PC Cooled in an Oil Submerged Aquarium
Many computer geeks out there know that an entire PC submerged in oil will still continue to run, but how many of us have actually seen one ourselves? Here’s one project by Puget Systems who managed to completely submerge a working PC in mineral oil within a perfectly sized fish tank!
The idea of having an entire PC submerged in oil I guess would be considered an alternate form of liquid cooling. While it looks pretty extreme, all I can say is that I’m pretty impressed that it actually works.
First of all, the computer parts will never, ever get dusty. I can recall the instances where I had to open up my casing to get rid of the dust settled within for a gazillion years. Secondly the innards of the PC will never rust, although it’s not common to see PC parts rusting but hey, you never know.
Here’s the 5-minute video of the guys pulling off this cool aquarium PC project:
This is a really interesting idea for an oil filled Aquarium PC. I have to take my hat off to the guys who did this crazy thing!
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So how does it work with disc drives? There should be a considerate slow down to it’s spin when it is in the oil.
Whats the fans for in the back? Additional cooling? Or does it help circulate the mineral oil to be cooled by the fan like a heat exchanger?
Thanx
The hard drives were not submerged…although it has been done before, it’s usually recommended that you leave the hard drives out of the oil.
The fans on the back are attached to a radiator. A pump circulates oil from inside the tank through the radiator for cooling. The fans move air across the radiator core to aid heat exchange.
You can submerge your hard drive if it is solid state. This would make it easier to build a submerged PC.
@Yos — The reason the fans slow down is because they’re in direct contact with the oil. The hard drives are sealed…
@Mike — It’s recommended that you leave them out?? I think one of the most common reasons for hard drive failure (or any hardware, really) is overheating.
@pianofreq – HDD have a vent that has an air filter attached, allows for changes in atmospheric pressure but keeps dust old, oils would seep past the filter, drive failure would soon follow.