View Full Version : mineral oil?
UPDATE: I got everything working and it looks and performs great. Around 30c under load but that's because I went overboard with the cooling *Higher up its about 60c but at the bottom of the tank its 30c because of where I decided to have the oil dump out*
In the process I ruined 2 hd's and a stick of ram but nothing much. I am hoping I can find a camera to start taking pictures of it with.
atomic ferret
09-19-09, 10:20 PM
Oil is definitely a bad idea for that. Go water. Just do a search to find out why, it's been discussed many, many times.
Oil is definitely a bad idea for that. Go water. Just do a search to find out why, it's been discussed many, many times.
I did do a search...... all it saw was that it is messy which is no issue for me.
just dan
09-19-09, 10:27 PM
mineral oil works well, puget systems had one in a fishy tank for of it for like a year and nothings broken or soaked with it but it needs circulation(fans in it maybe) and maybe a single/dual radiator.
CualvezAsteria
09-20-09, 04:06 AM
Absolutely check this out... complete log of a couple mineral oil builds.
http://www.pugetsystems.com/submerged.php
Pretty awesome imo if you never need to move it. They sell kits as well.
BobbyBubblehead
09-20-09, 04:21 AM
Great another mineral oil thread :-/
Fairly sure fishtanks are for keeping fish in... not pc`s :bang head
And thoes funny expensive blocks we get excited about here have deionized pumped through them :beer:
Airbornederekc
09-20-09, 09:49 AM
4.0GHz can be done on AIR 24/7. why the hell do you want to run it in a fish tank full of oil?
Boulard83
09-20-09, 09:53 AM
Ill just possibly never try a fishtank PC just cause i swap my hardware so often .....
+ for an I7 and this kind of heat, youll need a pump+rad to remove ALLLL the heat from the oil. Just leaving a PSU with a lil load under a bucket of oil become warn. ~40 °c
CualvezAsteria
09-20-09, 09:59 AM
4.0GHz can be done on AIR 24/7. why the hell do you want to run it in a fish tank full of oil?
Well it'd be much quieter as a triple rad would be the only thing needing a fan.
Ill just possibly never try a fishtank PC just cause i swap my hardware so often .....
+ for an I7 and this kind of heat, youll need a pump+rad to remove ALLLL the heat from the oil. Just leaving a PSU with a lil load under a bucket of oil become warn. ~40 °c I will have 4 radiators for it. and the parts wont be swapped for 2 plus years.
4.0GHz can be done on AIR 24/7. why the hell do you want to run it in a fish tank full of oil?
same response as above,
*removed quote of abusive posts that were deleted - IMOG*
Bobnova
09-20-09, 10:16 AM
4.0GHz can be done on AIR 24/7. why the hell do you want to run it in a fish tank full of oil?
For fun, one guy posted one with an ITX board in a tank with gravel and plastic plants and such, it really looked like he just dumped a mobo into a fish tank and the fish were hiding from it, looked really cool.
It's a snazz factor thing, not an extreme cooling thing.
That said, a phase change unit cooling the cpu with the whole mobo under oil means no condensation whatsoever.
For fun, one guy posted one with an ITX board in a tank with gravel and plastic plants and such, it really looked like he just dumped a mobo into a fish tank and the fish were hiding from it, looked really cool.
It's a snazz factor thing, not an extreme cooling thing.
That said, a phase change unit cooling the cpu with the whole mobo under oil means no condensation whatsoever.
Thank you for understand its a snazz factor everyone else doesnt like it because they swap parts out every few months lol. Do you have any radiator suggestions that would work great for this? Noise is not an issue since I can most likely cut the noise down 40%
Would 2 of these be suitable? http://www.xoxide.com/koolance-hx-360.html
Why do you want to oil cool your computer? It isnt like it is going to need any extreme cooling at 4ghz. Just get a TRUE and call it good.
Putting an i7 in oil isn't going to work. The oil won't be able to keep it cool.
I'd probably go with a swiftech double 120 radiator, with 4 fans in push/pull. I doubt galvanic corrosion is an issue with mineral oil being wonderfully non-conductive, but the swifty double would be cheaper than two of those and still has decent enough flow that warm mineral oil would push through it okay.
Maybe two of them if you're going I7...you'll need a lot of radiator to cool everything, and it doesn't help that oil holds heat more stubbornly than does water.
I'd even consider a truck radiator.
xtkxhom3r
09-20-09, 09:25 PM
i say try a swiftech 120.3 rad and if the temps are bad then move up to a 2nd one
With a tank full of oil, how are you going to regulate the hot oil getting to the rad, and the cool oil getting to the heatsinks?
