Has anyone tried/Heard?

[xerocool83]

Has anyone tried or heard about building a computer inside of one of those small college fridges? I was thinking that I could use the fridge as an uber cooling device by either getting a tube from the fridge to the side of my Computer where the larger fan could suck cold air into my system or by acttually putting the computer inside and drilling holes out for power plugs and device equipment. Also if i just put my computer inside the fridge would I need to wrap it in some protective sheath? Maybe a large plastic bag or something like that? Anyone have any ideas?

XeroCool

 

[mpjesse]

That's kind of a cool idea.. however you're going to have major condensation if you do this. As you should know, water and electronics don't mix well. I'm not saying it's impossible, but it would be very difficult and potentially fatal to your system.

FYI, I googled some stuff and couldn't find anything. The closest thing I found were vapochill systems- but those are much different than what you're thinking off.

-mpjesse

 

[slvr_phoenix]

I knew someone who wanted to put their computer into a deep freezer, but condensation was the concern of the day.

And you know what? It still is.

Maybe if you put it into a frostless freezer, sealed it air-tight, and never opened it up...

Otherwise, meh, you'd probably be better off just running a watercooled rig. It'd be quieter too. Air is such a crappy conductor.

 

[xerocool83]

What about those basement water condensors things? I only seen them when my mother makes me put them into our basement, its like a bucket of a sand'ish type thing that is supposed to stop mold....if you load 2 of those in the fridge and maybe seal off the computer we might have a winner. Also you would definatelly not be able to use a fridge that has the freezer or it will cause tons of condensation.

Anyone wanna donate some money to me so that I can try it?

Will HeadShot for Money?!?!?
XeroCool

 

[mpjesse]

Anyone wanna donate some money to me so that I can try it?

What kind of equity do you have? Muahahaha.

Yeah, I know what you're talking about with those buckets. That might help, but you've still several components that get very hot. Condensation is a certainty in areas around the CPU, GPU, and northbridge. You could also look for some small dehumidifier product to stick in there.

Go for it man.

-mpjesse

 

[SidVicious]

Bad idea for the fridge, those are'nt made to deal with a constant thermal load and will most likely fail to provide enough cooling or simply break down, unlike a dedicated phase change cooling unit that use direct physical contact with the CPU instead of air as a thermal medium.

Condensation can be dealt with by using a conformal coating spray on the motherboard and dielectric grease on the CPU socket, then, you also need to seal the evaporator over the CPU in conjunction with heating elements.

So no, it's not as simple as dumping your PC in a fridge, beside, you might as well just take your PC outside if you live on the northern hemisphere, was -20 Celcius here in Québec yesterday.

As slvr_phoenix pointed out, start with custom made watercooling, it may not be as glamorous as phase change or themoelectric (Peltier) cooling but you'll learn a lot by going a step at a time down the exotic cooling road.

 

[xerocool83]

Damn, well see the probelm is I am poor so therefore I got to go with the ghetto'est shit possible. I was wondering is watercooling ok to be moved around a bit? I mean, I am joining the Military and Ill be shipped all over the place and I was wondering if I got water cooling would that potentually fuc me over/
XeroCool

 

[scoyle]

My dream involving a beer fridge is a little more realistic.

If you user water cooling components, you could keep your radiator in the fridge and just run the tubes out to your PC by cutting holes in the door gasket. It would lower your "ambient temperature" to whatever the temperature inside the fridge is.

Get a beer fridge with a freezer and talk about Quebec on a cold day ;p

 

[xerocool83]

Alright, So if i build a computer on top of a fridge and then just put the water reservior inside the fridge it would keep the water chilly....but and bare with me since i Have never seen a water cooled PC but wouldnt the pipes and cords build up condensation because the temp of the water and the inside of the PC are so different?

 

[mpjesse]

Yes they probably would. It all depends on how cold the water will get. At any rate, you can insulate the water tubes so they don't condensate.

All in all, it's a good idea. But keep in mind that the pump is electronic and would still be susceptible to the same problems.

Most water cooling solutions have the pump built into the radiator. But not all.

-mpjesse

 

[lakedude]

Maybe if you put it into a frostless freezer, sealed it air-tight, and never opened it up...

.

I'm pretty sure that a frostless freezer is not really frostless. They work on a defrost timer that actually heats up the coils to melt frost. The point is that there would still be some frost until the timer kicked in.

 

[endyen]

but wouldnt the pipes and cords build up condensation because the temp of the water and the inside of the PC are so different?

Plastic piping is pretty good at not promoting condensation. Cords aren't a problem.

 

[smittyhotep]

I once put my laptop in the freezer while i was burning a DVD, does that count? lol

 

[Nebby]

You could always submerge your computer in hydro-fluoro-ether and have it set up through a radiator and keep everything extra cool

 

[xerocool83]

I imagine Hydro-flouride-ether being rather expensive....

 

[Cunninglinguist]

I've considered it; I’ve had an empty fridge like that lying around for a while.
It might work, but not for long. If you constantly add heat to the fridge; it will fail. It would be like running it 24/7 with the door open. It would only be a matter of time.
The condensation is mostly just an issue when you open the door. Think about it: cold metal + warm air = moisture.

 

[mpjesse]

Er... humidity has more to do w/ condensation than temperature.

So air with high humidity (hot or cold) + warm electrical components = condensation.

Like I said if you can figure out a way to dehumidify the air you'd probably be ok. For sure the fridge would probably last half as long as it was designed for.

-mpjesse

 

[cdpage]

If your looking for the 'ghetto'est shit possible', do the oil solution toms did a while back.

Its cheap cold! and QUITE!

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/01/09/strip_out_the_fans/

 

[Cunninglinguist]

I hate to argue (okay I don't), but perhaps you should read up on condensation or as it pertains to water vapor hrere's a

Water vapor will only condense onto another surface when that surface is cooler than the temperature of the water vapor...

Or, perhaps, the laws of physics are different "Near a nuclear weapons lab".