Cool Cooling

[MitaPi]

So whats the best cooling devices you guys got out there? Post what you got, what you have seen and/or heard of and what you think of it! I'm sure we can all agree that cooling is one of our prime concerns as modders, tweakers, and temp freaks!

I'll start!

So I did a little bit of research and found out that you can buy an air conditioner unit for your PC! Its called the PC AIRCON PAC400! My first reaction... COOL! After doing the research.... NOT SO COOL! It turns out that the only true good thing about it is the idea of it. But hey! Thats how everything starts right? As just an idea. I am sure we will see (hopefully) massive improvements on this PC Air Conditioner in the near future.

http://www.waffer.biz/THERMAL/English/Pac400.htm

BTW
This is a thread for any and all cooling. CPU, GPU, HDD, CASE, H20, RAM, etc etc etc.

[justblair]

I modded a tt big typhoon for my desk pc. The case is extremely restrictive, so I was getting hot temps. Managed to drop it by a good 9c (currently it runs at 43c most of the time, gets into the early 50's under burn) Its an Athlon 3000xp by the way.. A bit of a hottie!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h219/justblair/IMG_0758.jpg

I included a step by step in my worklog.

This was my first attempt at a modded typhoon.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h219/justblair/MoboFrontbottomviewwithmoddedtyphoo.jpg

This one has been modded to give better passive operation. Not for everyone. I may still have another go at it, I have some ideas on making it better and neater.

[dgrmkrp]

dude.. want cool?.. there are lots of cons (u use 2-300 wats to cool a cpu that produces 150:), u need thorough isolation, very heay), but subzero temps: search vapochill's phase change products.. i read something about proetheia phase change coolers..
for less radical cooling, peltiers are nice.. they literally suck the heat from one side and force it to the other.. cons: sensitive, fragile, need lots of voltage and they need cooling themselves.. pro: get sub-ambient temps :)

even less radical.. water cooling :) we all know it, some have the funds to back it up too :D (not me:()..

but my idea of extreme cooling involves a Tt Sonic tower (non-modded yet, but i like justblair's typhoon mod.. maybe i'll do something similar for the sonic too.. :) maybe..) with windtunnels over it :) made for passive cooling, with no ninja+ at the time, it was the best choice for quiet cooling that can go maaaad.. even with some modest airflow it can keep my oc'ed cpu under 41 degrees (even now, with a ~30% load and 30ish! ambient temp.. not the case, the room!) with 2 fans on it's sides, it can stay around 28-30 degrees at full load with 20 degree ambient.. so i see a 10degree rise.. i think it's nice.. and for my so-called extreme installation, i'm planning on using 2 more fans, one as n intake, one as an exhasut, totally isolated from the rest of the case (read ducting :) ), dedicated solely on creating continuous flow over the fins.. and only the fins! i hope this will shave another degree or two.. basically, i think this thing will hadle like a bad watercooling rig :p hopefully...

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a141/dgrmkrp/4122e602.jpg

oh, and the aircon thing.. the problem it has IMO is it's price and availability.. for me.. i would modd it and make it so that cold air is better used.. but others :| .. weell, the idea is good, i agree :)

[MitaPi]

I like that design. Simple yet effective. If that performs the same as a cheap water cooling kit then I just might have to get out the old paper and pencil and design something similar! I would like to have an air duct system that isnt highly noticable but still cools down your main heat creaters such as the CPU, GPU, HDD, RAM and possibly the northbridge/southbridge chips. ...and of course make it all UV reactive. ^_^

Hmmm, I just had a thought for something I might consider doing. Why not put four 120mm fans at 100cfm on the side of a case and then figure out some way of creating cold air around those fans so they are blowing in cold air on your entire computer?

Even better yet, take two computer cases and stick them together. Use one for your computer and some how create an air conditioner out of the second one. Now that to me would be cool. No pun intended ^_^

[Silenced_Coyote]

Just turn up the air conditioning in your house ;)

If you are cooling all those components, there is not point in a duct at all. Basically, your pc case is your "duct".

[MitaPi]

Well unfortunately I have a big house and both air conditioning units are up stairs. Where my room is downstairs. On top of that, in my room I have a very very small window with a propane tank just outside of it so I dont really get any wind from it and/or the cooling down of temps in my room.

In my opinion "spot" cooling would be much more effective than just air blowing around everwhere. I could also rig it up so that fresh cool air is being circulated constantly and more effectively. Also if you have ever seen a dell.... they are pretty ugly on the inside so having a UV reactive duct system would also be beneficial for me in that aspect as well. Keep in mind that I am a temp freak so every degree to me is just that.. another degree. Its the same basic idea when saving money. Even tho a dollar here and a dollar there doesnt do much. If you put it into a jar and wait a while. You will eventually have a nice jar full of money. ^_^

As for creating an "air conditioner" out of a second case and attatching it to a computer... I talked to my father who is a fairly bright person and he told me that it would be very hard to do if not impossible. My next thought? Well who said it has to work the same way as a commercial use A/C unit does? Maybe there is another way to create cold air in a closed enviroment that is about the same size of a standard mid tower case?? Start throwing in some idea's and maybe we can come to a conclusion! ^_^

And to add to this threads original topic...

