Overclocking Outside - Any concerns?

[MrTeal]

So I'm interested in seeing how far I can push my 2500k and 6870, but being on a limited hobby budget I don't have the money or time for expensive phase change cooling. What I do have is access to a virtually unlimited supply of dry sub-zero air in my garage.

Has anyone tried OCing and running benchmarks outside in the winter, and if so what kind of issues did you run into? I think it's likely my LCD won't work terribly well in the cold, so I might try heating it while running to keep it (and me) warm. My basic plan is pretty simple, set up in the garage with the computer without side panel near the door, point a box fan from the door to the computer, run cables over to a bench on the other side. I don't expect condensation to really be an issue; it was -17C overnight last night with only 62% RH, and since the computer will be warmer than ambient there's no reason for condensation to form.

I'd love to hear any results from anyone else who's done the same.

 

[KingFatty]

Can you put the computer outside of a cracked window, with just enough space to run the cabling? Then stuff a towel or foam in the crack and seal out the cold so you can stay warm?

 

[LSANTHRAX]

Could always just use ducting to bring in the cold air to the fans if you're worried about putting the whole pc outside. I actually just use my garage as it is not insulated, but i still have normal outlets and all.

 

[Smartazz]

I don't know if this is a good idea as condensation could cause problems. If the air is dry enough, it might be okay though. Hopefully somebody knows for sure.

 

[SonicIce]

http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/SonicIce/leetcooling.jpg
but use a wider diameter hose because its hard for the weak pressure of case fans to pull through a small one

 

[sm625]

and since the computer will be warmer than ambient there's no reason for condensation to form.

Condensation occurs when you have an object that is colder than the surrounding air. Some parts of your computer will fall under this category; no way to prevent it.

When your computer is at idle, all the components will be very cold. There are all sorts of discrete components that have metal packaging that will be very cold. Even the motherboard screws will be cold. Then you load the cpu and the hsf starts radiating heat. The air circulating through the hsf will now be warm, and it will be passing over all these cold components. Then you're screwed.

 

[MrTeal]

I don't know if this is a good idea as condensation could cause problems. If the air is dry enough, it might be okay though. Hopefully somebody knows for sure.

Condensation occurs when you have an object that is colder than the surrounding air. Some parts of your computer will fall under this category; no way to prevent it.

Technically you get condensation when the surface is at or below the dew point. I'm still not convinced that it would be an issue; keep in mind that the absolute humidity of the air will not change even as it is heated be the HSF. From 8am yesterday morning:

Time	Conditions 	Temp (°C) 	Humidity (%) 	Dew Point (°C) 	Wind (km/h) 	Pressure (kPa) 	Vis (km) 	Wind Chill
8:00 	Clear 		-16 		62 		-21 		S 13 		101.8 		24 		-24

You would get condensation if the surface was below the dew point of -21C, but won't even if the surface is at ambient. If the HSF heats the air going through it, the relative humidity of that air will drop and the dew point will stay pretty constant. I might run a quick test on an older system to double check, but I would be surprised to see any dew form. If that was the case, I would see dew form on a cold surface if I blow air from a heater on it, and that doesn't happen.

My bigger concern for dew is when I being the cold computer back inside, so I'd probably run a heater into it for awhile before doing that.

Can you put the computer outside of a cracked window, with just enough space to run the cabling? Then stuff a towel or foam in the crack and seal out the cold so you can stay warm?

I suppose I could, though finding a DVI cable long enough would be a challenge. I'm actually not too worried about myself; I voluntarily spend hours outside in -20C at the telescope eyepiece so I'm used to it. I'm more worried about the cold affecting the LCD. I don't think it should have an effect on the numbers since DVI doesn't packetize or anything, but it might make viewing difficult.

http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/SonicIce/leetcooling.jpg
but use a wider diameter hose because its hard for the weak pressure of case fans to pull through a small one

Heh, that might work, but I don't want to think of the effect on my heating bill with the volume of cold air I'm wanting to bring in.

Thanks for the replies so far. It doesn't seem like there's a showstopper, obviously computers run in all sorts of industrial equipment down to -40C or more, so there's no reason mine shouldn't either. I'm also running an SSD, so the only mechanical devices in my system should be the fans.

Looks like this might not be as common as I thought. I would have figured there would be a bunch of Canucks who've tried it. Hopefully my new PSU gets here before it starts to get warm again, I'm getting excited to try it out.

 

[polyzp]

I highly doubt you will achieve a higher OC by placing your rig outside

But now you got me wondering.. If i put my rig in -52C weather (i live in winnipeg) if it would make a difference.

 

[Idontcare]

Unless you have condensation in your garage you are not going to have condensation on your computer just because you put it in the garage.

Yes bringing your cold computer inside the house could cause condensation, that is the reason running vaporphase cooling inside your house causes condensation (I've done this). So warm it up before bringing it back in, or bring it in and leave it to stabilize for 12 hrs or so before powering up so you know the condensation is gone.

I would NOT bring cool air into your house to cool the inside of the rig. That would risk making the rig accumulate condensation from the humidity in your room-temperature house when/if the cool air inside your computer case makes the case's temperature fall below the due-point.

Absolute temperature effects power-consumption. Lower temps means less power consumption. This in turn enables you to operate at a lower voltage while remaining stable at any given clockspeed, or enables you to boost the voltage to attain even higher clockspeeds.

That is why liquid nitrogen and liquid helium is used in conjunction with high voltages (1.8-2V) in overclocking competitions.

