A typical liquid cooling system must have the following components: water cooling block, circulating fluid, water pump, pipes and water tank or heat exchanger. The water cooling block is a metal block with an internal water channel, made of copper or aluminum, which is in direct contact with the CPU and will absorb the heat from the CPU. The circulating fluid is moved through the circulating lines by the action of a water pump and if the fluid is water, it is what we commonly call a water cooling system. The fluid that has absorbed the heat from the CPU will then flow away from the water cooling block on the CPU and the new cold circulating liquid will continue to absorb the heat from the CPU. The pipes connect the water pump, water cooling block and water tank, and its function is to circulate the circulating fluid in a closed channel without leakage, so that the liquid cooling system can work properly. The water tank is used to store the circulating fluid, and the heat exchanger is a device similar to a heat sink. The circulating fluid transfers heat to the heat sink, which has a large surface area, and the fan on the heat sink removes the heat from the incoming air.

The essence of liquid cooling and air cooling is the same, except that liquid cooling utilizes circulating liquid to carry the CPU heat from the water cooling block to the heat exchanger and then radiate it out, instead of the homogeneous metal or heat pipes of air cooling, where the heat exchanger part is almost the same as the air cooled heat sink. There are two biggest features of the liquid cooling system: equalizing the heat of the CPU and low-noise operation. Because the specific heat capacity of water is very large, so it can absorb a lot of heat and keep the temperature will not change significantly. Liquid cooling system CPU temperature can be well controlled, sudden load work will not cause the CPU internal temperature instantaneous large changes. Because the heat exchanger's surface area is very large, it only needs low-speed fan to dissipate the heat can play a good effect, so most of the liquid cooling with a low-speed fan. In addition, the working noise of the pump is generally not very obvious, so the overall liquid cooling system is very quiet compared to the air-cooled system.

Liquid cooling system is more expensive and complex, but it is a more maneuverable cooler for PCs (liquid nitrogen and other cooling methods are not available for practical use). Exploratory overclockers have been using liquid cooling to set overclocking records for years. Liquid cooling systems have evolved from being homemade to being designed and mass-produced by specialized manufacturers and sold in retail and wholesale channels. With the expansion of the production scale and the gradual accumulation of design and manufacturing experience, the current brand-name liquid cooling coolers have become more affordable, and no longer even exceed the total price of the user's CPU and motherboard as it was in the beginning. And in addition to the price is more acceptable, the design of the new liquid cooling system also has a more humane, these have become today's liquid cooling system can enter the ordinary DIY gamers in the computer case of the reason.