked on it. If you want to believe the companies' claims, go ahead, I did too. Not anymore. My rig is smoked thanks to this obviously misleadingly labled product. DO NOT BUY THIS STUFF IF YOU VALUE YOUR SYSTEM LIKE I DO. I work way to hard to pay way to much for my rig to have this product SMOKE it. Check out this link..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOWLv2YHE_c and no, I'm not in it. I don't even know these folks. BUT, the experiment the perform SHOWS the destructive power of this product. IT's JUNK, STAY AWAY FROM IT AT ALL COSTS!!!!!!!

LOL hmm lets see, how about we pour "at best room temp" fluid on to something that is very very hot and have it rapidly change in temperature ya I dont think nothing will happen oh like the oil filled capacitors bursting ~_~

Seriously and if you sprung a leak well thats your bad as you obviously didnt assemble your water cooling system properly.

Oh and I have done a similar test of course not on a PSU as thats just plain dumb but on an old graphics card and motherboard and nothing happened but to be fair it was with Feser F1 coolant but my friends have had minor leaks during inital installation of a water cooling system do to a faulty barb on the radiator and well nothing happened either and they were using Fluid XP.

LOL those guys are such idiots...

Listen here is a video that Petras Tech Shop did and this is how you conduct these types of test, in this they are proving that distilled water is as good as non-conductive fluids because even non conductive fluid is made from distilled water...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-yT7cvfo3o

Also you might want to remember that this product is designed to be non conductive for computers which only operate at 12V, in that PSU there was 110-240 Volts going through it, Plus the fact that it is AC makes it much more likely to cause damage. Even a non conductive fluid (like water) can become conductive when contaminants are in it. That's right, water is non conductive, it is the impurities that make it conductive. Pure water does not have enough ions to transfer charge. But then if the voltage is high enough anything will conduct electricity, thinks about lightning, is air a conductor?

Seriously?
Alex is the man:

Continuing my griping about "non-conductive" coolants and the marketing thereof, I've decided to have a little fun with a couple of motherboards, some "non-conductive" coolant, and a bottle of distilled water.

It's important to note that all of the components used were throughly cleaned with clean air, 99.9% IPA, and contact cleaner prior to taking a bath. The two motherboards were brand new Abit IB9's and the catch tray was cleaned with soapy water, rinsed with distilled water, rinsed with 99.9% IPA, and allowed to dry before each "test".

*Update* After letting both boards dry and cleaning them thoroughly, neither of them function--don't spill things on your motherboard!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-yT7cvfo3o&feature=channel

Quite an interesting vid there, cheers.

Wait, So Feser puts Less Stuff and charges same exorbitant amount of money?

can we see test of Feser One versus Pure Distilled Water with Silver Kill Coil?
i just can't see why the tester HAD to mix Distilled with 5% Water Wetter...

Ah good gives me some substantiated reassurance to the fact I've been using Feser for the past 2 years.