Air Conditioned Case

[timothy2180]

A friend told me about air conditioned computer cases, when I was talking to him about water cooling. This seems like a pretty sweet idea in theory. I am wondering if anyone knows much about them.

Are they feasible?
How is condensation managed?
How much extra work do air conditioned cases require?
Do you need a more powerful PSU to support the AC unit?

I'd like someone to explain how they work, and if they are not a flop, where I should go to potentially buy one. A steep price tag is inconvenient but not a deal breaker by any means.

Thank you.

 

[Outlander_04]

Server farms using lots of power are air conditioned to cool them

There was even a case on the market a couple of years ago that included an air conditioner at the top and blew cold de humidified air down over the components .

And if you were really crazy theres nothing stopping you sticking your tower inside a refrigerator and seeing if it makes any difference . Bit of tape sealing the door maybe ?

But the real reason its a bad idea is that for 99% of people its just a waste of electricity

 

[blackhawk1928]

Yes it is feasible, very expensive, unpractical, but feasible.
And you'd need lots of power to keep an AC going. AC accounts for 90% of a homes electric bill so you'd need a serious power supply for it.

 

[Rusting In Peace]

Err don't put your PC in a standard fridge! There is far too much moisture in there normally never mind after you cut holes in it for cables!

I like the oil submerged systems better! They look really cool! 😉

 

[timothy2180]

Best answer selected by timothy2180.

 

[timothy2180]

Err don't put your PC in a standard fridge! There is far too much moisture in there normally never mind after you cut holes in it for cables!

I like the oil submerged systems better! They look really cool! 😉

That is a sweet idea. I want to try that when I have the money to blow. And I agree about the fridge idea. Thanks.

 

[blackhawk1928]

^If you live in a cold region or perhaps during winter, take a tube from a closeby window and attack it to one of your intake fans, I saw a video of somebody do that. Cooled his computer to below his room temperature.

 

[timothy2180]

^If you live in a cold region or perhaps during winter, take a tube from a closeby window and attack it to one of your intake fans, I saw a video of somebody do that. Cooled his computer to below his room temperature.

That sounds like a cool idea, too.

 

[Shawn Sanders]

A friend told me about air conditioned computer cases, when I was talking to him about water cooling. This seems like a pretty sweet idea in theory. I am wondering if anyone knows much about them.

Are they feasible?
How is condensation managed?
How much extra work do air conditioned cases require?
Do you need a more powerful PSU to support the AC unit?

I'd like someone to explain how they work, and if they are not a flop, where I should go to potentially buy one. A steep price tag is inconvenient but not a deal breaker by any means.

Thank you.

 

[Shawn Sanders]

I have taken a small fridge/freezer put a 3 gallon holding tank in fridge part with 1 20"x20"wide x4" deep radiator than have 2 same size rad.s in freezer part hooked my water cooler to them and a small sub-pump 130gph with RV antifreeze in the system. Than I took a small window AC unit cut a hole in wall hooked it up to the side of tower with a aluminum dryer hose, It keeps my whole system incuding the gtx 970 OC under 20c at all times with my amd 8320 over clocked to 5 ghz. The 8320 is only thing on water to freezer. just make sure you put the air from AC unit going through the side panel not top with at least 5 feet of vent hose, this will keep condensation from getting to compter.

 

[Nick_26]

A friend told me about air conditioned computer cases, when I was talking to him about water cooling. This seems like a pretty sweet idea in theory. I am wondering if anyone knows much about them.

Are they feasible?
How is condensation managed?
How much extra work do air conditioned cases require?
Do you need a more powerful PSU to support the AC unit?

I'd like someone to explain how they work, and if they are not a flop, where I should go to potentially buy one. A steep price tag is inconvenient but not a deal breaker by any means.

Thank you.

The answer is yes it is feasible.

After the initial install i dont see it being any extra work.

Unfortunately I can not direct you anywhere to buy one, if i could i would have one. As most are custom built below you will find a little information on the basics of how one would possible work.

Note : I worked in the Air Conditioning and Heating field for 2 years

The cost of operation is up in the air as i have never tested one. However it would be no where near what it is to operate a home central air system as the compressor power usage would be considerable less. But i have no doubt that you would need exterior power as your power supply would not have the required amperage to run the compressor.

The building cost would be spendy on a first buy but if maintained well enough should last a very long time.
The idea behind an A/C Case is to make your case into a small chiller, the entire case would have to be sealed. The evaporative coil on the inside providing the cool air to a sealed case and an exterior condenser coil mounted on the exterior.

Condensation
The evaporative cooler acts as a dehumidifier and would need a small drain line with a trap built in. with that once you have it started up depending on where you live and the humidity level you might get a lot of moisture at first. But with a sealed case there is no way for moisture to re-enter the case unless you expose the interior to room air quality. i.e. open the case up.

Heat
Depending on the type of system installed and the pressures you are running at the condenser will be putting out some good heat. You could plan on it being 20-40 degrees higher than room temperature. Which in retrospect my two gtx 660ti which are sli'd put out 60 Celsius a piece or 140 degrees into the room. So all in all its a fair amount cooler. Based on most homes being 70-75 degrees + cond. coil air would be between 90-115 degrees.