Liquid Cooling: Can the tower be left outdoors in freezing weather and moved frequently without causing damage?

[travelerquestions]

I travel all over the country and take a desktop with me. I am interested in buying seventh gen i7 that has liquid cooling but I am concerned about buying it because I would not only have to move the tower almost everyday, but sometimes it would be left in my trunk in below freezing weather.

Does anyone have any advice or experience they can offer about whether these factors can damage a liquid cooled PC?*

*I use the tower for editing films and laptops do not match the render times of a desktop and a regular PC endures the cold just fine

 

[genthug]

Why not simply circumvent this by buying a beefier air cooler?

I can't attest to what has been proven to happen, however from knowing the properties of water: water expands when it freezes. If you're frequently freezing, then thawing, then freezing, then thawing, then... then... then I could easily see damage occurring to your tubing (depending on what type of tubing it is), damage to the pump, and if it's an AIO-potential to damage the entire thing as there needs to be pretty much an exact amount of water in it to avoid air bubbles that would otherwise ruin CPU temperatures and grind your pump.

 

[travelerquestions]

Why not simply circumvent this by buying a beefier air cooler?

I can't attest to what has been proven to happen, however from knowing the properties of water: water expands when it freezes. If you're frequently freezing, then thawing, then freezing, then thawing, then... then... then I could easily see damage occurring to your tubing (depending on what type of tubing it is), damage to the pump, and if it's an AIO-potential to damage the entire thing as there needs to be pretty much an exact amount of water in it to avoid air bubbles that would otherwise ruin CPU temperatures and grind your pump.

One of my problems is that I am on the road 365 days a year. That prevents me from being able to really do anything but buy from big box stores, so I don't really get a lot of choices but what is either on the shelf or in online inventory. Doing mods on the road is difficult as well- it's possible but a pain in the rear. I really want to see what a 4.2 Ghz seventh gen i7 with 32 Gb RAM and a power house graphics card can do for Premiere with Gen Arts Sapphire, for editing feature length films, especially the render times. (I remember once it took me two days to render a 73 minute film on a laptop.) The choices I am being given are basically liquid cooled for 90% of what is available.

I read something about being able to use anti freeze as the coolant, also. I think I'm just going to have to not get what I want on this one. Normally I wouldn't leave my PC in the vehicle but flat tires and other road issues happen, or sometime I am so tired I just don't want to move all of my gear. :/

 

[The_Staplergun]

On that note, be weary as large air coolers are extremely heavy and awkward (in comparison to AIO coolers, where the weight is mounted on the case as the radiator) and can cause damage to the motherboard if you are bumping the case around too much.

With a little research you COULD make a custom built microatx computer with all the latest and greatest that comes in a box with a carrying handle in it.

Yes, it can be possible with the proper water cooler to use a ratio of coolant much like a car, or other liquids that do not freeze so easily.

 

[genthug]

There's the other option that if you're not looking to overclock heavily (if at all), you can get a smaller cooler. If all you're looking for is something that will keep the CPU cool, you won't need something that's 2.5-3lbs like the larger (air) coolers are.

As for antifreeze--possible, but be careful with what the rest of the pieces in the loop are. Biggest concern though is whether or not the stuff on the shelf is using a true custom loop or if it's using an AIO cooler. If it's using an AIO cooler, you do not want to crack it open to try to put antifreeze or any other fluid in.

If I were you, I would try to follow the route that stapler suggested, but have all of the parts mailed to a pre-determined place you know you will be at on said date. From there you can build the machine and take it with you.

Example:
PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/9BmdtJ
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/9BmdtJ/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($338.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG M9i 48.4 CFM CPU Cooler ($19.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z270 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($159.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill TridentZ Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($93.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.33 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Mini ITX OC Video Card ($369.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 380T Mini ITX Tower Case ($139.99 @ Corsair)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1422.04
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-02-26 20:22 EST-0500

I don't know where your budget is, but this would do everything you are saying, and it would be held in a 380T (the yellow case pictured above) for ~$1500.

 

[The_Staplergun]

Thanks gent. I have no idea how to make a matx case, and I'm sure that will help greatly for someone on the move.