Want a Cool and Quiet PC? Dunk it in Oil

The Last Gunslinger writes "Tom's Hardware Guide has published an article (complete with video) showing how they employed their own approach to the liquid cooled computer. To offset the loss of normal airflow around their Athlon FX-55 and GeForce 6800Ultra, the mad scientists in the lab decided to fill the case up with 8 gallons of cooking oil. The oil temperature leveled off at a comfy 104F during benchmarking operations intended to tax both the CPU and GPU to their limits. Interestingly enough, they first attempted this operation using deionized water. It worked for 5 minutes before developing short circuits...but the hardware was amazingly undamaged." Slashdot has covered similar projects in the past but it was neat to see the differences in oil and the look at capacitance around the CPU pins.

Comments

Put an Intel in there

[homerules]

...and make french fries.

Re:Put an Intel in there

[DigiShaman]

Would you like chips with that order?......

Sounds interesting.

[Anonymous Coward]

I won't believe it until I see it in a respected, peer refereed scientific journal. Downplaying this extraordinary "dunked in oil" claim by saying that it didn't work won't deter me.

Rancid Oil?

[DaRat]

Of course, once the oil turns rancid, things could get interesting as well as smelly...

Re:Rancid Oil?

[AKAImBatman]

Always remember the five enemies of oil: SWACH

Salt
Water
Air
Carbon
Heat

These five things will slowly reduce the quality of your oil, forcing pre-mature replacement, and adversly affecting the taste^W [operation] of the product^W [computer].

Salt is introduced into the oil when [you eat] the french fries are salted too close to the vat^W computer. This has immediately damaging affects on the oil. Always ensure that you salt the fries [you are going to eat] in the bin^W^W^W [on your desk] rather than over the vat^W [computer].

Water is naturally introduced into the oil from the air around us, and the moisture contained inside the french fries.^W^W^W^W^W^W^W^W Try to shake off excess ice before cooking the fries.

Since air is all around us, there is not too much that can be done to stop this enemy of oil. However, keeping the lid on the vat^W [computer] when not in use has been shown to reduce oxygenation of the oil.

Carbon is introduced into the vat^W [computer] as the french fries are cooked. Use the handheld strainer to remove excess carbon from the vat^W [computer].

Heat is a constant threat to the oil. Since the french fries are often cooked at 400 degrees or higher^W^W^W^W^W^W^W^W^W^W^W^W [Since the computer regularly operates at temperatures rivaling a nuclear power plant], it is important to constantly monitor the clarity and viscousness of the oil. Use of a portable strainer can remove destroyed oil, and allow you to rescue the oil that is still in good condition.

Follow these simple tips, and your french fries^W^W [computer] will remain tasty batch after batch!

* tongue planted firmly in cheek

Re:Rancid Oil?

[sootman]

I believe what you'd want to use on a computer is the '77' variety.

Yeah, just make sure you don't get Super 77 from them instead. That would be a big "oops."

What's that, boss?

[mmell]

The quarterly financials? Sure. Oh, and the software projections? You've got it.

Would you like fries with that?

Dunkin Doughnuts...

[__aaclcg7560]

This is one of those moments that I wish I could work at a Dunkin Doughnuts. I could deep-fry doughnuts from the heat of a dual-core AMD CPU and quad-core Nvidia video card and play Quake 4 at the same time.

Oil Change Intervals?

[twiddlingbits]

Do you have to change the oil and filter every 3000 programs? On the bright side, you can use to old oil to make bio-diesel!

Fire

[c_fel]

I wonder what would happen in the case of a spark in the case. Let's say :
1. Oil burns
2. The computer is filled with oil
3. Oups.

Re:Fire

[Duhavid]

Dont install the spark plug!

If the pressure gets high enough, you have
the first diesel computer!

Ugh

[voice_of_all_reason]

Did this guy take pointers from the William Shatner School of Websites?

You get like half a...

a sentence and then...

have to click Next Page...

And don't forget cause!=correlation

[SIGFPE]

Just because there was oil in the PC, and the CPU was cooled, it doesn't follow that the oil did the cooling. It could be that CPUs that drop in temperature exude oil or that there is some other factors that caused both the cooled CPU and the appearance of oil.

Re:uuh.

[Surt]

How's the buff Asian guy next to you going to feel when he and his machine are doused in cooking oil?

Extra Crispy?

Shortening, as in

[IAAP]

Crisco. It's a solid at room temperature and then it'll liquify as it gets hot. Of course, while it's liquifying, it's taking more heat away from the components.

BTW, It's been awhile (decades) since thermo - if it's not obvious.

Re:Shortening, as in

[Arhat]

So would this mean a machine cooled in such a fashion could be a Crisco Router.

