PC Cooling...the ghetto way [Archive]

infowars

10-02-2006, 01:03 PM

I am not even gonna try to buy a water cooling system, or any thing fancy...

my pc is got about 1 year left of life as far as a gaming rig...(think of running crysis, alan wake, ut2007, dnf...)

I have and can overclock my p4 3.0 ghz up to 3.91 ghz! ;)

Not bad....but without any super cooling, i wouldnt game with it up like this for too long...but it IS stable...

So since it will only last another 1year anyways...i might as well burn this sucker up!

So the question is....Is there a mini fridge i can place my pc tower into to cool it down?!

I just bought a new cpu zalman cooler....and at idle, its at 33 degrees C. gaming...46 + degrees...not bad....
but for 3.91 overclock, i need a cheap, ghetto way to keep temps down with out buying some kind of high tech cooling device...

mini fridge...??? er some thing....duct tape...ac fans??? stuff i can buy at walmart ....or something

ideas welcomed!:love:

jimbob

10-02-2006, 01:05 PM

aint a fridge awefully moist? not really a good idea to put an electrical device inside one without proper isolation.

[edit] come to think of it, condensation would also be a huge problem.

Odin

10-02-2006, 01:13 PM

aint a fridge awefully moist? not really a good idea to put an electrical device inside one without proper isolation.

Indeed. Don't put your computer in a fridge or try swamp cooling (bowl of ice cubes + fan).

Assault

10-02-2006, 01:34 PM

I use to keep my computer hatch open from both sides and keep a big fan working on it all the time.

Dreams

10-02-2006, 01:35 PM

Just place the damn computer in the fridge.

Odin

10-02-2006, 01:40 PM

Just place the damn computer in the fridge.

*Mr. Electron walks by*

"Oh, Hi there Mr. Water Molecule, you look good today! Hey, stay back no NO AHHHHHHHH"

*computer bursts into flames*

Mr.Fibbles

10-02-2006, 02:31 PM

I have 2 case fans working, one in and one out. they are on opposite sides of eachother and thus work well, I don't know how hot they get but I know it is a hell of a lot cooler than it was before. try more efficient architecture. Don't put it in the fridge, maybe on the fridge.

Xerxes

10-02-2006, 02:34 PM

*Mr. Electron walks by*

"Oh, Hi there Mr. Water Molecule, you look good today! Hey, stay back no NO AHHHHHHHH"

*computer bursts into flames*
Put it in the freezer then..

Not sure if that'll help.

Or saturate it in water so it can't burst into flames anymore(would still die though).

clayasaurus

10-02-2006, 02:41 PM

Drewcifer

10-02-2006, 03:10 PM

*Mr. Electron walks by*

"Oh, Hi there Mr. Water Molecule, you look good today! Hey, stay back no NO AHHHHHHHH"

*computer bursts into flames*

Actually it's more like, "Hi there Mr. Sodium ion and Mr. Chlorine ion. Want to have some menage a trois?"

*Mr. Electron gets passed around like the town bicycle*

Meanwhile, Mr. Water is sulking in a corner wishing he was so loved.

Sayantan

10-02-2006, 03:31 PM

I use to keep my computer hatch open from both sides and keep a big fan working on it all the time.

This is what I would suggest as well. Maybe place the fan in a way so it would blow cold air conditioned towards your computer.

Actually this is what I DO. Before my machine used to shut down automatically coz of over-heating (you mi9ght know I live in Kolkata-before known 'Calcutta' which means that it's too hot).

Then I thought about it the same way Infowar speculated ..... I wanted a cheap way to do the thing. I just bought a smaller pedestrial fan (note: this is not for PCs, but for humans, which I used for PC). Openned the left side of the cabinet which is more of an opening. Then placed it just beside the cab facing directly to it. You might not believe but now even if I keep my machine "on" for say 1 week at a stretch, I doesn't get heated up(unless n until there's a power failure that is).

Hope that helps. :D

Odin

10-02-2006, 04:31 PM

Actually it's more like, "Hi there Mr. Sodium ion and Mr. Chlorine ion. Want to have some menage a trois?"

*Mr. Electron gets passed around like the town bicycle*

Meanwhile, Mr. Water is sulking in a corner wishing he was so loved.

Ok, you win. It's still not a good idea to introduce water into something like a computer.

