# Mineral Oil Submerged Computer ?



## Jason4i7

Yes it works, has been done for 20 years. Its a Very high maintenance setup. Also requires Expensive part to build correctly. <--- CORRECTLY, not just done to bench, but for a 24/7 rig, gets expensive.


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## Juggalo23451

systm on youtube did this and they explain how to do it Ill try to find the vid

*EDIT:found it*
better vid


YouTube - How to Build an Aquarium PC - Systm


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## mr.derp

It's worthless for a practical application. Just a science experiment of sorts.


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## B-roca

don't bother the minrel oil give you **** as temps you could get better temps on a pretty much silent air cooling rig or spend the money and go to water cooling

the local pc store had a display rig that was a submerged mineral oil and all the mineral oil did was heat up and stay like that and the tanks was hot to the touch and had a slight leak out the bottom


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## mr.derp

Quote:


Originally Posted by *b-roca* 
don't bother the minrel oil give you **** as temps you could get better temps on a pretty much silent air cooling rig or spend the money and go to water cooling

the local pc store had a display rig that was a submerged mineral oil and all the mineral oil did was heat up and stay like that and the tanks was hot to the touch and had a slight leak out the bottom

Well temperatures continually build up because what it's going to cool the mineral oil?

Unless you plan to use an atom based rig with at least a 10 gallon tank, heat will be a problem


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## B-roca

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mr.derp* 
Well temperatures continually build up because what it's going to cool the mineral oil?

Unless you plan to use an atom based rig with at least a 10 gallon tank, heat will be a problem

you could get better temps if you pumped the oil through a rad but whats the point when you start including rads and pumps and stuff you might aswell build a water cooling loop


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## GigaByte

It should work great for a while untill all that heat gets trapped in the oil, then it becomes an oven, if theres no way to move that heat out of the oil fast enough.


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## Jason4i7

See and thats the problem, people think about nothing. Even in oil cooled systems, you still need a radiator. You need to pull oil out of the system and cool it. It will help regulate temps, but not drop them huge amounts. The closed systems that gather and gather heat are done incorrectly. You need a cooling source. All of these that have been mentioned, the fish tank, the one in the shop. Know what they are missing? Heat dissipation. Hurray for poor planning.


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## B-roca

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Jason4i7* 
See and thats the problem, people think about nothing. Even in oil cooled systems, you still need a radiator. You need to pull oil out of the system and cool it. It will help regulate temps, but not drop them huge amounts. The closed systems that gather and gather heat are done incorrectly. You need a cooling source. All of these that have been mentioned, the fish tank, the one in the shop. Know what they are missing? Heat dissipation. Hurray for poor planning.

yes this is what i'm saying too watch the video on oil cooling above and all they can mention is the many many cons of oil cooling its really not worth it go get water cooling or something if its really necessary but otherwise stick with air


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## Jason4i7

I actually would like to one day do it. In a huge 200 gallon tank. Float the computer right in the middle of it, sunk into the wall. Dreams are great, but who knows right. With that much fluid, and enough circulation, it could be possible. Just not sure. Id love to try it one day.


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## Allsop78

What if you put like some kind of heatsink anchored to the bottom of the tank with fins and fans coming out the top of the tank to get rid of heat in the oil. Like a really tall, modified Dice pot.


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## clbkdaz

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mr.derp* 
It's worthless for a practical application. Just a science experiment of sorts.

QFT...

It's neat to see at first...but that fades out really really quick.


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## Jason4i7

Dont think it would be effective enough. Its too passive for a fluid setup. You would need to focus the passive cooling to a smaller amount of fluid, otherwise you would probably cause a temperature differential that wouldn't have a positive effect on the tank itself. In conjunction with active cooling maybe, but not on its own.


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## dlee7283

this thread makes me listen to this song


YouTube - Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Royal Oil


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## Yop

http://www.pugetsystems.com/aquarium_both_module.php

You can modify (or just buy the complete kit) the mineral oil comp to run the oil through a filter + radiator to obtain a lot lower temps.


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## Black Magix

for 511 dollars, I could build a state-of-the-art watercooling system that'll kick the crap out of that oil cooling system.


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## JPSwaynos

An oil cooled system is more just for cool looks. I considered making one, and putting it in my living room with fish tank rocks, bubble maker and everything. But the biggest concern that I had that most people don't even consider is the maintenance on keeping the oil clean. The oil needs to be replaced periodically, or else the elements that collect in it will make it look bad.


