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refrigerated case...

T

TheNiceGuy

Golden Member
I am new to PCs, so I have a fresh perspective. It seems like the industry is mostly bunged up around the same tech.
I thought "why not use a small refrigerator to hold the mobo, HDDs, PSU, and anything else that gets hot. This would give awsome cooling, and eliminate dust and noise problems. The rest of the equipment could be put on top of the fridge. What ya think?
 
Well, you'd need to keep it above the dew point.
Since ambient tends to be above that anyway, all is well in a normal case.
I have heard of some successes with mini-fridges, though.
 
I'm sure you could find a way around that.
The air inside would be a sealed system. You could dry the air some way, I don't know, like a bunch of silicon bags. I have no expertise, I'm sure someone else could work this.
Cerb- do you have a link, please?
 
condensation...yes that is a problem

The real problem is that the evap/condenser systems are not desinged to continuously run. I.E. during normal use it only turns on to regulate the temp to ___%. If you were to put something in the firdge that output a lot of heat the cooling system of the fridge would die trying to keep it cool.

Maybe just a res in one for your water cooling project, but then again you have conedensation there too.
 
In general, even the risk of condensation makes this idea impractical, at least on first inspection.

With water-cooling and "phase-change" refrigeration systems, at least the cooling is confined to water-blocks or coolant-blocks around the CPU, GPU and NorthBridge. Why does that restriction of low temperatures work to our advantage? Because we can use neoprene rubber grommets to insulate those particular parts against even a hint of condensation forming.

Two water-cooling ideas have been implemented by enthusiasts that may seem more radical than even external "Reserator" cooling reservoirs. One guy used an office water-cooler for his reservoir, so he could certainly be said to fall in the category of "chilled water cooling". Another guy buried a simple water-cooling reservoir deep in the earth of his back yard -- in a spot that was mostly under shade much of the time. His water was cooled to a constant 55F. I'm only speculating that there are less concerns about dew-point and condensation in this latter system.

Some water cooling systems put a TEC cooling-plate in the cooling loop, providing chilled water to the CPU waterblock and using a second water-cooling loop to route the TEC's heat to a radiator-fan assembly.

Using a dessicant to absorb moisture means that eventually the dessicant needs to be replaced. I have heard echoes of the idea where someone used a small "room air-conditioner" that also had a built-in dryer to push cool, dry air into the computer. Certainly, condensation problems would probably not plague that arrangement.

In the refrigerated system you imagine, it would have to be filled with absolutely dry air and sealed against water-vapor contamination. This presents other maintenance "access" problems.
 
Perhaps a strong fridge could handle constant cooling?
I don't know a lot about physics, but I believe a fridge is a sealed air unit. It should easily be possible to make it bone-dry inside, and then condensation would not be an issue. Of course, opening the case would require re-drying, but how hard could it be?
What could dehumidify the case? There must be a better option than silicon bags! 🙂
 
What about a water cooled setup, but run the radiator/reservoir to the freezer of a micro frige. Just use a liquid with a low freezing pont and you'll have nice chilled water all the time
 
Originally posted by: TheNiceGuy

I don't know a lot about physics, but I believe a fridge is a sealed air unit. It should easily be possible to make it bone-dry inside, and then condensation would not be an issue. Of course, opening the case would require re-drying, but how hard could it be?
What could dehumidify the case? There must be a better option than silicon bags! 🙂
Click to expand...

This is correct in that if the unit was completely sealed, condensation wouldn't be an issue. Finding a unit that could keep up with the heat load of a computer system would be the real problem. Also, you'd have to find a way to mount you drives outside. I'm certain it could all be done effectively, just not sure if it would be worth the effort.


 
Esentially what you're talking about is a house air conditioner, where you can control the air humidity through a dehumidifier.

There's no mystery here, and no golden bullet. Watercooling is your best and most cost effective bet.
 
Originally posted by: LsDPulsar
Esentially what you're talking about is a house air conditioner, where you can control the air humidity through a dehumidifier.

There's no mystery here, and no golden bullet. Watercooling is your best and most cost effective bet.
Click to expand...

Any and every refrigerator or air conditioner IS a dehumidifier. What do you think a dehumidifier is? It is a small refrigeration unit and nothing more.
 
Using a microfridge with one of those built in freezers - little more than a supercooled metal shield - would hold the condensation factor to a minimum. Ever seen one of those that hasnt be defrosted in a while? That ice is just the water vapor in the air. A fridge is a closed system, so as long as you didnt open it, after a short time, all the water would simply freeze.

The trouble would be keeping it all cold enought to work. If the heat of the computer melted the ice, youd have problems, big problems. In the end, it just be a big waste. With a good water cooling system and proper air cirulation, you could get just a high performance as a "fridge system."
 
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