Reader's Comments
Ok, firstly let me say WOW! I never anticipated such a huge response to this article. I've had over 160 emails and over 6400 visitors in the first 24 hours, I'm stunned. :) Sorry I can't reply to everyone individually - THANKS to everyone who sent info and suggestions, support and expressions of amazement. :) A lot of the responses were similar so I will address the major points raised:- Use a fridge, with the reservoir inside, and run tubing from that to the PC
Hmm, good idea, but a little expensive to leave a fridge running just for the PC. Also, not very portable.
- the clips for mounting the unit seem to be the arms from bulldog clips, used for holding lots of sheets of paper together
Ahh! So they are. It's obvious when 35 people point it out to you. :)
- you can get those clips from newsagents, stationery suppliers etc
Yeah ok - that wasn't what I meant.. I meant, does anyone know where to get the water-cooling blocks, not the clips. :)
- add antifreeze to the fluid
- add alcohol to the fluid to stop bacterial growth
- use "Redline Water Wetter"to make the water mix more thermally efficient
Definitely considering an antifreeze mixture for the closed system. I have other plans for my alcohol. :) I think the antifreeze will have the same effects.. that Water Wetter stuff sounds good, too.
- Use pure ethyl alcohol, it won't freeze even if you get it REALLY cold, it's non-conductive and very thin so good flow rates
..it's also highly flammable, produces explosive vapours and is extremely poisonous..
- Use liquid nitrogen
I don't want to look like I'm saying "NO!" to all of these ideas, but.. the thermal stress would probably crack the ceramic casing of the processor. :) There's "extreme", and then theres "extreme", if you know what I mean. I'll stick with a water-based solution for now.
- Use an automobile transmission fluid radiator - small and efficient
- Use a motorcycle radiator
Yep, from various people's descriptions a small oil radiator sounds like exactly what I'm looking for. I could mount it, the pump and the reservoir in a box and have fans venting through the radiator and out the top of the box. Then I could have water pipes and power for the peltier going from that box to the main machine. A definite plan is forming!
- Use an automobile fuel pump, small, in-line and very quiet
- The fishtank pump is a bad idea - it will heat the waterHmm. I agree that an inline pump may be better.. I will work around this fishtank pump for now, until I determine it to be the limiting factor. For the next big project I will definitely consider a fuel pump. If this fishtank pump is too loud I will look into one as well. :)
- Just leave the tap running into the bucket, that way it will always be cold
- Plug one end into the tap, through the heatsink and back out to the sink, turn the tap on and have cold water indefinitely
Guys!!! A few people suggested this, jeez, don't you have water wastage laws where you live? :) This is Australia, we run out of water during summer - if I got in the habit of leaving a tap running all day the EPA (environmental protection authority) would come kicking in my door in no time. Plus it's expensive (ok, not _that_ expensive).. plus it's not very portable (Go to a LAN party, plug into the power, the LAN, the nearest tap..) .. :)
- Use a larger, flatter reservoir like a baking dish, you will lose heat due to evaporation
Hmm, not portable, not easily built into a self-contained unit, probably wouldn't lose heat quick enough, my girlfriend's dog would drink the antifreeze and I'd get in trouble. :)
- The larger the reservoir the longer it will take to heat up
- Use a 10-gallon fishtank as the reservoir
Yeah, but this is a workaround, not really a solution. I guess at some point, the reservoir would be large enough that the amount of heat it lost due to evaporation and radiation would mean it would take forever to heat up all the water.. but we run into the portability issue again, and it's impossible to build into a self-contained unit.
- it is the effective exposed surface area that is important in long term heat dissipation, not the volume of water.
Yep. I will use much less fluid in the closed system. I just wanted to have a large enough reservoir to last a little while - just to prove the chip can cope.
- Use tupperware box for the reservoir inside case
- Use a little plastic project box from electronics store
- Use a cd-rom tower case, not a minitower case, they look nicer
- Drill 2 holes in a case-front faceplate (5.25" device slot), route the tubing through there, so you can put the cover back on your case. Use rubber grommets in the holes to stop the plastic cutting the tubing
All good ideas. :)
- Use a peltier sandwich of 2 heatsinks, one in the water (cold), one in the air (hot) with a peltier between them.Hmm, interesting idea.. I think the radiator will be simpler, but this is a good alternative.
- Why don't you do a fully immersed system like Dr Ffreeze?
Because I'm not completely barking mad. Too messy! And frankly, Dr Ffreeze's results weren't that impressive last time I checked.
- Why don't you use mineral oil?
Because I don't have any. :) Actually, I think the thermal conductivity of mineral oil is not all that good (hence Dr Ffreeze's lack of outstanding results) .. the advantage is that it's not conductive and not corrosive, so if it spills inside your computer you don't care (apart from the mess). Hmm, something to consider. I think water and antifreeze or that Water Wetter stuff is the way to go. (Agg anticipates 100 emails telling him he's wrong again :) )
- I can't wait to see what you do with a .18 micron processor / athlon / p3
- Have you tried DEC alphas / p3 / other celerons / athlonI've only been overclocking Celerons.. because they overclock well, and they're cheap to replace if they go bang. I am always open to donations, though.. :) [especially athlons!]
- we extensively use the type of RTV you utilized at work... heres a little trick to get the RTV looking like a factory installed bead.... spit on your finger tip and smooth out the RTV... the silicone won't stick and it will look like it was meant to be there.
Had to go read my article again to see what you were talking about. Oh, the sealant stuff! :) Ok, cool. Thanks for the tip!
- Check under the processor - you are probably still getting condensation underneath it, inside the socket. Remember those pins are the ones that carry the core voltage, so you really don't want to get them shorting each other!
Aaarg! Ok. I'll pull the assembly apart (hopefully I can just cut that sealant stuff off) and fill the hole with more sealant. Also, I think I'll coat the back of the slocket (where the pins from the socket370 are) with sealant so they can't short either.
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