Boulard83
09-21-09, 01:01 AM
With a tank full of oil, how are you going to regulate the hot oil getting to the rad, and the cool oil getting to the heatsinks?
The idea is to cool ALL the oil...
The idea is to cool ALL the oil...
Exactly, but unless you do it right, cooled oil is going to be sucked back into the rad.
xtkxhom3r
09-21-09, 10:21 AM
i would say one hose on one side of the tank and the other on the opposite side....
Well, I suppose you could assume convection is happening and all of the warm oil ends up at the top of the aquarium, and work on a solution from there.
I'd probably go with a swiftech double 120 radiator, with 4 fans in push/pull. I doubt galvanic corrosion is an issue with mineral oil being wonderfully non-conductive, but the swifty double would be cheaper than two of those and still has decent enough flow that warm mineral oil would push through it okay.
Maybe two of them if you're going I7...you'll need a lot of radiator to cool everything, and it doesn't help that oil holds heat more stubbornly than does water.
I'd even consider a truck radiator.
yep agreed
i say try a swiftech 120.3 rad and if the temps are bad then move up to a 2nd one
Thanks I was planning on getting 2 or 3
Exactly, but unless you do it right, cooled oil is going to be sucked back into the rad.
Which is why I will do it right XD
For the people saying just use fans or whatever.... I am doing it for the looks like I already said also ...... I made a decision and am sticking with it and asked for help which the people quoted above have helped me with. I have seen a oil cooled i7 work fine and wanted to do the same. I could post in every single water cooling thread and say just use fans but I dont :D
You will still probably want some kind of fan just as an agitator for the oil, to keep it moving and make sure that heat is being spread around. Get something with a high Static Pressure, so that its actually able to operate in the oil, and you'll need fans on the radiator(s) if you plan on keeping the fluid cool. You can use medium speed/quiet fans, especially with as much rad-age as you plan on using. The only thing you'll need to worry about really is how to make sure the rads are getting a constant flow of warm oil.
Well I have seen some mineral oil rigs where the whole computer besides cd rom and hard drive are submersed. any suggestions on how to do this and what would be the best way to cool the oil? I wanted to overclock a i7 to 4.0 ghz and keep it like that for 1-2 days at a time.
My take on oil submersion: It is too much of a pain in the rear end compared to any real or perceived benefits.
Water cooling can keep an i7 OC'd at 4.0GHz for days on end while keeping the temps well within acceptable tolerances.
Merry Christmas. :santa:
My take on oil submersion: It is too much of a pain in the rear end compared to any real or perceived benefits.
Water cooling can keep an i7 OC'd at 4.0GHz for days on end while keeping the temps well within acceptable tolerances.
Merry Christmas. :santa:
Yeah thanks I just like the looks lol. there is a hole in my upstairs wall so im building a enclosure inside the desk with a vent leading outside and will have maybe 3 rads in there. And 5 fans inside the case. I think I have an idea how to get the rads to work right. Hot liquid rises and cold liquid goes down so maybe 1 rad working on the bottom of the tank and 2 on the top?
I.M.O.G.
09-22-09, 03:58 PM
I've cleaned this thread up. Some of the posts here had nothing to do with what OC Forums is about, and PM's will follow as time permits.
Any more abusive posts here will be dealt with harshly.
deed, as a new member I want to welcome and reassure that a few bad apples do not stand for what this site is about. The rest of the helpful members in this thread do however, and I'm glad we have people like this here for the right reasons. :)
:welcome:
Well... We do get a lot of posts like this. Perhaps a sticky is needed? I've seen much ruder posts go un deleted.
I.M.O.G.
09-23-09, 07:33 AM
I agree, we do get a lot of repeat posts on this topic.
Ruder posts may have gone undeleted because we can't catch every rude, unwelcoming posts, but when we do, we make a point to make it clear it's not what this forum is about. Especially with a new member like deed.
If someone doesn't have the patience for it, they shouldn't click into the thread to abuse the thread starter. The people being abusive are not trying to help - if they wanted to help they'd work on that sticky which would probably be a good thing to have here.
They just want to complain and abuse posters for posting a repeat topic, and it won't be tolerated anytime I'm aware of it. New posters need help and direction, and that's what this forum is about. We should all act like it.
I used the search button and never found any how to guides unless im blind lol.
I finnaly decided what to get. 3 of the rads suggested here with a mini fishtank hidden inside my desk which will suck oil in cool it and dump it out while the other rads are running to help cool it. * Saw that online and I guess it allowed it to run for another 40+ hours at a time*
I tested a older video card and a old computer to see how it runs and my video card wants to take off like a submarine lol.
