Oil Submerged HTPC Mark II


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Owner: Macross
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Posted: Dec 15, 2011
Last Update: Dec 15, 2011 19:50
Viewed: 9,048 times
Rating: Incredible (8.7)
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43 votes total
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Keywords:
High ratedCustom caseExotic cooled
This user's other mods:
System Specs:
» Intel E6500 @ 3.21Ghz » 4Gb RAM » Nvidia GTX550 Ti » Swiftech MCP655 » Koolance Quick Disconnects » 60Gb Vertex SSD
Performed Mods:
This is my second oil submerged HTPC. First one can be seen here http://www.techpowerup.com/gallery/2144.html The original one has run for around three years with not one problem. The hardware was getting old and needed an upgrade so decided to build a new tank. Same basic idea with some refinements. Submerged the pump in the oil to eliminate noise and make the entire computer one unit that can be removed from the oil by using the handles. Quick disconnects make is easy to remove the radiator. With the fans on low speed the machine is totally silent.

TPU's Case Mod Gallery is sponsored by Xoxide

User comments

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by Cliffst3rz (December 18th - 10:55 AM) - Reply
I voted 4/10 because:

dont see the point in it
by Macross (December 20th - 1:09 AM) - Reply
Just pushed up a youtube vid from my iphone

[yt]wfDKuDNiZ9A[/yt]
by Shurakai (December 20th - 4:02 AM) - Reply
Love it, always wanted to try something like that, just looks so peaceful and out of this world, I mean who expects to see a PC submerged like that lol.

9/10 :D
by Trifixion (December 22nd - 12:23 AM) - Reply
i seen this done a few times but none look as good as this, but why the cpu heat sink? why not a spot fan strait on the cpu.
9/10
by BlackOmega (December 22nd - 2:05 AM) - Reply
by: Cliffst3rz
I voted 4/10 because:

dont see the point in it
There is no point. It's like building a drag car --what's the point? You can't drive it anywhere except on the drag strip, it doesn't turn, it sucks on gas and will probably overheat at every red light. People still do it.
by: Trifixion
i seen this done a few times but none look as good as this, but why the cpu heat sink? why not a spot fan strait on the cpu.
9/10
Um.....because it's submerged in oil O_o

10/10. I know it's not the first one I've seen, but these are awesome. It takes BALLS and a lot of ingenuity to build something like this.
by Macross (December 22nd - 2:55 AM) - Reply
Thanks for the positive feedback guys. Much appreciated.

Trifixion, you still need to dissipate the heat from the CPU over a large surface area. The CPU die heat spreader is just not enough area to get the heat away unless you dump liquid nitrogen on it. The CPU cooler just gives you a big surface area to het the heat away with. Plus the fan moves the oil around and it had a green LED :)
by fluxc0d3r (December 22nd - 3:04 AM) - Reply
Wouldn't try this with a lga 2011 system!
by Macross (December 22nd - 3:10 AM) - Reply
by: fluxc0d3r
Wouldn't try this with a lga 2011 system!
Why not... there is no harm to the components... other than distroying your waranty and not wanting to plug them into any other system ever again. :D But other than that, they run perfectly. My last oily hardware ran for three years without a hitch... the only reason they stopped is cause i needed to upgrade.
by Trifixion (December 22nd - 7:15 AM) - Reply
by: BlackOmega
There is no point. It's like building a drag car --what's the point? You can't drive it anywhere except on the drag strip, it doesn't turn, it sucks on gas and will probably overheat at every red light. People still do it.


Um.....because it's submerged in oil O_o

10/10. I know it's not the first one I've seen, but these are awesome. It takes BALLS and a lot of ingenuity to build something like this.
Um.....is that you sherlock? i just thought heat dispersing directly into the oil rather then a heat sink first would be better, not much surface area in my cpu water block.
by Nemesis881 (January 9th - 1:56 PM) - Reply
This is probably the coolest thing I have ever seen in my life. I want to make one of these now...or at least change out my blue LEDs for green ones.

I have a few questions though:
-What kind of "oil" is that? Non-conductive liquid for water cooling I assume?
-Does the fluid evaporate over time? Do you have to keep topping it off every now and then?
-Is that a fish tank or a custom made tank?
-How much cooler does it make your processor/GPU compared to a standard air cooled comp?

oh and P.S.
10/10!!!
by Macross (January 9th - 3:18 PM) - Reply
by: Nemesis881
This is probably the coolest thing I have ever seen in my life. I want to make one of these now...or at least change out my blue LEDs for green ones.

I have a few questions though:
-What kind of "oil" is that? Non-conductive liquid for water cooling I assume?
-Does the fluid evaporate over time? Do you have to keep topping it off every now and then?
-Is that a fish tank or a custom made tank?
-How much cooler does it make your processor/GPU compared to a standard air cooled comp?

oh and P.S.
10/10!!!
Thanks Nemesis881.... I have to admit that i spend a lot of time just watching the bubbles flowing around the fans and components... its mesmerizing.

The oil is highly refined mineral oil. You can get it pretty easily. I buy it in 20L drums. It dosnt conduct electricity. In fact its used to cool large electrical transformers that hang off power polls in most neighbourhoods.

The oil level does drop over time.. but very little. My last oil PC only needed a slight top up after over two years of operation.

Yes, that is a regular fish tank. Choosing one around the right size is the hard part. Also finding one that you can get the perspex lid to sit in can be a bit trickey. I had to do a bit of dremel work to get the tank ready so the Perspex lid just sits in the right spot.

As for cooling, i dont know that it makes a huge drop in operating temps. The thing that i notice is that the system as a whole seems more stable as the heat is dissipated evenly over the whole system.. rather than getting hot spots here and there as you do when air cooling. I have overclocked this machine a little, but at the end of the day, the oil submerssion is for visual effect rather than any sort of super dupper overclocking. Its great fun and is a fantastic display in our living room... guests just loose thier minds when they see it!
by scaminatrix (January 9th - 3:59 PM) - Reply
Missed one bit out on your system specs :p
For everyone else: Thermaltake Toughpower 550W EVO_Blue (I love these PSU's)

9/10
by THRiLL KiLL (January 9th - 4:01 PM) - Reply
nice mod
by Macross (January 9th - 4:19 PM) - Reply
Oh cool... i just found some green EL Cable from a really old case mod i did and it still works.... wonder how i could best incorporate it into the oil PC without it looking too 80's 'Tron' like. any suggestions anyone?
by KenHart1969 (March 14th - 3:41 AM) - Reply
I like it.

I cant understand why you get a person giving you a 4 because they dont get it.

Case modding is unique to the person building it and this is a place to show your ideas and how you did them.

Regardless of colours and specs what really matters is in how it has been constructed and cables routed.

I too have seen mineral oil rigs before but I can see alot of time and effort in this one - nice rig.
by SaiZo (March 14th - 4:15 AM) - Reply
Damn, didn't notice that the PSU was in the oil aswell!
Great work!
by techtard (March 14th - 5:19 AM) - Reply
Nice work! I've seen a few of these online over the years, none have been this high quality other than one called the HardcorePC Reactor. But that was a done by a company and sold for huge $$$.

Awesome :)
by Moatsim (March 26th - 8:57 AM) - Reply
this is freaking crazy.................. different

btw can anybody tell me which song in the video?
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