Extreme measures to cool PC ?

[nissmo300]

I was bored decided to see how a big fan handles computer cooling so...

I had a commerical blower... not to big (its height and width are the same as my antec case. So I took the side panel off and put the fan right next to it. My current readings for the temp where around 38-40 C. So I blast the fan on high and in a matter of 1-2 min the temp dropped to 24 C - WTF!!! I didn't believe it. I'm not overclocking anything but I just wanted to see what happens. Obviously I am not going to sit there with a commerical fan blowing into my PC (I atucally had to hold the fan down becuase it was moving back lol).

Have any of you tried anything wacky like this? I heard someone put a exhaust tubing from his proccessor to out his window for some cool air. It actually does drop temps down, way down. Please don't think I'm crazy.

[indolikaa]

Nah, that's not crazy!

Ever turned your computer over so the air-conditioning vent on the floor/baseboard kept it cool?

[nissmo300]

Not yet haha

But imagine that... temps in the 10's? Maybe lower?

[rallynavvie]

A friend of mine has his overclocked system in a tight space where there was trouble getting air out of the case with the exhaust fan. He fashioned tubing with an exhaust fan on the end of it to run out to where it could breathe easier, but anytime he moved it to a LAN party it look a little bit like an elephant's trunk.

Personally I've done the trick with the intake plumbing air in from a dryer vent in the middle of winter. That actually worked very well for how silly it was. I was seeings some great case temps and the CPUs ran as happily as ever. I've thought about building a housing for the side of the house to put the case in and then run all the cables in through a weathertight grommet and seal the whole thing up and operate it like a terminal. It would have to be all external optical drives and some USB/FireWire hubs but on paper it looked like it would work. Of course this would only be useful in the winter since it gets unbearably hot and humid here in the summer, but the temps of -30F here in the winter sure would be fun to play with.

I actually have seen/heard a VapoChill case running. They're pretty quiet even when the compressor goes on. I'd seriously consider owning one of those if they made one specifically for dual processors. Phase change cooling is fun

[tgpo]

Never done anything like that before. My computer doesn't even have a fan in it.

[VCDHunter]

Never done anything like that before. My computer doesn't even have a fan in it.

Not even on the heatsink ?

[tgpo]

I have tons of heatsink, but no fan.

[indolikaa]

Why would he need fans? It doesn't take that much to cool an Apple IIe.

.indolikaa.
Proud Owner
Quadra 950

[Capmaster]

I'm still waiting for a liquid nitrogen setup before I overclock

[tgpo]

My Computer

Inside of my computer

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[nissmo300]

I'm still waiting for a liquid nitrogen setup before I overclock

I read a article someone took liquid nitrogen and made a 2.4 GHz p4 go 4339 MGHz close to 4.0 Ghz. But the liquid nitrogen kept evaporating. But It's amzing what you can do. I'll try to find the website again.

[Solarjetman]

I read a article someone took liquid nitrogen and made a 2.4 GHz p4 go 4339 MGHz close to 4.0 Ghz.

Tom's Hardware got it close to 5 GHz....

http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/20031230/index.html

[Capmaster]

I'm still waiting for a liquid nitrogen setup before I overclock

I read a article someone took liquid nitrogen and made a 2.4 GHz p4 go 4339 MGHz close to 4.0 Ghz. But the liquid nitrogen kept evaporating. But It's amzing what you can do. I'll try to find the website again.

The cold comes from the liquid evaporating. It's room temp until it's allowed to expand. The problem with an LN2 setup is that the nitrogen displaces the oxygen in the air unless it's a sealed system and if you run it for a long time in an enclosed area you could asphyxiate yourself :P

[jeex]

i've got no problem with people overclocking their systems.. but a pal of mine has a very elaborate cooling system that is ridiculous.. the cost of the AMD cpu + cooling system is considerably more than a pentium cpu of its equal.. thats when overclocking goes retarded.. what THG did was kinda cool though.

[tgpo]

if you run it for a long time in an enclosed area you could asphyxiate yourself :P

Yeah, but your computer would be wicked fast! Even if you weren't around anymore to see it.

[Capmaster]

if you run it for a long time in an enclosed area you could asphyxiate yourself :P

Yeah, but your computer would be wicked fast! Even if you weren't around anymore to see it.

Ahhh .....that's a true overclock geek

[Bondiablo]

how about a nuclear bong?

http://www.overclockers.com/articles389/

[Capmaster]

how about a nuclear bong?

http://www.overclockers.com/articles389/

That's a Tim the Toolman solution 8)

[x-kid]

i'm using a prometeia to cool my pc right now. i got it a while back when i was addicted to oc'ing. i like it a lot. keeps my pc really cool. i get around -14C but the evaportor head is at -40C. it's pretty quiet too.

[Cobra]

In the discussion a while ago about the point of water cooling, indolikaa was talking about Peltier cooling. This has the disadvantage of forming ice crystals around the CPU.