The Dukenator

10-02-2006, 04:34 PM

Somebody already did this:
http://www.overclockers.com/articles975/

Nessus

10-02-2006, 10:02 PM

With the new cooler running Core2 Duo's you could probably get some really good results like this.

hell-angel

10-03-2006, 05:48 AM

Liquid Nitrogen cooling :p

I don't know if it will work, but at least is sounds cool ;) :p

Assault

10-03-2006, 06:28 AM

Liquid Nitrogen cooling :p

Because liquid nitrogen is VERY Ghetto. :cool:

Thermaltek has lots of solutions for cooling.
http://www.thermaltake.com/index.asp

NetNessie

10-03-2006, 06:32 AM

So your gaming rig runs at 3ghz and your saying its nearing the end of its gaming life?

Are you made of money?

ZaphodB

10-03-2006, 09:14 AM

Anybody know what became of thoes electric cooling blocks? the ones where you conect them to your PU just lik your HDD, and they would actually form frost is you ran it not hooked to a CPU. I had gotten one at an electronics show as a "sample" (worked for an oem at the time) and I haven't seen them since. Thoes would be perfect for something like this.

wayskobfssae

10-03-2006, 10:16 AM

Because liquid nitrogen is VERY Ghetto. :cool:

Dry ice is ghetto.. :)

Phayzon

10-03-2006, 01:56 PM

I remember a thread in the Hardware board a while back about using cooking oil or something as coolent, and it worked pretty well. Try that ;)

Assault

10-03-2006, 02:17 PM

Dry ice is ghetto.. :)

Yep, very ghetto... but it will help cooling the system just as much as this ghetto thing will:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGrqW3nx5HM&mode=related&search

I remember a thread in the Hardware board a while back about using cooking oil or something as coolent, and it worked pretty well. Try that ;)

Don't believe a word he says, he just escaped the loony bin.

Phayzon

10-03-2006, 03:24 PM

Dont believe me? (http://www.burexblog.com/blogs/1044320012006/)

wayskobfssae

10-03-2006, 03:38 PM

... cooking oil can touch the surface of the motherboard without shorting it out?

Phayzon

10-03-2006, 04:11 PM

Apparently.

jimbob

10-03-2006, 04:24 PM

hmmmm, computer and deep fryer all in one \o/

Phayzon

10-03-2006, 04:40 PM

Combine it with this USB BBQ Grill (http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/peripherals/usb-powered-bbq--wtf-196087.php) and you never need to leave the room! ;)

jimbob

10-03-2006, 04:46 PM

Combine it with this USB BBQ Grill (http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/peripherals/usb-powered-bbq--wtf-196087.php) and you never need to leave the room! ;)

i remember that :D dont know what they are grilling, but it looks pretty nasty :eek:

and i`d prefer an USB coffeemachine anyway :p

Phayzon

10-03-2006, 04:52 PM

I think its a peice of bacon, Im really not sure though. -_O

clayasaurus

10-03-2006, 04:56 PM

I'd love to have a oil cooled computer, just for the WTF factor. Empty it before going to a lan party, then before you start playing games fill it up with oil as everyone around stares in horror. Then suprise everyone that the computer still works. :D

ZaphodB

10-03-2006, 05:01 PM

I see one major problem with the oil filled PC. The electrolytic capacitors. Sonner or later that oil is gonna work it's way into the capacitor and change it's capacitance, mainly because vegtible oil makes rubber soft and puttylike, and rubber is what they seal the bottom of electrolytic capacitors with. The 2 pages I saw about making the oil filled PC even said it was not a good long-term idea.

wayskobfssae

10-03-2006, 05:16 PM

The electrolytic capacitors. Sonner or later that oil is gonna work it's way into the capacitor and change it's capacitance, mainly because vegtible oil makes rubber soft and puttylike, and rubber is what they seal the bottom of electrolytic capacitors with.

Could the capacitors be coated with silicone?

ZaphodB

10-03-2006, 05:27 PM

I honestly don't know. Capacitors are very fickle what you put on them or around them (inductors too but not as much). I try to avoid messing with them if it can be helped. But there's nothing gained by just speculating. You could allways try. But I reccomend if you gonna do the oil-bath coolant idea, use an old machine you are palning to recycle anyway as a test bed.

