Anyone ever make a Mineral Oil computer?

[For2wenT]

So I decided that instead of a regular looking tower for my HTPC, I would go with something a little more "showy" and fun. I remember seeing a fish tank computer a while back online and filled with mineral oil to give the watery feel (plus cooling solution) and I thought that would be a great idea to do for my HTPC. I have all the parts ready to go (see below) Just need any tips out there on anything I may need to know. { ie.. The heatsink on my 4870 will try to blow the mineral oil out the top of the case. would it be ok if I just removed the plastic "tunnel" portion of the HS so that it does not direct the fluid directly up? Will it still cool enough this way or should I get an after market HS that blows directly onto the card? }

Parts for HTPC:
Intel E8400
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3L (v1.0)
4Gb (2x2Gb) Patriot Extreme Performance Gaming Series PC2-6400 (on their way)
Radeon HD 4870
Antec 550 Neo HE 550 Watt

I can post Pictures if need be, but right now I'm simply looking for tips on what to expect.. I'm not new to building computers, just to ones which are submerged in mineral oil lol..

Thanks in advance!

[gomer]

i looked into this a while back. and from what i remeber mineral oil doesnt transfer heat very well.

it will keep it cool enough but not for continous use situations, once all the oil heats up its pretty much useless.

you could try throwing some pumps and rads into the system but im pretty sure the oil doesnt transfer the heat as well as water so you'd have to go overkill on rads if you want a 24/7 cooling solution.

as for the gpu you would want to strip it and put in an aftermarket cooler aswell as on the cpu ofcoarse.

if you do try this make sure you get a big aquarium the more oil you put in the longer it all takes to heat up and the better off you'll be and if you do a rad set up make sure your pulling oil from the top of the aquarium (hottest) running it through the rads and then pumping into the bottom (coolest) for the best results.

[Eldonko]

Might help --> Custom PCs by Puget Systems; Mineral Oil Submerged Computer

Could always pump the oil thru a rad if you want cooler temps.

[For2wenT]

Thanks for the quick replies!

Originally Posted by gomer

you could try throwing some pumps and rads into the system but im pretty sure the oil doesnt transfer the heat as well as water so you'd have to go overkill on rads if you want a 24/7 cooling solution.

I thought I may have to do this.. so it looks like a lot more money needs to go into it yet before I really get cracking on it. The tank I have is 20 litre, so it's plenty big, but I figured I'd need to get a rad for cooling purpouses, maybe I'll try without for the first bit and see where it takes me. Nothing is really doing to be stressed since its just a HTPC, and also I'll be only using it when I'm watching TV/movies and what nots, so mostly 4hrs a day max.. If need be I think 3 x 120mm rad should be enough??

Originally Posted by Eldonko

Might help --> Custom PCs by Puget Systems; Mineral Oil Submerged Computer
Could always pump the oil thru a rad if you want cooler temps.

Thanks for the link Eldonko, I'll definitely be reading though that tonight and see if it helps!

[Eldonko]

I doubt you need a rad at all for htpc.