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[Case Gallery] Oil Submerged HTPC

Macross

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Joined
May 19, 2009
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To view this case mod, go here.



Specs:
AMD 3800+
2GB Geil RAM
Leadtek 6800GT
120Gb Laptop HDD
Hauppauge MCE 150

Mods:
The tank is a cheapie from Big W. I cut out the back of and old case that had a removable motherboard tray and mounted it in a 10mm perspex lid that sits flush in the fish tank. Removed PSU from its housing and mounted on 10mm perspex that is attached to top lid.

The idea is not new, and i was inspired by the guys at http://www.pugetsystems.com/submerged.php and their oil cooled pc. A big problem i saw with a lot of fish tank oil pcs, was the nightmare of trying to do anything on them once the oil was in. So i went with the idea of having the "Computer" parts all mounted in one piece that gets sunk into the oil. Storage is also an issue. As its a HTPC, i wanted big storage, but didnt want a big external drive lumbering around the tank. I solved this issue by running the OS on a laptop drive in the top under the tank cover, and using the vista iSCSI initiator to hit my NAS in the office downstairs. So i have lots of storage and no messy external drives. Best thing is that with the bubbles turned off, its totaly silent. :p This machine runs my 42" plasma and the odd game or two.... old parts and not going to tear crysis a new one, but does its job perfectly.
 
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Joined
Sep 5, 2006
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Location
Brasil - São Paulo - São Caetano do Sul
System Name NOS
Processor Core Extreme QX6850
Motherboard Maximus Formula
Cooling VANTEC STING RAY CPU Block, 3x120mm fan's with Radiator, Seltz 1200lt/h
Memory 4GB Crucial Ballistix 1066MHz 5-5-5-15
Video Card(s) PCI-express ATI Radeon HD2900XT 1GB DDR4 512bits
Storage 5 HD's 160GB SATAII Seagate ST3860815AS 7200.10
Display(s) LG 22'' model 22LS4R
Case 3Rsystem's R810 with mod's for watercooler system
Audio Device(s) Supreme FX II
Power Supply ULTRA X3 1000W modular PSU
Software WINXP PRO SP3 x86
10/10

Fully insane, very very good, u use u mind a lot to build this tank and the care if u have with the tank is awesome.

Congrats
 
Joined
Apr 24, 2009
Messages
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it's a good thing you followed the pudget system radiator and pump idea add-on. 9/10 from me for even having the nutz to put parts in oil.
 

shadapar

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Joined
Mar 23, 2009
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Location
grand rapids, mi
great looking

I'm curious as to how the pump and radiator are working for you? I built my eclipse 3 mini as a testbed so it's not really an issue for me, my 1250 sempron runs 23-26C on the chip and 47C as the system temp when the bubbles are going. It gains about 10C with it off. I'm curious as to your temps over all and how big a difference the radiator makes?
 

Macross

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Joined
May 19, 2009
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The system did get warm without the radiator. The equilibrium of heat coming in and heat going out through the glass was too high to operate for extended periods. But with the radiator and high volume pump installed, the temps leveled out at about 45C. The machine runs 24/7 now to record TV, and i have setup the sleep mode with a little tweaking so that it wakes up to record a show and then goes back to sleep again if no one is watching it.
 
Joined
Aug 11, 2008
Messages
334 (0.06/day)
Location
Ireland
how is the psu hanging in oil ??? Dont you worry that the oil may conduct some electricity to other parts ??
INSANE Mod 10/10 for sure
 
Joined
Dec 28, 2007
Messages
1,368 (0.23/day)
Processor AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE Deneb @ 3.7GHz
Motherboard GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P
Cooling ZALMAN CNPS9700 CPU Heatsink
Memory OCZ 4GB DDR3 1600 @ 7-7-7-24 1.85v
Video Card(s) ATI Sapphire OC 7850 1200c/5800m @ 64c Full Load
Storage Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB + Western Digital 1TB External Drive
Display(s) SAMSUNG ToC T240 24'' LCD
Case Silverstone FT01-BW
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply ZALMAN ZM-750
Software Win 7 x64 SP1
Joined
Jan 2, 2008
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System Name Thakk
Processor i7 6700k @ 4.5Ghz
Motherboard Gigabyte G1 Z170N ITX
Cooling H55 AIO
Memory 32GB DDR4 3100 c16
Video Card(s) Zotac RTX3080 Trinity
Storage Corsair Force GT 120GB SSD / Intel 250GB SSD / Samsung Pro 512 SSD / 3TB Seagate SV32
Display(s) Acer Predator X34 100hz IPS Gsync / HTC Vive
Case QBX
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC1150 > Creative Gigaworks T40 > AKG Q701
Power Supply Corsair SF600
Mouse Logitech G900
Keyboard Ducky Shine TKL MX Blue + Vortex PBT Doubleshots
Software Windows 10 64bit
Benchmark Scores http://www.3dmark.com/fs/12108888
I dare you to place your hand inside while the rig is on then take a pic with a thumbs up
 
