FAQ
Please use CTRL + F to search for a question before contacting Warmoob for support.
Q: Can I use an air cooled CPU or GPU?
A: No Carotid is strictly a watercooled only computer case
Q: Why are no dust filters included with the computer case?
A: For the purpose of customisation. Air filters effectiveness is usually proportional to their resistance. It's your call, fit a fine silk filter for excellent filtration but possibly greater restriction or fit a mesh filter for mediocre filtration but better flow. Warmoob suggests running no computer filter but rather keeping your room clean and using a quality room air filter. This method will likely outperform a traditional computer filter. You can also run the case in a negative pressure configuration, this will require periodic air dusting of the heat exchanger, or a gentle vacuum with a soft brush attachment.
Q: Does loop order matter, is parallel better than series flow?
A: Not really to both. Water has a very high specific heat capacity, meaning a lot of heat is required to increase the temperature. Say your GPU produces 350W of heat and you're using a D5 pump. A D5 has a theoretical max of 1500 litres per hour but lets take only 20% of this as if you're running the pump real slow with lots of resistance. That's about 83 grams per second of flow, your 350W GPU is giving that 83 grams 350 Joules of heat per second (Watts are Joules per second, metric is great!). Since water takes about 4200 Joules to raise 1kg by 1C that 350 Joules only raises your 83g by 1C. i.e. at very low flow the "hot" side of your loop will only be 1C hotter. Some very restrictive CPU vs GPU block combinations will limit the effectiveness of parallel configurations.
Q: Will the copper heat exchanger (Radiator) rust or corrode over time? How do I clean it?
A: Carotid's heat exchanger is lightly coated with a clear sealant to reduce corrosion without compromising performance. However the copper will slightly patina slightly with age, this will be in the order of decades when used indoors. Only use a dry microfibre cloth or compressed air to clean the heat exchanger (A gentle vacuum with soft brush attachment can also be used, never use water or a caustic solution. Performance will remain extreme.
Q: Is the integrated heat exchanger safe to use in my custom loop?
A: DO NOT USE ALUMINIUM COMPONENTS. The heat exchanger is safe provided all components in the loop are copper or plated copper. Warmoob requires the heat exchanger to be thoroughly flushed before use. Only use distilled or demineralised water in the loop with a computer watercooling specific additive.
Q: Why is the case screwed together not welded or cinched?
A: Welding stainless steel is difficult, expensive and can cause warping. Cinching requires specialised machinery limiting production options. The use of machine screws allows for tight tolerances whilst still being forgiving.
Q: Why raw copper fins and not black anodised aluminium?
A: Raw copper has nearly twice the thermal conductivity of aluminium. Painting a radiator black to increase radiant (emissive) heat transfer is counter productive for the relatively low temperatures of a computer system. The heat exchanger is lightly sealed with a fine clear coating, performance is still exceptional.
Q: What happens if I bend or damage some of the fins?
A: The fins are unlikely to be bent from building in the case or handling carefully but mistakes do happen. Due to the louvered nature of the fins manual straightening with a pair of quality tweezers is the best option. Use an offset angled light to ensure all fins are aligned visually. Bent fins will not noticeably affect performance but are understandably visually detrimental.
Q: Why use such a large copper/copper heat exchanger, isn't it overkill?
A: That is kind of the point, this question gets asked a lot. To be a successful start up Warmoob cannot compete with international giants by creating something overly similar. Carotid is overkill by design, distant to normality.
Q: How to I clean the stainless steel, does it shows fingerprints easily?
A: For tough or sticky marks use a wax and grease remover and a microfiber cloth, clean along the grain.
For minor fingerprints and marks metho is recommended, again with a microfiber cloth and with the grain. Google and youtube will have tutorials on this.
Q: Why no front USB I/O?
A: Modern high end ITX boards typically have 8 high speed USB devices. If you require more using a Hub is recommended. You can also run a heard plug from the motherboard through one of the unused water cooling bulk heads. More I/O just adds clutter and means more fingerprints on your nice case.
Q: Why a positive pressure system, doesn't heat rise?
A: The natural convection of hot air is such a tiny force, the advantage of dust reduction from positive pressure far outweighs it. With even intense gaming use Carotid will offer such a low coolant to ambient temperature difference that natural convection will be even further reduced. If you have any doubts please see the video in the Technical section. Also it looks nicer to have the top of the fan showing. Using all fans as negative may offer a slight thermal improvement at the cost of dust, decide for yourself. Originally this site contained detailed buoyancy and Atkinsons resistance calculations with fan curve and psychrometric analysis, users saw it as "Showing off". Check out the Engineering Toolbox website for further information instead.
Q: How to I clean the heat exchanger?
A: Ideally you don't need to, as running the system in positive pressure with your choice of dust filter will prevent the heat exchanger from getting dirty in the first place. If you have to you can gently wipe it with a microfiber cloth or preferably use a compressed air cleaner. A soft brush attachment with a low powered vacuum also works well. DO NOT USE WATER.