Theocnoob
10-09-09, 06:30 PM
Don't do it.
I understand chemistry and hydrology and I do aquariums. There's too much stuff in your PC that is conductive and can leech and over time cause the mineral oil to become conductive. If you changed it regularly, maybe, but this is not a good fad IMO.
CualvezAsteria
10-09-09, 06:43 PM
UPDATE: I got everything working and it looks and performs great. Around 30c under load but that's because I went overboard with the cooling *Higher up its about 60c but at the bottom of the tank its 30c because of where I decided to have the oil dump out*
In the process I ruined 2 hd's and a stick of ram but nothing much. I am hoping I can find a camera to start taking pictures of it with.
Nice! I'd love to see those pics.
A lot of people have negative views toward this... but My only question is... If you don't like the idea of using mineral oil to cool your pc... then don't use? if someone else wants to why not help them with the questions they ask? I mean you don't think it's going to work etc for whatever reason... but you never know unless you try. One of the reasons I liked this forum and registered was cause I saw a lot of different people helping each other out and trying different things. What's the fun if everyone had the same setups? very boring very fast... Hope to see some pictures and good luck with it :)
Don't do it.
I understand chemistry and hydrology and I do aquariums. There's too much stuff in your PC that is conductive and can leech and over time cause the mineral oil to become conductive. If you changed it regularly, maybe, but this is not a good fad IMO.
Already did it and it worked great XD
A lot of people have negative views toward this... but My only question is... If you don't like the idea of using mineral oil to cool your pc... then don't use? if someone else wants to why not help them with the questions they ask? I mean you don't think it's going to work etc for whatever reason... but you never know unless you try. One of the reasons I liked this forum and registered was cause I saw a lot of different people helping each other out and trying different things. What's the fun if everyone had the same setups? very boring very fast... Hope to see some pictures and good luck with it :)
Yeah thats what I thought. All the basic water cooling setups on here all look the same to me but mineral oil is something different. Even if I didnt like certin setups but I was a pro I would still help.
Some people told me to search and nothing really came up besides that you cant swap parts easily lol.
I.M.O.G.
10-09-09, 07:28 PM
Deed, would you be interested in writing an article?
Also, are you going to continue to run the system like this?
I'd love to see an article now about your experience, another in 6 months, and another in a year or two.
A lot of people say this is a bad idea and I agree. I'd be interested in how many components you go thru in a year, and I think others could learn from it also.
More than anything tho, I think its cool your doing something different.
Deed, would you be interested in writing an article?
Also, are you going to continue to run the system like this?
I'd love to see an article now about your experience, another in 6 months, and another in a year or two.
A lot of people say this is a bad idea and I agree. I'd be interested in how many components you go thru in a year, and I think others could learn from it also.
More than anything tho, I think its cool your doing something different.
I will try it.... My native language is not english so I will try my best. I will run the system for awhile I am hoping to get pictures just gotta find a camera haha.
Conumdrum
10-09-09, 08:07 PM
You got perfect english for us hacks here, I would of never knew!
The only language I speak better than English is Drunk.
You got perfect english for us hacks here, I would of never knew!
The only language I speak better than English is Drunk.
Drunk is the best language to speak :D
I.M.O.G.
10-09-09, 08:42 PM
Nice title Conundrum. ;)
Deed: If you can write it up, we have the content editors and proofreaders in place to clean up the details. We'll get your final approval before we publish, because the content itself is yours. You can get the article template here:
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=619977
You can get help from Hokiealumnus if you have any questions, you can contact him here:
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?p=6259997#post6259997
hokiealumnus
10-09-09, 10:58 PM
Thanks I.M.O.G.! Deed, you're welcome to PM me if you feel the urge as well. Would definitely like to see this be turned into a write up. :)
Bobnova
10-09-09, 11:02 PM
Me too, i'd love to hear your experiences.
I'm very tempted to buy a rubbermaid tub and dunk one of the old 5x86 socket7 boards i have lying around, too bad the oil is expensive.
ricflairw000
10-10-09, 12:11 PM
PFM201
thats about 8$ a liter here at work
its jaguar suspension mineral oil
i dunno if its the same stuff
Bobnova
10-10-09, 12:25 PM
$16 for two liters isn't bad, i could get a socket7 board submerged with that i bet.
