For the extreme overclockers

[4Dude]

Build your next screamer in an aquarium :D

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=32959



What would happen if you stuck your hand in the water,etc when the computer was on?? (I reckon you would get a shock)

Frankly i dont know how stuff runs IN LIQUID!!

[dat720]

Errr no you wouldn't get a shock.

If you we're to get a shock that would mean the liquid conducts electricity, which means any electrical device you placed in it would arc out and shit itself, would kind of defeat the purpose....

You don't need to buy special liquid either, a workmate has a xbox in a aquarium filled with mineral oil.

[Guest]

How do the fans spin in a liquid? How do the disk drives rotate? What happens to immersed hard drives? I think it is a silly joke.

[Astrophizz]

You don't immerse the hard drives in a mineral oil setup, you usually have them sitting up above the aquarium. I would think you would turn the fans off, the mineral oil carries the heat away pretty quickly (the whole point of the setup) so you don't need fans. It's not a joke http://www.pugetsystems.com/submerged.php.

[Guest]

You think immersed electrolytic caps, coils, and other components will not be affected by immersion? What about effects on the cables, connectors, etc. etc.? Read the linked forum, especially the last posts, and you'll see that they are having issues now and recommend sealing caps in silicone, etc.

[Astrophizz]

It's not like mineral oil conducts electricity so I don't see why there would be a problem with any of those components. On that page I linked to they show the state of the computer after six months and a year and according to them it runs without any problem. I think it's a common misconception that fluids in general conduct electricity really well and would cause shorts. So long as a component isn't moving I don't believe the oil would have any effect. I'd worry about the fan motors giving out but that doesn't seem to happen in these systems.

[Guest]

Read the forum posts I mentioned above. The liquid is going to act as a solvent and/or corrosive agent.

[Astrophizz]

Hmm, I see that now. It didn't seem to affect their rig much but they did see the corrosion start on the rubber on the cables. This seems to vary with different components and different plastics so I suppose this guy got lucky.

[MfA]

You still need to cool down the processor/GPU and cooling all that liquid instead of cooling locally doesn't make a whole lotta sense. It's only really useful as an alternative way of preventing condensation, but it's no more practical than good insulation or even an airtight case.

PS. the fluor based liquids tend to not be very chemically active, they might still dilute the liquids in the caps but they are unlikely to corrode anything.

[dat720]

It's more about noise, 1 small centrigugal style water pump is quiter than fans.....

It's also a more efficient means of cooling, it's just like water cooling without the danger of water spilling inside your pc.

[Shinigami-Sama]

its easy enough to caulk the caps and such
10-15min then giver
I often though using isoprophynal then I realized its a solvent...

[Inventive Software]

Vegetable oil. 'nuff said. ;)

[CWR03]

Vegetable oil. 'nuff said.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/strip-fans,1203-11.html

[MfA]

It's also a more efficient means of cooling, it's just like water cooling without the danger of water spilling inside your pc.
Just use the stuff in your water loop then ... although the specific heat is pretty awful, better off using high purity propylene glycol.

Sub zero cooling is just not very practical with a fully submersed system, you would need a very good isolation (especially tough with a transparant case) and it would take ages to get your temperatures down again after it had been off for a while. A chilled waterloop running on propylene glycol could get the temperatures down much faster.

[dat720]

Anyone ever think of the wow factor of having a PC submerged in water?????

It's a cool way to impress your mates!

[4Dude]

Heh i dunno if i would wanna try it regardless of others doing it!

Water and electronics are a no-no..

[Sharktooth]

not water... mineral or silicone based oils... which are as transparent as water. if you wanna make it cool, just drop a couple of coloured lights in the liquid and the effect is granted... ;)
btw, mineral oil is used in electronics to keep cool certain componets such as high voltage or power transformers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformer#Coolant)...

[Dr.Khron]

LOL, just don't lick your components!

The Wallstreet Journal ran an article on Overclocking some 8 years ago... They interviewed a guy who tried to get a higher OC with a mineral-oil bath.

Not only did it not cool very well, but because he left it open, his cats started lapping up some of the oil... and he ended up with runny cat diarrhea all over his house.

[delacroixp]

Heh i dunno if i would wanna try it regardless of others doing it ! Water and electronics are a no-no..
not water... mineral or silicone based oils... which are as transparent as water. if you wanna make it cool, just drop a couple of coloured lights in the liquid ... ;)
A couple of plastic fish could go a long way in finishing off the refined good looks !

Sub zero cooling is just not very practical with a fully submersed system, you would need a very good isolation (especially tough with a transparant case) and it would take ages to get your temperatures down again after it had been off for a while. A chilled waterloop running on propylene glycol could get the temperatures down much faster.
I've been following the Goliath (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=160872) (Triple Cooling System) which aims to cool the entire PC (minus HDD's) downto -40° (5 star rating).
Clearly that's not the aim of the Fishtank PC (http://www.pugetsystems.com/submerged.php) by Puget (ver 1 or 2) but it does highlight the 3 dimensional development of computers beyond a mere calculatring machine.

You can have a speed-demon, work-horse and work-of-art all in one (noise levels, power consumption and size variables ... just increase the conflict).


It's all good !
:):devil::D
Pascal