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## atlas_nathan

*Bump*

I've worked on one of these projects in the past. I'm actually familiar with the Puget Systems setup.

The mineral oil submersion systems work very well, provided that a few things are addressed:

1) The heat must be dissipated out of the oil to get good results. Glass is a good insulator, so despite the large surface area, a closed system will run quite warm. That said, because of the sheer surface area, and temperature difference between the room and the oil, you will find a stable maximum temperature even in a closed system. It will, however, be much higher than you would be comfortable seeing in a conventional air or water cooled system. It's worth noting that high temperature is much less of a problem in this environment as there are far fewer hot-spots, but still, this will cause alarm for most people.

Setting up a radiation system can be done a number of ways.

A) Use a metal bottom plate to allow the heat to be passively conducted out of the system. If you're using an aquarium for your case, you would need to disassemble the aquarium down to the individual glass panes, and replace the bottom.

B) Pump the oil through a radiator which then uses a fan to dissipate the heat. You will need a higher quality pump, as the increased viscosity of the oil will burn out the cheaper pumps.

C) As an alternative to B, use a closed circuit dual radiator water system. Install one radiator into the fluid (this is your heat collector), and another radiator in the same way that you would in option B (this is your heat dissipator). This lets you pull the heat out of the system - but since you are pumping water instead of oil, you are not straining the pump. As an additional bonus, since oil in insoluble in water, your system is immune to the failure of the water loop. YAY SCIENCE!

2) Oil settles, collects dirt, and breaks down. This can be mitigated by, as previously mentioned by another posted, adding a filter to the loop that you're going to be building to regulate temperature.

3) You cannot, obviously, submerge spinning hard disks. You can, however, submerge solid state drives, or mount your spinning disks out of the fluid. Since the fluid 'wicks', and is also subject to 'sloshing', I do not recommend attempting even partial disk submersion.

4) The oil will tend to 'wick' up the insulation of the IO cables unless you account for this. This is typically done by terminating the connections at the top of the casing into plugs - essentially utilizing short extenders to replicate the IO ports.

Immersion cooling has been done for decades in various industrial applications, as well as mainframe computing. When done right, a mineral oil computer can be a very stable, silent, and efficient platform requiring no maintenance or attention - and it's always a conversation starter!


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## PhillyOverclocker

OMG! I have never seen that one before.

I wonder if you can hook a refrigerator up to the oil so it can cool it down?


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## loll

Quote:


Originally Posted by *magicalmuffin* 
YouTube - Mineral Oil Submerged Computer

Now im wondering, this really works? I want silent desktop. Can i put it inside mineral oil?

Are there any step by step guides how to do it?

If you want to spend $50 every 2 weeks to re-fill it.


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## atlas_nathan

Quote:


Originally Posted by *loll* 
If you want to spend $50 every 2 weeks to re-fill it.

Mineral oil doesn't evaporate...


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## loll

Quote:


Originally Posted by *atlas_nathan* 
Mineral oil doesn't evaporate...

There are many contaminants floating around that get in while your filling, emptying, and just letting it sit there full. After awhile it starts to literally rot away.


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## atlas_nathan

Quote:


Originally Posted by *loll* 
There are many contaminants floating around that get in while your filling, emptying, and just letting it sit there full. After awhile it starts to literally rot away.

I think you're confusing vegetable oil with mineral oil. Mineral oil is not biological, it cannot rot.

A well designed submersion system includes a filter to remove unwanted particles.


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## jarble

Quote:


Originally Posted by *atlas_nathan* 
*Bump*

I've worked on one of these projects in the past. I'm actually familiar with the Puget Systems setup.

The mineral oil submersion systems work very well, provided that a few things are addressed:

1) The heat must be dissipated out of the oil to get good results. Glass is a good insulator, so despite the large surface area, a closed system will run quite warm. That said, because of the sheer surface area, and temperature difference between the room and the oil, you will find a stable maximum temperature even in a closed system. It will, however, be much higher than you would be comfortable seeing in a conventional air or water cooled system. It's worth noting that high temperature is much less of a problem in this environment as there are far fewer hot-spots, but still, this will cause alarm for most people.

Setting up a radiation system can be done a number of ways.

A) Use a metal bottom plate to allow the heat to be passively conducted out of the system. If you're using an aquarium for your case, you would need to disassemble the aquarium down to the individual glass panes, and replace the bottom.