Mass-Market

[teklob]

This is a fun solution for hobbyists, but with the current prices of oil it would be cheaper to fly in bags of ice from arctic expeditions. *ducks*

Dunk it in oil...or water

[GillBates0]

Looks like Comer wasn't so far off with his water dunked rig after all. Strange noone has posted this old avforums gem in this thread yet.

I decided this weekend to try and quiten my PC by following some other members lead and going down the water cooling road. The fans on my PC were really starting to drive me mad. The first thing that I did was to remove all the fans. The one on the processor and graphics card were no problem but the one in the power unit was a bugger to get out.

The most difficult part was sealing all the ventilitation openings in the PC case with silicon. I also put silicon all around the joints on the PC case. The smell of silicon was dreadful but when my wife complained I told her to be patent as it will be worth it when we have a completely silent PC.

Because I had completely sealed the PC case the only opening near top was the DVD drive. So I opened that and put the small hose I had purchased specially for the job into the DVD drive as far as it would go. With what I can only describe as great excitement and anticipation, I turned on the water. It really is amazing just how long it took before the case was complete full, and boy was it heavy. That didn't really bother me as I didn't intend to be moving the PC anyway.

The big moment had arrived so I called in my wife and mother in law (who was visiting) and I announced "prepare to hear nothing!" and flicked the switch on the socket on the wall.

Before I could even press the power button on front of the PC, with a loud bang, the whole place was plunged into darkness

I knew that it was only the tripswitch so I told my onlookers not to panic and I ran out to the hall to turn the trip switch back on. But can u believe it, it wouldn't stay on. After five attempts I decided to try unplugging the PC and would you believe...yes the trip switch stayed on. My conclusion: the PC must have in some way been causing the problem.

After about an hour of tries I finally decided to abandon the whole idea of water cooling and emptied the water out of the PC, put back in the fans (except the fan in the power unit, I had broken that one getting it out) and tried the pc AGAIN. IT STILL CAUSED THE TRIP SWTICH TO BLOW!

My PC is completely shagged thanks to stupid suggestions that I got on this forum. What the hell am I going to do now. I spent two hours last night with a hair drier inside the PC case and it still trips the switch.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated

Conor

Yeah, but...

[jd]

The RAM will be volatile and the ROMs are burned...

Headlines: Cooking oil cakes causing server to fry

[deviantphil]

As thousands of Slashdot users hammered the newly setup web server cooled by cooking oil the processor quickly heated up to previously unseen levels. This resulted in the server caking the cooking oil and quickly overheating as it crumbled under the /. effect.
Okay....the server is still up....but it is running a bit slow.

Re:uuh.

[stanleypane]

you'd have 8 gallons of cooking oil that wanted out, and if you weren't at home could very well destroy the board.

------

Leave it to a geek to be worried about his mobo when 8 gallons of oil spill onto the floor.

I'd rather replace my mobo anyday. Try getting 8 gallons of oil out of burbur. Or better yet, try the same mess on hardwood or linoleum. I can see it now:

(slip) Shit, my fscking back. Gotta hurry, must get up before mobo dies!
 
(slip-splotch-boom) Oohhh... My aching head. How am I ever gonna get outta this mess!
 
(bam-slip)(careening into corner of desk, eye-first) Ahhhh! I can't see! I'm blind! My baby! My baby! Don't worry, I'll save you, baby!

[voice from bedroom] Is everything OK dear? Who are you talking to?

(splotch-bam-boom) Everything fine, honey.. Just a few minor diffi.. (bang)

Honey! Quick, call Compusa, STAT! She's not gonna make it!

And for those one-handed computing sessions...

[R2.0]

the lube is right there!

Pre-warmed, even.

Re:Transformers have used oil...

[poot_rootbeer]

Transformers have used oil for a very long time for cooling.

They also compress and store it in 'energon cubes' and transport it via the Space Bridge in support of the war efforts back home on Cybertron.

Obvious questions...

[lpangelrob]

So I'd have change it every 3 months or 3,000 miles, whichever came first?

If I overclocked my PC do I have change it every 2 months or 1,500 miles?

Will my next Intel Inside computer come with an odometer? Stay tuned! Oil filter change recommended once a year.

Re:uuh.

[Lord Kano]

How's the buff Asian guy next to you going to feel when he and his machine are doused in cooking oil?

Wow, I could take this and run with it in one of two directions. I could laugh at you for implying that either of the two buff asian dudes in the country would be at his LAN party but I think I'll comment on how I'd rather see a hot asian chick get doused in oil. Mmmmmm, oily asian chicks.

LK

...Astroglide!

[dextromulous]

If only it didn't conduct electricity...