When I got my watercooler for my PC I let it run for about a week before I hooked it to my PC even though the fluid is "non conductive" I was very paranoid about leaks. Now I love it. Don't be afraid to watercool, they're not that expensive anymore (paid about $120), they are pretty much fool-proof and as long as you don't try to tighten the connections to the moon :) they are leak-proof. Love you my vid card and cpu stays below 50C when system is maxed out. Idle temp for my vid card is 37C and my CPU is 42C. Another nice thing about the water coolers is most are made to fit all (yes ALL) CPU's.

oh, vid card is nvidia 6200 and cpu is athalon64 3200

Phayzon

10-03-2006, 06:05 PM

Idle temp for my vid card is 37C and my CPU is 42C. Another nice thing about the water coolers is most are made to fit all (yes ALL) CPU's.

oh, vid card is nvidia 6200 and cpu is athalon64 3200

Id be a little worried... My stock fan-cooled 7800GT idles at 40C.

Jiminator

10-03-2006, 06:58 PM

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/01/09/strip_out_the_fans/

8 gallons of peanut oil and a big container to dump it all in.

totally cool and noise free

enjoy!

Paroxysm

10-03-2006, 07:46 PM

Huge heatsink + good case fans.

wayskobfssae

10-03-2006, 07:58 PM

Think that's a challenge, I'm still trying to find a way to make a Pentium 4 case cool enough to support animal life.

ZaphodB

10-04-2006, 04:06 AM

Id be a little worried... My stock fan-cooled 7800GT idles at 40C.

Worried that my vid card idles at 37C because it's watercooled? It's supposed to be warmer when idle? I don't understand?

Assault

10-04-2006, 05:57 AM

Dont believe me? (http://www.burexblog.com/blogs/1044320012006/)

No! (http://bushspeaks.com/img/liar.jpg) How about you try that yourself and tell us how it turned out. Oh and while you're at it, I would like some fries with that.

Phayzon

10-04-2006, 01:44 PM

Worried that my vid card idles at 37C because it's watercooled? It's supposed to be warmer when idle? I don't understand?

No, i meant that your card that would be substantionally cooler by nature should be much much cooler when water-cooled than my air-cooled heater of a card. It seems as though watercooling doesnt do much at all, if anything.

ZaphodB

10-04-2006, 01:53 PM

Well, considering the vid card used to idle at 49C, I think a drop down to 37C (12C) is substantial. It's like my CPU used to idle at 53C-54C and now idles at 42C-43C. Under a load it would run 60C-62C (that's the highest I let it get to before I hit my PD master switch to shut it down immediately) and now it runs 46C-48C under full load. So I think water cooling is a vast difference, especially for the small cheap-priced unit I got.

Phayzon

10-04-2006, 01:59 PM

Woah! :eek: You'd think a 6200 would run much cooler than a 7800GT!

ZaphodB

10-04-2006, 02:03 PM

yeah,, but I bet yours had a much larger cooling heatsink/fan combo on your 7800GT then did my evga 6200 (it looked like a small piece of aluminum with about 12 holes in it with a fan stuck to it). I can take a pic if you really wanna see.

corn wizard

10-07-2006, 07:27 AM

The truly ghetto approach would be to run an extension cord outside to your front porch (in the winter) and set your PC up out there. Having to guard your PC and bring it in each night would suck, but that's life "in the struggle" for ya.

hiob

10-07-2006, 11:53 AM

this thread gave various good laughs :D
my tip also would be a room fan

NutWrench

10-07-2006, 12:09 PM

I just bought some lighted fans for my computer. Behold!
http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/2961/fansac9.th.jpg (http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/2961/fansac9.jpg)

infowars

10-10-2006, 01:24 AM

^nice rig.

I just got a nice zalman cooler...along with 2 other case fans, it seems to stay at nice temps, but i'd really like to overclock , up to the next level, close to 4mhz !!! ill have to take a pic of mine now!

HIOB -> I used to have my side panel OFF and always cranked up my desk fan right into the case...

For some reason, it never really got below 30 degrees...even when it was freezing outside and id open the windows. brrrrr.

i got the fans pushing/moving air...I just need the extra oomph! I need some type of freezer unit, minus moisture creation.....hmmmm.

Off to the science lab......i mean walmart:)