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I have a computer outside its case. All the components are attached and working properly, the problem is that fans dont seem to do a good enough cooling when demanding programs such as high end games are run, so the fans go crazy sometimes and the room with the computer gets increasingly warm especially with the door closed. I cant afford a commercial liquid cooling system so I thought I'd try to build my own.

So my plan is to buy these things:

A small refrigerator. A plastic box big enough to hold the motherboard and the components attached to it. Enough oil to will the plastic box almost full.

So I'm going to submerge the computer in some form of oil. I'm not sure which kind yet. Since oil is better at absorbing heat than air is, while preventing freezing and water vapour on the electrical components it should be the perfect solution to keep the computer cool and running smoothly. Even if I overclock it as much as I can.

The only two components that need to sit outside the fridge is the cd-rom and the HDD. I'm not sure the cd-rom station is even necessary since the oil computer is going to be on the same network as my main computer so I can just transfer any files or share the cd station in my home network. But the hard drive being the only mechanically moving part might not fare too well in oil so I'll leave it dry on the outside of the fridge.

I'll bore a small hole somewhere in the fridge from where all the cords can come in/out.

Questions: What kind of oil should I use? I saw a video where they used mineral oil, but thats probably too expensive and they thought vegetible oil would go ranchid (which it doesnt even after years in room temperature.) Do you have any tips I should keep in mind to avoid destroying my computer as much as possible?

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    \$\begingroup\$ this question might work better on SuperUser \$\endgroup\$ Jul 30, 2012 at 17:30
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    \$\begingroup\$ You'll be pumping the PC's heat to the back of the fridge, with some additional heat from the fridge as well, so in toto it will even get hotter. And I'm not sure if a small refrigerator can transport the hundreds of watts the PC produces. \$\endgroup\$
    – stevenvh
    Jul 30, 2012 at 17:38
  • \$\begingroup\$ how about opening a window? \$\endgroup\$
    – jippie
    Jul 30, 2012 at 18:51
  • \$\begingroup\$ As others have said, just using oil or other heat spreading methods will NOT reduce the amount opf thermal energy present, which is what you need to do. You must remove heat from the box. You should be able to do this with air. If the room is getting too hot then you must remove heat from the room or bring cool air into the room. Best of all is to remove heat from inside the box to outside the room or bring cool air in from outside the room to inside the box. \$\endgroup\$
    – Russell McMahon
    Jul 31, 2012 at 0:56

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While what you do could successfully transfer heat from your PC, have you realised it will only be transferring it to your room. With the addition of a fridge, your room will actually end up hotter than it would be without this computer cooling - it may not even be quieter, as the compressor on a fridge can be quite noisy.

If you do decide to cool your PC, there are very cheap cooling systems which will be much cheaper than buying a fridge and building your oil setup, but all will leave you with more heat than you started with in your room, as no system is 100% efficient. Check out sites like overclockers.com, as they seem to have a good handle on cooling computers.

I would suggest instead, fitting air conditioning to your window if you really do want a cooler room. That way you are moving the heat outside.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Also don't forget that while it may take longer to heat up the oil you're using, it will also take longer to dissipate all of that heat. There is an upside and downside to increased thermal mass. \$\endgroup\$ Jul 30, 2012 at 18:10
  • \$\begingroup\$ Old webpage describing using alcohol as a coolant. totl.net/Eunuch/index.html \$\endgroup\$
    – spearson
    Jul 30, 2012 at 19:57

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