What about a refrigerator for a case

[Ruptga]

I know there could be issues with mounting the parts, ie putting the guts in a fridge without any case at all, but that's not my question. The real question for me is this: can computer components be too cold? Everyone knows extra heat will kill them early, but is the opposite also true?

 

[xalos]

It wouldn't really work for 2 reasons.

1. Refrigerators don't remove heat very well.
2. Condensation (which would be hard to stop) wouldn't be a good thing to introduce to your components.

 

[Ruptga]

Ah that makes sense, fridges keep things cold, they're not really meant to cool things off.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: ADDAvenger
Ah that makes sense, fridges keep things cold, they're not really meant to cool things off.

LoL! In Antarctica, they put things in refrigerators to keep them warm... really!

National Geographic wouldn't lie...

Anyway, I've though about doing this several times -- just never got around to it (yet).

Personally, I don't *think* it would cause any problem...

 

[Oerekum]

Components can get too cold. Those maniacs with liquid nitrogen cooling can't boot at a certain amount of minus degrees. But that's like minus 120C. What would be cool for a fridge, to put external watercooling radiators in them, and not the computer components themselves.. that would work well I bet.

 

[Passingout101]

Originally posted by: Oerekum
Components can get too cold. Those maniacs with liquid nitrogen cooling can't boot at a certain amount of minus degrees. But that's like minus 120C. What would be cool for a fridge, to put external watercooling radiators in them, and not the computer components themselves.. that would work well I bet.

actually that would be a much better idea. make the right holes on the side of the old fridge, use a cold car radiator (cheap at the junk yard) and some piping and your set to go.

I did actually see someone use a car radiator, and they also used the original fan, wasnt that pretty maybe but very effective, and heck it would be hiding in the fridge so who cares!!

 

[BadThad]

Condensation would ruin it!

 

[Ruptga]

Assuming I am too cheap to buy fancy cooling and have a small fridge laying around collecting dust, is there a way to rig it (plastic wrap or something) so that condensation isn't a problem, and would the fridge be powerful enough to cool the computer, or would I just burn the thing out?

 

[xalos]

The fridge won't be able to cool the computer fast enough. Put something warm or hot in the refrigerator and see how long it takes to cool. It's just not realistic to use a refrigerator as a computer case.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: xalos
It wouldn't really work for 2 reasons.

1. Refrigerators don't remove heat very well.
2. Condensation (which would be hard to stop) wouldn't be a good thing to introduce to your components.

couldnt of said it better myself

 

[Oerekum]

Condensation shouldn't do much harm to a bunch of radiators and hoses right? Anyway yeah, it's not really a viable cooling option, heh.

 

[mozirry]

Do it like this,

Get a 120mm computer fan and mount it on the bottom of the refrigerator. Run tubing from the exhaust 120mm on the fridge with about 3-4 feet of tubing that will connect directly with the intake fan of your computer. Make sure the tubing hits the floor though at a low point so that any condensation buildup will simply drip down into the lowest part of the tube.

Instant forced cool-air.

Don't check your energy bill though

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: mozirry
Do it like this,

Get a 120mm computer fan and mount it on the bottom of the refrigerator. Run tubing from the exhaust 120mm on the fridge with about 3-4 feet of tubing that will connect directly with the intake fan of your computer. Make sure the tubing hits the floor though at a low point so that any condensation buildup will simply drip down into the lowest part of the tube.

Instant forced cool-air.

Don't check your energy bill though

interesting mod... Definitely sounds like it would work in principle, but what happens when he turns the comp off and leaves the fridge on? wont the cold air chill the blades enough for condensation to build?

 

[Leros]

Originally posted by: aigomorla

Originally posted by: mozirry
Do it like this,

Get a 120mm computer fan and mount it on the bottom of the refrigerator. Run tubing from the exhaust 120mm on the fridge with about 3-4 feet of tubing that will connect directly with the intake fan of your computer. Make sure the tubing hits the floor though at a low point so that any condensation buildup will simply drip down into the lowest part of the tube.

Instant forced cool-air.

Don't check your energy bill though

interesting mod... Definitely sounds like it would work in principle, but what happens when he turns the comp off and leaves the fridge on? wont the cold air chill the blades enough for condensation to build?

I've heard that if you run a fridge at full power all the time, it will kill the fridge quite fast.

 

[blanketyblank]

so how does phase cooling work? I always figured they worked on roughly the same principle as a fridge though at 900 I'd rather have a fridge...
Actually I've been thinking about this too. I have a free mini fridge from OD, so I was wondering if I could dismantle it for the coils and radiator to modify my case.

 

[Noubourne]

They do work on essentially the same PRINCIPLE, but as stated, fridges aren't made to handle the kind of heat dump a computer is capable of putting out. You will burn out that fridge in no time. The mini-fridge will go even faster than a regular home-sized version.

What you want is a used or cheap window A/C unit. Much higher capacity for dumping heat, and made to work constantly for long periods of time. What most people do is just get certified to recharge, buy a used A/C unit, mod it, then recharge it, and off you go.

 

[Elfear]

Originally posted by: Noubourne
They do work on essentially the same PRINCIPLE, but as stated, fridges aren't made to handle the kind of heat dump a computer is capable of putting out. You will burn out that fridge in no time. The mini-fridge will go even faster than a regular home-sized version.

What you want is a used or cheap window A/C unit. Much higher capacity for dumping heat, and made to work constantly for long periods of time. What most people do is just get certified to recharge, buy a used A/C unit, mod it, then recharge it, and off you go.

QFT. Ice makers also have the kind of equipment you need to make a homemade phase-change device. OCZ has been working on an inexpensive phase-change unit for about a year now. Hopefully it will come to market soon and at the price they predicted (~$400).

Originally posted by: Oerekum
Components can get too cold. Those maniacs with liquid nitrogen cooling can't boot at a certain amount of minus degrees. But that's like minus 120C. What would be cool for a fridge, to put external watercooling radiators in them, and not the computer components themselves.. that would work well I bet.

That's true to a point. The processor is generally the culprit in those cases. Some processors are "cold-bugged" and can't be booted under a certain temp. Others can be booted in the -170-180 range with triple phase-change units. The same goes for video cards.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: blanketyblank
so how does phase cooling work? I always figured they worked on roughly the same principle as a fridge though at 900 I'd rather have a fridge...
Actually I've been thinking about this too. I have a free mini fridge from OD, so I was wondering if I could dismantle it for the coils and radiator to modify my case.

welcome to chilled h2o cooling.

tons of people do this as customs.

refer to xtrememsystems.org forums under phase and chilled liquid cooling.

 

[mozirry]

Originally posted by: Leros

Originally posted by: aigomorla

Originally posted by: mozirry
Do it like this,

Get a 120mm computer fan and mount it on the bottom of the refrigerator. Run tubing from the exhaust 120mm on the fridge with about 3-4 feet of tubing that will connect directly with the intake fan of your computer. Make sure the tubing hits the floor though at a low point so that any condensation buildup will simply drip down into the lowest part of the tube.

Instant forced cool-air.

Don't check your energy bill though

interesting mod... Definitely sounds like it would work in principle, but what happens when he turns the comp off and leaves the fridge on? wont the cold air chill the blades enough for condensation to build?

I've heard that if you run a fridge at full power all the time, it will kill the fridge quite fast.

Well, I suppose you could have some sort of trap door to trigger to release the cold air tube into the computer, allowing the fridge to function normally while running.

This would probably only work though with a full door size refrigerator, I would imagine a smaller one would run out of cold air too quickly.

It's a fairly impracticle method anyway =)