Q: Can I use an air cooled CPU or GPU?
A: No Carotid is strictly a watercooled only computer case
Q: Why are no dust filters included with the computer case?
A: For the purpose of customisation. Air filters effectiveness is usually proportional to their resistance. It's your call, fit a fine silk filter for excellent filtration but possibly greater restriction or fit a mesh filter for mediocre filtration but better flow. Warmoob suggests running no computer filter but rather keeping your room clean and using a quality room air filter. This method will likely outperform a traditional computer filter. You can also run the case in a negative pressure configuration, this will require periodic air dusting of the heat exchanger, or a gentle vacuum with a soft brush attachment.
Q: Does loop order matter, is parallel better than series flow?
A: Not really to both. Water has a very high specific heat capacity, meaning a lot of heat is required to increase the temperature. Say your GPU produces 350W of heat and you're using a D5 pump. A D5 has a theoretical max of 1500 litres per hour but lets take only 20% of this as if you're running the pump real slow with lots of resistance. That's about 83 grams per second of flow, your 350W GPU is giving that 83 grams 350 Joules of heat per second (Watts are Joules per second, metric is great!). Since water takes about 4200 Joules to raise 1kg by 1C that 350 Joules only raises your 83g by 1C. i.e. at very low flow the "hot" side of your loop will only be 1C hotter. Some very restrictive CPU vs GPU block combinations will limit the effectiveness of parallel configurations.
Q: Will the copper heat exchanger (Radiator) rust or corrode over time? How do I clean it?
A: Carotid's heat exchanger is lightly coated with a clear sealant to reduce corrosion without compromising performance. However the copper will slightly patina slightly with age, this will be in the order of decades when used indoors. Only use a dry microfibre cloth or compressed air to clean the heat exchanger (A gentle vacuum with soft brush attachment can also be used, never use water or a caustic solution. Performance will remain extreme.
Q: Is the integrated heat exchanger safe to use in my custom loop?
A: DO NOT USE ALUMINIUM COMPONENTS. The heat exchanger is safe provided all components in the loop are copper or plated copper. Warmoob requires the heat exchanger to be thoroughly flushed before use. Only use distilled or demineralised water in the loop with a computer watercooling specific additive.
Q: Why is the case screwed together not welded or cinched?
A: Welding stainless steel is difficult, expensive and can cause warping. Cinching requires specialised machinery limiting production options. The use of machine screws allows for tight tolerances whilst still being forgiving.
Q: Why raw copper fins and not black anodised aluminium?
A: Raw copper has nearly twice the thermal conductivity of aluminium. Painting a radiator black to increase radiant (emissive) heat transfer is counter productive for the relatively low temperatures of a computer system. The heat exchanger is lightly sealed with a fine clear coating, performance is still exceptional.
Q: What happens if I bend or damage some of the fins?
A: The fins are unlikely to be bent from building in the case or handling carefully but mistakes do happen. Due to the louvered nature of the fins manual straightening with a pair of quality tweezers is the best option. Use an offset angled light to ensure all fins are aligned visually. Bent fins will not noticeably affect performance but are understandably visually detrimental.
Q: Why use such a large copper/copper heat exchanger, isn't it overkill?
A: That is kind of the point, this question gets asked a lot. To be a successful start up Warmoob cannot compete with international giants by creating something overly similar. Carotid is overkill by design, distant to normality.
Q: How to I clean the stainless steel, does it shows fingerprints easily?
A: For tough or sticky marks use a wax and grease remover and a microfiber cloth, clean along the grain.
For minor fingerprints and marks metho is recommended, again with a microfiber cloth and with the grain. Google and youtube will have tutorials on this.
Q: Why no front USB I/O?
A: Modern high end ITX boards typically have 8 high speed USB devices. If you require more using a Hub is recommended. You can also run a heard plug from the motherboard through one of the unused water cooling bulk heads. More I/O just adds clutter and means more fingerprints on your nice case.
Q: Why a positive pressure system, doesn't heat rise?
A: The natural convection of hot air is such a tiny force, the advantage of dust reduction from positive pressure far outweighs it. With even intense gaming use Carotid will offer such a low coolant to ambient temperature difference that natural convection will be even further reduced. If you have any doubts please see the video in the Technical section. Also it looks nicer to have the top of the fan showing. Using all fans as negative may offer a slight thermal improvement at the cost of dust, decide for yourself. Originally this site contained detailed buoyancy and Atkinsons resistance calculations with fan curve and psychrometric analysis, users saw it as "Showing off". Check out the Engineering Toolbox website for further information instead.
Q: How to I clean the heat exchanger?
A: Ideally you don't need to, as running the system in positive pressure with your choice of dust filter will prevent the heat exchanger from getting dirty in the first place. If you have to you can gently wipe it with a microfiber cloth or preferably use a compressed air cleaner. A soft brush attachment with a low powered vacuum also works well. DO NOT USE WATER.