Check out the TT Blue Orb II at xoxide or newegg! Its big but it sure does move alot of air at 70cfm!
Happy Modding!
MitaPi

[dgrmkrp]

jusr for inspiration: link (http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=106&products_id=3574&zenid=45fb27bc0efa6139aee33eac73289d08)
..i'm not saying this is a good case, as it's not.. but again, the idea is nice.. and it is possible to create a whole a/c loop in a case, but it should be a tad bigger.. like one of those oldish server cases.. they have so much room, you can build anything inside.. even a beer dispenser ;)

[MitaPi]

ah, and so you have found my inspiration for AC cooling a comptuer. ^_^

The only problem... not as effective as water cooling and 300 big ones. I am thinking something a tad bit cheaper. But it is a good idea on their part. It just needs a few improvements before I would ever consider getting one.

Does anyone know how to create cold air without spending alot of money? There HAS to be some way... But I am not as smart as some of you are so I am stumped. ^_^ I was thinking about looking at how AC units work.. but as people say they are complex I decided to hold of for now and see what comes up. I was also thinking about how portable refridgerators work... But my guess is that they are even more so complex than AC units. The worlds smallest air conditioner and the worlds smallest dehumidifier. Take those two and put it into a metal insulated box and attach that baby to your computer. ^_^

[CanaBalistic]

Here's this idea i've been mulling over:

Get yourself the smallest water cooler you can find.
Somthing like this (http://www.crystalcoolers.com/images/products/avalanche_h&c.jpg) The smaller the better but within reason.

Next, go get some sort of car rad (oil, trans, or heater are best)
Ask the dude behind the couter at canadian tire for the cheapest one he's got (its ok to have him search for it for an hour)
Get yourself a bilge pump (mid flow rate range perferably)
Now you'll need a fan. 110v. Example (http://cgi.ebay.ca/Small-table-top-oscilating-fan_W0QQitemZ150022872289QQihZ005QQcategoryZ115958 QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Mod it all into another case and connect to the side of your computer.

It would probly be best to leave the cooler on all the time so the water is cold when you start the computer. Although the bigger fan might be enough to cool things while the water is getting cold.

Once the watter is cold, it should blow cold air. This could also work for water cooling applications. A volume like switch could control the power of the cooling unit so you could adjust the temp.

[simon275]

Submerge the whole computer in oil and have the oil being pumped through a radiator. Is the best thing I reckon.

Or use one of those phase change coolers what ever they are.

Peltiers are good but expensive as well.

[Slug Toy]

Submerge the whole computer in oil

oh god, dont do that.

have you ever gotten oil on you? notice what it does? it keeps you warm! it insulates! not good for a computer... definitely not an efficient medium for heat transfer. you would need to suspend or emulsify something in the oil to boost conductivity... and overall its not worth the effort. water is better.

the phase change stuff and pelts work good. pelts are slightly less effective. cascade phase changers are awesome (you use multiple phase changers in series to cool each other and the CPU... ive seen some get below -100 celcius that way). i wonder if you could do cascade peltiers... stack a few up and see what happens.

[DaveW]

Slug Toy, the guys at Tom's Hardware submerged a computer completely in oil. I know the physics of the situation say it shouldn't cool it at all, but it did it anyway.

-Dave

[MitaPi]

Sumerge... a computer in oil?? Now that has to be the strangest thing I have ever heard of!

Hmmm... water cooler you say? Interesting...

The only thing that is worrying me about cooling with water like that is that I dont want to have condensation or anything in my computer. So I would also have to get like the worlds smallest dehumidifier. But I have been trying to figure something up with copper pipes and water flow and cooling the water and blowing the air around the pipes which at that point should be cold? But I dont know how effective that would be...

[Cevinzol]

Strip out the fans, add 8 gallons of oil (http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/01/09/strip_out_the_fans/index.html)

Reader's comments on above (http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/02/02/strip_out_the_fans/)

personaly I liked the one where they used Liquid nitrogen and overclocked a CPU to 5.25GHz. Couldn't find the link but they had a video of them doing it.

[.Maleficus.]

Here (http://www.tomshardware.com/2003/12/30/5_ghz_project/) is a link to it. I haven't read it yet, but man is that crazy.

[Silenced_Coyote]

Adding all that oil doesn't make the case look very appealing and I think in the article they mentioned that it smelled unpleasant.

[MitaPi]

Okay, I realise that you guys have some wierd affixation with cooking oil and PC's... But I want COOL AIR. Not cooking oil. lol Although that is pretty dang neat and would probably be fairly simple to do. But none the less...