Give it a shot and have fun. I keep my farm of 5 Q6600's in my unheated basement because it is so much cooler down there nearly year-round. Then I remote-desktop into them to do whatever I need them to do.

 

[KingFatty]

I would NOT bring cool air into your house to cool the inside of the rig. That would risk making the rig accumulate condensation from the humidity in your room-temperature house when/if the cool air inside your computer case makes the case's temperature fall below the due-point.

I saw some specialty flexible rubber tubing with a square-formed end, that is specifically designed to grip onto a 120mm cooling fan and form a nice seal. The tubing is about the diameter of the tubing you use on a clothes dryer. So what about the following scenario:

Ingredients: a CPU cooler like the Hyper 212 that has a push fan and a pull fan, two specialty tubes, and two long clothes-dryer-type tubes.

Run two tubes of the clothes dryer types, one being the inlet tube and the other being the outlet tube, in and out of your house. You also connect two specialty flexible rubber tubes to hyper 212 by putting one on the pull fan and one on the push fan. Then you connect the push fan's rubber tube to the inlet dryer tube, and the pull fan's rubber tube to the outlet dryer tube.

So, this way you have a closed loop of cool air that does nothing more than pass through the hyper 212 cooling tower, and it's sealed off from the computer except a little bit that oozes out of the sides of the fins of the 212. With both fans going, it might reduce any risk of condensation?

The rubber tube thing is like this:

(see this link: http://www.thermalright.com/new_a_page/product_page/accessories_page/fanduct_hr01_775.htm)

 

[hdfxst]

you won't have condensation while it's in the garage but you will have it when you bring it back into the warm house.maybe put the computer in a garbage bag and seal it up before you bring it in and let it sit overnight.The problem i see is at those temps heatpipe coolers stop working

 

[MrTeal]

I saw some specialty flexible rubber tubing with a square-formed end, that is specifically designed to grip onto a 120mm cooling fan and form a nice seal. The tubing is about the diameter of the tubing you use on a clothes dryer. So what about the following scenario:

Ingredients: a CPU cooler like the Hyper 212 that has a push fan and a pull fan, two specialty tubes, and two long clothes-dryer-type tubes.

Run two tubes of the clothes dryer types, one being the inlet tube and the other being the outlet tube, in and out of your house. You also connect two specialty flexible rubber tubes to hyper 212 by putting one on the pull fan and one on the push fan. Then you connect the push fan's rubber tube to the inlet dryer tube, and the pull fan's rubber tube to the outlet dryer tube.

So, this way you have a closed loop of cool air that does nothing more than pass through the hyper 212 cooling tower, and it's sealed off from the computer except a little bit that oozes out of the sides of the fins of the 212. With both fans going, it might reduce any risk of condensation?

The rubber tube thing is like this:

(see this link: http://www.thermalright.com/new_a_page/product_page/accessories_page/fanduct_hr01_775.htm)

I would be worried about doing that inside, I'm pretty sure with my NH-D14 I would see temperatures on the CPU and heatsink well below room temperature, and dew would form on the cold surfaces. The problem isn't the cold air getting in (other than the huge heating bills) since that air is very dry already, it's the moist warm air inside the house hitting the cooler and forming dew.

That TR flex tube does look cool though, it would be nice to try for every day use.

 

[MrTeal]

you won't have condensation while it's in the garage but you will have it when you bring it back into the warm house.maybe put the computer in a garbage bag and seal it up before you bring it in and let it sit overnight.The problem i see is at those temps heatpipe coolers stop working

Interesting, I never thought of that. If the working fluid in the cooler is water, it might freeze depending on the vapour pressure. The cooler might not be effective at moving heat up until the point at which the fluid begins working again.

Instinctively I'd say that would not be a dealbreaker, but it might set a lower limit on what kind of CPU temperatures I could see.

 

[hdfxst]

the other thing i would worry about is if the freezing water would damage the wick inside the pipe.

 

[Joseph F]

http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/SonicIce/leetcooling.jpg
but use a wider diameter hose because its hard for the weak pressure of case fans to pull through a small one

MFW, I was thinking about doing this, but I was worried about condensation.

 

[KingFatty]

The problem isn't the cold air getting in (other than the huge heating bills) since that air is very dry already, it's the moist warm air inside the house hitting the cooler and forming dew.

Hmm, I wonder if you could get even more complicated and wrap the outside of the cooler with some kind of absorbing material, like strips of fabric or wick from a lantern (not sure how cheap wick material is). The wrap would absorb the condensation. Then, you use another fan to blow on the wrap to evaporate the condensation and prevent dripping. If the condensation is too much for the fan, you compensate by increasing the amount of wrap, even going so far as to make little wings of wick coming off to increase surface area for evaporating the condensation.

So it would be like an inside-out heatpipe all over your cooler. No more schweddy balls (old Saturday Night Live reference...)?

 

[Soulkeeper]

I remember years ago some swedish guy built a box outside his window and put his dual socket celeron in it. It would snow, and he'd overclock
I guess he just ran the cables in thru the window sill.

I've always liked the idea of burying copper pipes in the backyard and using the ground as a radiator for a water cooled setup.

 

[ShadowVVL]

You could always turn your furnace down to 40f and run a little water in the sink if your worried about the pipes freezing.

 

[MrTeal]

You could always turn your furnace down to 40f and run a little water in the sink if your worried about the pipes freezing.

Haha... You're not a married man, are you?