Guess i'll have to look into local prices some more :D
markp1989
10-10-09, 12:27 PM
seen some of these before, couldnt afford the oil and i like changing parts too much to try it , good luck with it all.
post pics when your done
I too would love to see a writeup on it
It's probably nothing i would do myselve but it's definately cool that your trying it out
Way to go and i'm joining the ppl here that would like to see pics of your setup
I will start the article soon, It still needs some tweaking. The top is getting hot so I want to get another pump that drains into the top. After about 2 days its getting around 72C so I may try less oil also.
Theocnoob
10-12-09, 08:21 PM
I will try it.... My native language is not english so I will try my best. I will run the system for awhile I am hoping to get pictures just gotta find a camera haha.
Didn't notice until you said something :bday:
its very good!
Bobnova
10-12-09, 11:10 PM
Ya, don't worry about your english, your english is far better then many american's english.
I didn't even suspect it wasn't your native language anyway, don't worry about it.
I'm looking forward to reading the article!
ricflairw000
10-12-09, 11:43 PM
Ya, don't worry about your english, your english is far better then many american's english.
I didn't even suspect it wasn't your native language anyway, don't worry about it.
I'm looking forward to reading the article!
i majored in literature in college
you are fine :D
NovoRei
10-12-09, 11:45 PM
How do you clean the videocard/etc if you want to get off?
Alcohol should not work. Kerosene?
How do you clean the videocard/etc if you want to get off?
Alcohol should not work. Kerosene?
I would not know. I guess I should find a way. The i7 computer should last me 4-5+ years before I upgrade if the oil does not cause any harm so the video card is no biggy for me.
psh... I'd just take it out back spray it off with the hose and then just let it dry good :p
Jeffery_Paul
10-13-09, 08:10 AM
I don't have anything to say about the original topic as I clicked it out of curiosity towards what you were posting about, but I must say an article on this would be very interesting to read for someone like me who is completely new to PC cooling (Last time I put a cooler in a PC, it was a stock cooler on a pentium 4....)
A good write up with pictures would be good, even though I have no plans to ever use this type of cooling
edit: Oh and if you havn't already, you should really spend a lot of time researching the cleaning and maintainence of the componants submerged in the system, also the maintainence of the oil itself. Its just like the coolants for watercooling, sure, they can be non-conductive when you put it in the system, but over time, impurities get in and eventually add a tiny bit of conductivity to the oil. In a water loop thats not so bad because its all in pipes and only a worry if a leak springs up. The oil you use might be a lot more resistant to this, I wouldn't know but its something you should really look at. Find out how often you should change the oil and such.
hope you don't fry any more componants, just remember to always keep an eye on the temperature, at various places in the oil not just one or two. Getting multiple temp sensors to sit in various points, near critical componants and such as well as random spots in the oil, or near the inlet/outlet to the rads etc. You can never be too careful.
All the best,
Jeff
DUSNOETOS
10-13-09, 09:18 AM
Well I have always have been interested in a oil system. But the biggest reason I have never gone through with it is I just don't have the extra space.....
Just as a side quip about 2 years ago when i was almost gonna do it, I read an article on oil colling a PC. The guy used some kind of charged metallic plates that were designate to collect any conductive particles that may leach into the system - like a magnet. I have know idea how well or long the setup worked. I have also spent the past hour trying to find the article with no luck.
Well I have always have been interested in a oil system. But the biggest reason I have never gone through with it is I just don't have the extra space.....
Just as a side quip about 2 years ago when i was almost gonna do it, I read an article on oil colling a PC. The guy used some kind of charged metallic plates that were designate to collect any conductive particles that may leach into the system - like a magnet. I have know idea how well or long the setup worked. I have also spent the past hour trying to find the article with no luck.
I will have to try it sounds cool. I will be ordering this so I can take pictures: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16830113189
And while im waiting for this to come in I am hoping my other thread gets some responses so I can upgrade the darn thing. Psu ram cpu etc. I am just not sure if am2 socket motherboards can run am3.
SuperDave1685
10-13-09, 09:32 PM
glad to hear you got it working deeds. And welcome to OCF :D Can't wait to see some pictures. Have you looked over at Puget System's build logs? Looks like they are able to cool their system well:
How well does this setup cool? AMAZINGLY well! In this system, we put in the best hardware -- an Intel QX9770 overclocked to 4.6GHz, 8GB of DDR3-1600 memory, and a NVIDIA GTX280 video card. It ran at 50C under full load, and that was with our fans on the low setting! The graph below shows the temperatures we saw as we ran 3DMark Vantage, then let the system idle. You'll notice the temperature barely changes at all -- the radiator handles the heat with ease!
This is with a Magicool Xtreme Quad 480 Radiator
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