There HAS to be some way of creating cold air that you can then transfer into your PC case. ....and at a lower coss than a weak h20 kit that would cool basically your entire rig. Think of things that "cool" stuff. Then think backwards from there and maybe we can get some sort of mid tower sized primitive cooling device?

You know... lol I am feeling really tempted to pour cooking oil into my computer now. So much easier.... ^_^

[Airbozo]

[QUOTE=

You know... lol I am feeling really tempted to pour cooling oil into my computer now. So much easier.... ^_^[/QUOTE]

Use mineral oil. The cooking oil will go rancid and the WHOLE place will stink!

[MitaPi]

Well they do suggest motor oil over vegie oil. If I ever get a computer that I can hold onto I will definetely try this!

[Cevinzol]

anytime you cool a computer below ambient (the current room temp) you have to contend with condensation. Thats why those guys doing phase change/pelt cooling have to build a "coffin" around the CPU and desicate the air inside. otherwise they get water condensing when the air drops below the dewpoint and that can short out the CPU.

[MitaPi]

Well crud... that puts a damper on things.

Maybe I'll just put four 120mm 100cfm fans in my case window? ^_^

[.Maleficus.]

I think I have some of these little rock like things in my basement that are supposed to act kind of like a dehumidifier (if I spelled that right). If those actually do get moisture out of the air, they could potentially make one sweet outdoors-looking mod. Cosmetically appealing, and useful.

[Silenced_Coyote]

Maybe if you can find a portable a/c you can stick in your PC somehow.

[Slug Toy]

anytime you cool a computer below ambient (the current room temp) you have to contend with condensation.

it can be as simple as lining everything with foam... or maybe spraying a sealer on any exposed electronics. i wouldnt say its too hard to do... if you know what you're doing of course.


I think I have some of these little rock like things in my basement that are supposed to act kind of like a dehumidifier

chemical dessicants. thats the same stuff that you get in those little paper packets when you buy new shoes. magnesium silicate (MgSi3O8 ) is a good dessicant. so are magnesium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide (Mg(OH)2 and NaOH respectively). sodium hydroxide is so good in fact that you cant hold it for very long or else it does some damage, and if you leave it out, you end up with a puddle of water with sodium hydroxide dissolved in it.

only bummer is that dessicants arent good for long periods of use. they become saturated quickly, and you have to bake them to dry them out again... and sometimes that doesnt even work.

[MitaPi]

This is some pretty good information! I think I might have an idea? What if I built a wall of copper tubing on the side of my case and have it hooked up to a water pump which would pump the water through the tubes and then I could take some fans and make a second layer out of that wall and have it blow in to my comptuer. So its like a sandwich.. Fans/Copper tubes/computer. Wouldnt sending water through the copper with a bunch of super strong cooling fans create cold air?

What I want to do... is get those PC air conditioners that mount into three 5.25 bays... and get like 4 of them and mount them onto the back of my case. I think it was like 6 degrees that they lowered? so thats what.. 24 degrees in my entire system? But I think someone mentioned that they cost alot.

[Slug Toy]

tell you what. you find some links and see if you can do some drawings of what you have in mind. im just getting this feeling that murphy's law is trying to kick in here.

[DaveW]

only bummer is that dessicants arent good for long periods of use. they become saturated quickly, and you have to bake them to dry them out again... and sometimes that doesnt even work.

Not forgetting that they can be highly toxic.

-Dave

[Cevinzol]

sodium hydroxide [is a good desicant]
This advise is comming from the guy who said lead dust was safe to inhale.

Your talking about lye, the main ingedient in Drano (http://www.drano.com/)
Yah, that's someting you want near your PCBs. Plus it reacts exothermicly so you'd be defeating the purpose of COOLING the CPU.

[GT40_GearHead]

about the oil, you would want to use a ruber-PVC friendly oil, any other mineral oil will disolve the ruber under the capacitators and will make the plastic on the mobo brittle

[Slug Toy]

This advise is comming from the guy who said lead dust was safe to inhale.

well i didnt say anything about lead not being dangerous. i said that when doing lead work, any particles kicked up probably wouldnt make it to your face because they are so dense and heavy (unless you like to sand with your face on the table). i said aluminum probably posed a greater risk.

yes sodium hydroxide isnt that good for you. who the heck is going to try it anyways? its a fair amount of effort try to extract it from lye, and its impossible to buy the pure stuff because you need to be a licensed chemist. although... i DO know a few people who can pull a few strings and get me a couple pounds of the stuff.

i also wouldnt worry about the exothermic reactions. its not best to keep it right next to any electronics anyways. keeping it in the case is the only thing you have to do, but beyond that the specific location doesnt matter. this also means you want to make your case pretty much airtight (and this also helps keep it below ambient temperature too).

so overall... sodium hydroxide probably isnt something to worry about. its effective, but not practical and not readily available.