Mini Air Conditioner

[r0x0r]

ok so that idea is on a side. I am going to clean up the case inside and add 1 more fan. If that doesn't work then I will add in a bigger heatsink..!

Make sure you have good airflow!

Good luck.

 

[Granite3]

The Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro is a great cooler for a smaller case, and quiet as well.

Should be available in the land of Ayers rock!

Aside about the portable unit Rich discussed, I tried several, all too loud to use in the room with you.

 

[wrack]

ok so that idea is on a side. I am going to clean up the case inside and add 1 more fan. If that doesn't work then I will add in a bigger heatsink..!

Make sure you have good airflow!

Good luck.
Thanks, I am counting on it 8O

 

[arima]

i have another idea.
drill a hole into the freezer compartment,
add radiator and heatpipe
extend heatpipe into cpu
add another radiator
add a fan.

there u go, an air-con unit leeched from the freezer. it might be more effective and cost saving in the long run. :lol:

 

[TheMaster]

Hmm try a moving sale, i got a 5000 Btu air conditioner for 70 bucks!
It packs a lot of punch too for a small room.
I imagine you could install it in your window and duct the output into your computer.
That would be pretty ghetto though.:lol:


5000 btus should keep your room and your computer cold.


If i remeber right vapo chill coolers get beat by a schythe, that's prolly why wusy hates em.

 

[KOne]

set it up next to a windowknocker and duct the air into it.

 

[wrack]

OK I have cleaned up my case cabling and it seems to have make a tiny difference with the air flow but still hot. Mind you the ambient temp was 38 yesterday (summer here in Aussie land are hot).

The trouble is I have never seen an air con less than 9000 BTU here and I will have to spend minimum $250 for that even in moving sale or else $400 which is a little expensive, thatz why I wanted to get a 1500-2000 btu unit and put it in a small chamber.

 

[wrack]

Not going to work as the ambient temp is 32-42 anyways during summer.

 

[KOne]

do you want to cool just the cpu

 

[wrack]

Yups. This are not gaming machines so integrated graphics.

Do have 120 GB and 250 GB HDDs though.

 

[orsino]

About five months ago, I set up a very similar system. It worked amazingly well.

Here was the setup:

The room where I kept my PC had a couple of windows that opened up to an enclosed entryway (which I never used anyway as the kitchen door is more convenient), that also had a couple of windows, these ones to the outside. It was the perfect configuration. I purchased a 5000 BTU Window AC from Walmart for $99 and plunked it into one of the outside windows. Then I put the PC Tower in the entryway and ran a dryer vent hose from the AC vent right into the case. Then I ran all the keyboard, mouse, monitor, etc. cables from the Tower through the window between my computer room and the entryway and closed the window to keep the noise out.

My Prescooker runs impossibly hot under ALL circumstances, even now with the 305mm Katrina Fan. That AC setup was ASTOUNDING. I usually idle around 50C. The AC had it idling at 28C! I have seen load temps well over 90C, but with the AC it never cracked 50C! 100% CPU load temp that is below what my normal idle is.

Condensation? Nonexistent. The AC kept the entire entryway very cool so there was no condensation in the tower at all, since it was about the same temp as the "outside" air.

It was hands-down the best cooling system I've ever found for my PC, and I've experimented with over 20 designs and concepts!

Cons: If you don't have a separate little room to put the AC in the noise will drive you out of your friggin' mind. Plus it only works when the temp outside is over 20C. At night or on colder days, I would just set up the AC on FAN but the temps soared back to my regular levels.

But I sure do miss idling in the 20s!!!!

 

[tcdude]

hey there


i actually built a similar thing myself. instead of an a/c i put two huge fans in it (used 1200mm fans), one at the bottom and on on the top of the cage.

instead of using the original cases i cut them up so all the hardware was still kept in place but the airflow pattern was no more closed for each case rather than let the air flow from bottom to top.

i figured that i'd want to have the mainboards on the lowest level where the air sucked in from the bottom hit first, then came all the hdd's and on the top i left the psu's (with rather long cables). so now the fresh air from the bottom passes every part and exhausts on the top of the cage.

that allowed me to have nice temps of all the parts.

i'd post some pics of it but after moving the last time i had to take it apart because it wouldn't fit in the elevator...


good luck with your project.

 

[orsino]

used 1200mm fans.

Holy kwap! Those are four feet wide! Why not just use a Pratt & Whitney JSF 119? 😀

 

[tcdude]

used 1200mm fans.

Holy kwap! Those are four feet wide! Why not just use a Pratt & Whitney JSF 119? 😀

well... for one thing i don't know where to buy a Pratt & Whitney where i live and for another, i had those old fans already handy i just had to modify em...

regarding the size... now you know why it wouldn't fit in the elevator... i went a bit overboard there...

 

[phreejak]

Why don't you just slap a TEC water block on the CPU and be done with it?

Peltier cooling is more practical than phase change and the ambient temps won't be a factor if you have a decent water cooling system hooked up to it

 

[wrack]

hey there


i actually built a similar thing myself. instead of an a/c i put two huge fans in it (used 1200mm fans), one at the bottom and on on the top of the cage.

instead of using the original cases i cut them up so all the hardware was still kept in place but the airflow pattern was no more closed for each case rather than let the air flow from bottom to top.

i figured that i'd want to have the mainboards on the lowest level where the air sucked in from the bottom hit first, then came all the hdd's and on the top i left the psu's (with rather long cables). so now the fresh air from the bottom passes every part and exhausts on the top of the cage.

that allowed me to have nice temps of all the parts.

i'd post some pics of it but after moving the last time i had to take it apart because it wouldn't fit in the elevator...


good luck with your project.

what about the sound from those monster fans..! The whole point of all this is to reduce temp along with noise.