Why not combine a thermostatically-controlled Peltier with water cooling? The Peltier can sit by a radiator on the outside of the case and keep the water between 2-3 deg C, giving the water cooling a big boost.

On the other hand, as jeex points out, if you aren't really into overclocking you probably won't want to spend that much. I use a normal heatsink and fan - the full-copper Coolermaster Aero 7+. It does me just fine!

Cobra

[Capmaster]

Or skip overclocking, take the money the turbo-charged Peltier Three Mile Island cooling system would have cost you and buy a processor that IS fast enough 8)

[Cobra]

I can't wait until I can afford a top-of-the-line AMD like the FX-55 (not released yet, I know). Even then, I'd still overclock it.

Also, overclocking a little needn't cost you a penny if you're careful. Take a look at my signature if you're interested.

Cobra

[Capmaster]

I can't wait until I can afford a top-of-the-line AMD like the FX-55 (not released yet, I know). Even then, I'd still overclock it.

Also, overclocking a little needn't cost you a penny if you're careful. Take a look at my signature if you're interested.

Cobra

Then you hard-core OC'ers know all about obsessions and how even the nicest, most well-balanced person can succumb to ...er....ummmm.... fringe ....ummm .......desires ......

[Piccoro]

I always think it's funny how people are so proud of their many mhz/ghz OCs with Pentium 4's when you can OC an AMD system less and get that performance.
Link

[rallynavvie]

Yeah, but the combination of HT and big FSB when overclocking the P4 beats the AMD 64 still. The on-die memory controller on the AMD proc trounces the P4 in games and similar apps, but workstation programs like video ones are still Intel's game.

[Cobra]

Then you hard-core OC'ers know all about obsessions and how even the nicest, most well-balanced person can succumb to ...er....ummmm.... fringe ....ummm .......desires ......

How has Dolly been recently, eh Capmaster?

Overclocking can be a bit of a laugh, I'm by no means hardcore, I can just do it to a moderate extent. It's really easy.

Cobra

[Capmaster]

Then you hard-core OC'ers know all about obsessions and how even the nicest, most well-balanced person can succumb to ...er....ummmm.... fringe ....ummm .......desires ......

How has Dolly been recently, eh Capmaster?

Overclocking can be a bit of a laugh, I'm by no means hardcore, I can just do it to a moderate extent. It's really easy.

Cobra

Dolly's fine. She had a slow leak two days ago after I took her for a walk, but she's recovering nicely, and holding her air

I think OC'ing is fine as long as you don't try to ...say ....run a 700MHz Celeron at 5GHz But being an engineer myself, I usually don't feel comfortable violating the manufacturer's limits. I look at it like the red line on the car's tach. But that's just me. It's worked so far because I've never turned a CPU into a charcoal briquette

[flaninacupboard]

but being an engineer surely you know a quoted spec on something has a built in tolerance? i.e. a 12V device in a PC will still work when supplied with 10.8V or 13.2V. a 2,000mhz CPU will still run at 2,200mhz. same goes with lots of things in life - if the maximum a pot of paracetamol says you can take in 24 hours is six, you can definitely take 7, 8 won't hurt, ten is probaly fine and 12 won't cause a problem in 90% of people. i remember someone i knew peripherally attermtping to take their life by taking six paracetamol at the same time.......

[Capmaster]

but being an engineer surely you know a quoted spec on something has a built in tolerance? i.e. a 12V device in a PC will still work when supplied with 10.8V or 13.2V. a 2,000mhz CPU will still run at 2,200mhz. same goes with lots of things in life - if the maximum a pot of paracetamol says you can take in 24 hours is six, you can definitely take 7, 8 won't hurt, ten is probaly fine and 12 won't cause a problem in 90% of people. i remember someone i knew peripherally attermtping to take their life by taking six paracetamol at the same time.......

True, true. Ibuprofen is another example - the dosage is 2 and you can safely take 5 or 6 if needed.

The reliability of any device depends on many factors, one of them being how close to the operating limits you take it. The cooler it runs, the longer it'll last. Heat is usually what kills electronics - both external and internally-generated. True you can push it, since most CPUs are designed for a 7-year lifetime and we all upgrade more often than that. But you never know if your CPU was made on a Monday morning or a Friday afternoon, and the wafer fab technician was a little sloppy.

In my line we use sigma failure probability and control limits/spec limits to track out of control fab processes. Some devices end up right smack in the middle of the distribution and others are right at the hairy edge. Good enough to sell, but not the best specimen. Clearly the sample in the middle would be a better candidate for overclocking, but you never know and it's all a crapshoot.

[Cobra]

others are right at the hairy edge

That's me! The XP2500 that I have isn't a good overclocker - my brother has one that clocked right up to XP3200 speeds with only +100mV VCore and it runs at a steady 32 deg C. Mine is 2.07 (130MHz below his) and peaks at 57 deg C.

I couldn't care less if my CPU were to crash and burn, so I'm clocking it very hard. I'm looking at upgrading to an XP-M 2500 (Mobile Athlon) since they are outstanding overclockers and are multiplier unlocked.

Cobra