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View Full Version : Liquid Cooling to New Extremes


purdy
10-18-2006, 09:47 PM
Hey everyone. I was reading Gizmodo and I saw these two stories and I almost soiled myself! I didn't think it was possible but alas, putting your motherboard under water really works! Here's the links:

Here's the first link of an oil-cooled submerged PC
http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/pcs/oilcooled-pc-117633.php

This one is a little more complex (it doubles as a deep fryer)
http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/pcs/deep-frying-pc-makes-french-fries-does-not-slice-or-dice-208318.php
Silenced_Coyote
10-18-2006, 09:51 PM
I think this was mentioned somewhere else in the forums but it was an article from Toms Hardware. Toms Hardware didn't make it into a deep fryer though.
public_eyesore
10-18-2006, 11:05 PM
yea, this is all kinda old news, but still fun none the less
nil8
10-18-2006, 11:23 PM
This is rather common among exploring modders. After watercooling comes submersion cooling typically.

It's not in water, it's oil. More often than not, synthetic oil.
Tom's hardware did vegtable oil, which will work, but will also start stinking and eventually will break down and become more acidic.

One of the tests I've done personally was with mineral oil and I had a continous uptime for 2 weeks before I scrapped the project in favor of something more permanent.

I'll see I can find my links to oil-based cooling and post them here.
podpet24
10-19-2006, 10:50 AM
I guess that's one way of making a fanless system...
nil8
10-19-2006, 06:17 PM
Most stable long-running systems use fans or aerotors to move the oil around.

It's not complete submersion either. Normally your plugins(keyboard,mouse, video) aren't in oil and neither is your hard drive, optical drive, or power supply.

You also have to deal with messy repairs or upgrades, dust protection, space and the ability to keep it in a stable enviroment. Having a couple of gallons of any oil spill will ruin a carpet.

You can't just pour the oil down the drain either. It has to be disposed of properly.

All in all, it's not a good method for having a regular pc. It's good for testing or experience. It can be a lot of fun to do if you're willing to get past the challenges and will run stable for a long time before you have any real trouble.