 

[wrack]

Why don't you just slap a TEC water block on the CPU and be done with it?

Peltier cooling is more practical than phase change and the ambient temps won't be a factor if you have a decent water cooling system hooked up to it

I though about it a very much but then figured if I want to keep the cost down in a long run where if I replace a machine with a new socket system then I don't have to get a new water block or if it's a whole kit then get a whole new kit for the new machine.

I also wanted to make sure that my new purchases wont be based on the exisitng water blocks I have if I decide to go with water cooling.

Cheers

 

[tcdude]

hey there


i actually built a similar thing myself. instead of an a/c i put two huge fans in it (used 1200mm fans), one at the bottom and on on the top of the cage.

instead of using the original cases i cut them up so all the hardware was still kept in place but the airflow pattern was no more closed for each case rather than let the air flow from bottom to top.

i figured that i'd want to have the mainboards on the lowest level where the air sucked in from the bottom hit first, then came all the hdd's and on the top i left the psu's (with rather long cables). so now the fresh air from the bottom passes every part and exhausts on the top of the cage.

that allowed me to have nice temps of all the parts.

i'd post some pics of it but after moving the last time i had to take it apart because it wouldn't fit in the elevator...


good luck with your project.

what about the sound from those monster fans..! The whole point of all this is to reduce temp along with noise.


it's actually really quite, you don't need that much rpm with a fan that big. i had people sleeping in the room where the cage was and noone ever complained...

 

[orsino]

well... for one thing i don't know where to buy a Pratt & Whitney where i live

A Pratt & Whitney JSF 119 is available at your local defense contractor. It might only set you back about $10 million. If you have access to a US Air Force Test Base you might be able to rip one out of an X32A when they're not looking!

But dude, it blows harder than a dirty old ho!

😀

 

[snedger]

some good, some mad ideas here!
Believe or not, it was similarly too hot in England in July. Ambient temperatures in the 30s.
My cheap solution was to take a side panel off of the case and point a 14" desk fan at the mobo from about 10" away.
Effective, if noisily inelegant.
Helped that main user was headphoned up playing CS:S.
Controlling the whole room temperature where the computer is sited has got to be a good way to go.
I've seen a cheapish portable aircon unit, that somehow doubles up as a heater for the winter. Might see if it's discounted now that UK summer is over.
BTW I can't have the heating on in the computer room in the winter- have to put a coat on on sometimes to go inside to play.

 

[orsino]

some good, some mad ideas here!
Believe or not, it was similarly too hot in England in July. Ambient temperatures in the 30s.
My cheap solution was to take a side panel off of the case and point a 14" desk fan at the mobo from about 10" away.
Effective, if noisily inelegant.
Helped that main user was headphoned up playing CS:S.
Controlling the whole room temperature where the computer is sited has got to be a good way to go.
I've seen a cheapish portable aircon unit, that somehow doubles up as a heater for the winter. Might see if it's discounted now that UK summer is over.
BTW I can't have the heating on in the computer room in the winter- have to put a coat on on sometimes to go inside to play.

I was there a couple of years ago when you had your big heat wave. I've been in Death Valley in July and have been more comfortable than I was in London. 100% humidity! Sheesh!

My "killer air" setup is pretty well what you've used. Except I butted my tower to the side of an enclosed bookcase (with a slot in the back for incoming air) and placed a 12" fan inside, blowing towards the tower which naturally has the sidecover off. I spent almost an hour in the store listening to every fan and picked one that is literally whisperquiet. And it set me back all of ten bucks. Then I did a fanectomy and coverectomy on the PSU and placed it right in front of the fan, cranked the Zalman fan to where I couldn't hear it, and now all I have in my room is a low, barely audible rumbling sound that reminds me of the Enterprise at Warp. I can clearly hear the HDs spinning up, that's how quiet the system is.

Beware of the cheap portable aircons. Some of them aren't aircons at all. They're swamp coolers! Evaporative pieces of crap that flow water over a filter in front of a fan. It's the second best way to get water onto your mobo. The best way is to use the dog's chewtoy garden hose in your watercooled system! :lol:

 

[phreejak]

I do realize that an initial investment into water cooling/TEC is rather expensive - espoecially if it would be your first foray into alternative cooling methods other than air. I suppose that I've been rather fortunate in this respect because I got into TEC cooling when the LGA 775 socket first came out two years ago and I know it'll be good for, at least, another year. That being said, I've been able to use the same TEC water block two years running.

Perhaps, it might be something for yoiu to look into once a new socket comes out for Intel. TEC cooling is so much more practical than phase change - it integrates into a water cooling loop rather effortlessly (with minimal extra hardware) unlike phase change where you have a small mobile home either under your rig or next to it - in addition to a water cooling loop.

I've just enjoyed 0 degrees celsius at idle or under load and, because of that, thought it might be an alternative for you to consider.

 

[three0duster]

Upgrade to more efficient processors. That would reduce operating costs , noise, and cooling costs for the room! Think of it as an investment towards your power bill, I'm sure it would add up in a bout a year

 

[KOne]

Why don't you just slap a TEC water block on the CPU and be done with it?

what kind of temp are you gettin out of the TEC? do you get -c's

 

[phreejak]

Well, mind you, I can't tell the temps below 0 degrees celsius as I don't have a sensor on the water block but....

At idle or load (without overclocking) it remains 0
When I've overclocked to, say, 4+ (this is on a 955 presler 3.46), at idle it was 0 and on load it never got above, say, 3 to 4 degrees.

I have a GPU TEC waterblock that I use on my XFX 7900 GTX Xtreme (It's on another rig) and it got some excellent results. -17 to -19 at idle and -14 on load.