CES 2016: Deepcool’s Gamer Storm brand Exhibits Water Cooling for a Power Supply
by Ian Cutress on January 12, 2016 11:00 AM EST
Typically the water cooling scene in PC building focuses on two main areas – the processor and the graphics card, with memory or the motherboard being a distant third. The process of water cooling allows heat to be removed by a medium (a liquid) that can absorb heat and move away from the source of heat very quickly – the component thus has more efficient cooling, and this can offer a better overclock or lower temperatures. The element not considered that much is efficiency, as cooler components are also more efficient. This was Deepcool’s play, via their high-end Gamer Storm brand, in their unit on show at CES this year.
As it stands, this is wholly a prototype and they were asking for input from both media and customers. The aluminium chassis is a sealed unit, with just inside the top plate being a water cooling block connected to the converters in the power supply. This cooling block is connected via pipes to an external pump and reservoir.
As it stands, the design is not particularly ergonomic and is a self-contained loop which arguably could add $70-$100 to the cost of the unit (even without the aluminium chassis). The aluminium water block is neat, and opening it up shows the water moving around, although we weren’t told if the connection to the converters was copper. Because it is a sealed unit, there are no vents, and the only sound would be the pump in the water cooling loop.
As it stands, this is a little more than a novelty, and few people would use a self-contained loop specifically for a power supply – mostly because of space and the fact that users would prefer a CPU/GPU cooling loop first. Typically the power supply is not the loudest item in the system either. I put it to Deepcool that they need a combination air/water model, and the water cooling part of the power supply is a build-your-own with G1/4” threads such that someone building their own custom loop can simply add it into their own. The cooler power supply makes it more efficient, and the fact that it is air/water means that there can be a fan that kicks in if a pump fails or to supplement the extra. There could be a separate water-only model for their modification team.
Personally I liked the look of the water block, but in my opinion the execution of water cooling is best left as an add-in model for custom loops. No doubt if Deepcool continues this design, we might see something a bit more final over the next few months. We were told that the unit on display was rated at 650W with 80PLUS Gold, and that future versions would be around that mark.
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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.