Joined
Jul 17, 2008
Messages
643 (0.11/day)
System Name PIA
Processor Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard ASRock B550M Steel Legend
Cooling Corsair H50
Memory 2x8GB Gskill DDR4 3600
Video Card(s) MSI GTX 1660 Super
Storage Samsung EVO 970 1TB
Display(s) 2xAOC Curved 24" 144hz
Case Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L
Power Supply CORSAIR RMX (White) RM750x
Mouse Logitech G305
Keyboard Logitech G915 TKL
Software Windows 10 Pro
Nice, you actually made one that you use and not just a "LOOK WUT I DID".
10/10
 

Ahhzz

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Staff member
Joined
Feb 27, 2008
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8,708 (1.48/day)
System Name OrangeHaze / Silence
Processor i7-13700KF / i5-10400 /
Motherboard ROG STRIX Z690-E / MSI Z490 A-Pro Motherboard
Cooling Corsair H75 / TT ToughAir 510
Memory 64Gb GSkill Trident Z5 / 32GB Team Dark Za 3600
Video Card(s) Palit GeForce RTX 2070 / Sapphire R9 290 Vapor-X 4Gb
Storage Hynix Plat P41 2Tb\Samsung MZVL21 1Tb / Samsung 980 Pro 1Tb
Display(s) 22" Dell Wide/24" Asus
Case Lian Li PC-101 ATX custom mod / Antec Lanboy Air Black & Blue
Audio Device(s) SB Audigy 7.1
Power Supply Corsair Enthusiast TX750
Mouse Logitech G502 Lightspeed Wireless / Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum
Keyboard K68 RGB — CHERRY® MX Red
Software Win10 Pro \ RIP:Win 7 Ult 64 bit
Highly impressive, mate.
 

Macross

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May 19, 2009
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how is the psu hanging in oil ??? Dont you worry that the oil may conduct some electricity to other parts ??
INSANE Mod 10/10 for sure

If you check some of the build shots, you can see that the PSU is mounted on some 10mm perspex which is in turn attatched to the top lid. This means that unlike some other oil PCs around, you dont have to have the PSU sitting in the bottom of the tank.

Mineral oil is clear, and appears to look like water, but has no conductive properties. It is used to cool large electrical transformers, so has no ill effects on electrical components. And its nice on your hands :)
 
Joined
Aug 11, 2008
Messages
334 (0.06/day)
Location
Ireland
If you check some of the build shots, you can see that the PSU is mounted on some 10mm perspex which is in turn attatched to the top lid. This means that unlike some other oil PCs around, you dont have to have the PSU sitting in the bottom of the tank.

Mineral oil is clear, and appears to look like water, but has no conductive properties. It is used to cool large electrical transformers, so has no ill effects on electrical components. And its nice on your hands :)

Cool :p)
 

Howard

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Joined
Apr 28, 2009
Messages
152 (0.03/day)
Location
Hong Kong
System Name Simplicity II Extreme Rev.2
Processor Corei7 920 D0 @4.2Ghz 1.375V Turbo
Motherboard eVGA X58 Classified E759
Cooling Watercooled CPU (EnzoTech Luna Rev.A) NB+SB (Bitspower) Mosfet (Bitspower) Feser 360 + MCP655B
Memory Corsair Dominator GT CL7 1866Mhz 6GB (7-6-7-20 @1600Mhz)
Video Card(s) XFX GTX285 XXX
Storage WD Caviar Green 1Tb (OS) - WD Caviar 500Gb - Seagate Barracuda 500Gb
Display(s) Samsung SycnMaster 931bw
Case ATCS840 Black (Acrylic Side Panel)
Audio Device(s) X-Fi Titanium Fatality
Power Supply Corsair HX1000
Software Win7 Ultimate x64
Benchmark Scores will do this asap..
it's unique and unusual bro!
9/10 !
 
Joined
Sep 20, 2006
Messages
460 (0.07/day)
nice job on the "unit" to submerge everything at once. How do the fans handle spinning in the liquid? Think they'd put a bit of a current load on the PSU? possibly adding more heat to the oil bath? Can put a few hoses on a manifold from the pressure side of the loop, then point them at your heat exchangers in the submerged oil. Keep an eye out for long term oil wicking at the cables; and oil soaking into anything the cables are touching.
 
Joined
Apr 14, 2008
Messages
229 (0.04/day)
Location
South Africa
System Name ProtoType D
Processor Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400
Motherboard Asus P5Q-E
Cooling Home made custom air cooling
Memory 4GB 800Mhz
Storage 500GB
Display(s) 2 X 17" Samsung LCD
Case Raidmax Aztec
Power Supply 500W Stainless Steel
Software Windows 7 64bit
Interesting. Good thing it works.
10/10
 

enaher

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Joined
Feb 21, 2009
Messages
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System Name One does not simply have enough cash for INTEL
Processor Athlon II 450 3.8ghz
Motherboard Gigabyte 990FX-UD3
Cooling Cooler Master 212+
Memory 4x4gb Corsair DDR3
Video Card(s) 2x 5830 Sapphire 950c/1150m CF
Storage 2x Seagate 500GB Raid0 + Samsung 1TB
Display(s) BenQ G2220HDA
Case Xigmatek ASGARD PRO
Power Supply SeasonicX 750w
Software W7 x64 Ultimate
that something there 10/10 ive seen few people pull it of so good
 
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