Cheap but powerfull compressor cooling?

[Pete84]

Hi all, new to these forums, came accross anandtech.com while looking for good reviews. found them along with this awesome forum.
I had my computer more or less hit by ligthening in June, and since I moved all over coming to University, I didn't get a computer, and I have been really happy with that with Athlon 64 s maturing, SATA, and the GPU wars.
Seeking superior performance without having to 'rob the bank' (trust me, i am using it as a metaphor), vapor/compressor cooling looked realy great, specifically the Prometia Mach II system. Then I looked at the price tag, a rediculous $1,000! I was thinking of stucking it onto an Athlon 64 3200+ to get performance of the FXs, but the price stopped that idea.
Besides having a large water cooling system such as what pelikan has done with 50' of copper tubing, what other options are out there? I have the impression that air cooling has limitations when OCing is done, correct me if I am wrong. Is it/would it be possible to build a vapor compressor to freeze a CPU from small refrigerator components? I am going to have ~ 1 month off soon for the holidays and will be hanging out with my older brother, who loves projects, computers, and anything challanging. So, is it possible to build such a system to squeeze performance from a CPU? There is a lot of BRAIN is this forum, and if it is even partially used I will be set.

 

[beatle]

It's not something to take lightly. You might be able to get a "cheap" kit for a couple hundred, but there's obviously a fair amount of good engineering put into these kits. Tom's has a how-to on installing one with lots of great pics of the equipment and their functions. If you can mimic those components with off-the-shelf or scrounged parts, go for it. I'd start with a home-brew water kit to start with though.

BTW: welcome to the forums!

 

[Pete84]

So a system like I was/am hoping to get just isn't possible for, say, ~$150? The biggest hindrance to building one, from what I have looked around for in parts at least, is the cooling tube and head. They aren't sold seperately, so I couldn't use one hooked up to a freezer compressor. You mentioned watercooling - is this a good guide from THG? My roommate demads that our dorm room be kept at least at a drafty 65 F or lower, so cooling with water in a large resevour could be done near silently, yes?

 

[klah]

Go here: overclockers.com forum - cooling