B) Pump the oil through a radiator which then uses a fan to dissipate the heat. You will need a higher quality pump, as the increased viscosity of the oil will burn out the cheaper pumps.

C) As an alternative to B, use a closed circuit dual radiator water system. Install one radiator into the fluid (this is your heat collector), and another radiator in the same way that you would in option B (this is your heat dissipator). This lets you pull the heat out of the system - but since you are pumping water instead of oil, you are not straining the pump. As an additional bonus, since oil in insoluble in water, your system is immune to the failure of the water loop. YAY SCIENCE!

2) Oil settles, collects dirt, and breaks down. This can be mitigated by, as previously mentioned by another posted, adding a filter to the loop that you're going to be building to regulate temperature.

3) You cannot, obviously, submerge spinning hard disks. You can, however, submerge solid state drives, or mount your spinning disks out of the fluid. Since the fluid 'wicks', and is also subject to 'sloshing', I do not recommend attempting even partial disk submersion.

4) The oil will tend to 'wick' up the insulation of the IO cables unless you account for this. This is typically done by terminating the connections at the top of the casing into plugs - essentially utilizing short extenders to replicate the IO ports.

Immersion cooling has been done for decades in various industrial applications, as well as mainframe computing. When done right, a mineral oil computer can be a very stable, silent, and efficient platform requiring no maintenance or attention - and it's always a conversation starter!









dead on except for one point low end pumps will work as the oil lubricates and dissipates the extra heat generated (yes I have an oil rig







)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *atlas_nathan* 
I think you're confusing vegetable oil with mineral oil. Mineral oil is not biological, it cannot rot.

A well designed submersion system includes a filter to remove unwanted particles.

could not have said it better my self

hey guys if you are looking for an oil cooling guide I have one in the works here http://www.overclock.net/overclock-n...ing-guide.html PLEASE note that this is a work in progress so post things that you wnat to know so I can add it to the guide


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## Grayfox

& when oil is cooled it thickens so you will have issues with a rad as it would get stuck in the pipes & stress the pump due to the thickening of the oil

looks good but not worth it


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## atlas_nathan

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Grayfox* 
& when oil is cooled it thickens so you will have issues with a rad as it would get stuck in the pipes & stress the pump due to the thickening of the oil

looks good but not worth it

This is absolutely not true. If this was true, mineral oil would have to be shipped 'hot'. Where did you come up with this idea?


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## Grayfox

Quote:


Originally Posted by *atlas_nathan* 
This is absolutely not true. If this was true, mineral oil would have to be shipped 'hot'. Where did you come up with this idea?

co-worker said oil thickens at lower temps


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## atlas_nathan

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Grayfox* 
co-worker said oil thickens at lower temps

This is true, oil congeals at low temperatures. However, most oils are liquid at room temperature (certainly, mineral and vegetable oil are), and you're not going to be going below that.


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## brysky

so atlas, do you suggest the puget system? My water cooling system just died and was looking at new systems and came a cross the puget system and then while doing research came a cross this thread. I have read overclock many times but never joined till now.

So do you suggest the Puget system with cooling module or is there a better oil system out there, or go with another water cooling system?

I am running the following:
Motherboard: ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
Hard Drive: 2x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Memory: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2 125W Dual-Core Processor Model ADX6000CZBOX - Retail
GPU: 2x (IN SLI) EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
GPU FANS: 2x ARCTIC COOLING ACCEL X8800 Fluid Dynamic VGA Cooler
Power Supply: OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI 700W ATX12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply

I know most of my hardware is outdated as I built the system in 2007-2008, Is my system able to use the puget system version two of the aquarium submerged or do I need to upgrade parts, and what is needed to be upgraded?

Thanks in advance,

Brysky


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## atlas_nathan

Quote:


Originally Posted by *brysky* 
so atlas, do you suggest the puget system? My water cooling system just died and was looking at new systems and came a cross the puget system and then while doing research came a cross this thread. I have read overclock many times but never joined till now.

So do you suggest the Puget system with cooling module or is there a better oil system out there, or go with another water cooling system?

I am running the following:
Motherboard: ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
Hard Drive: 2x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Memory: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2 125W Dual-Core Processor Model ADX6000CZBOX - Retail
GPU: 2x (IN SLI) EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
GPU FANS: 2x ARCTIC COOLING ACCEL X8800 Fluid Dynamic VGA Cooler
Power Supply: OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI 700W ATX12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply

I know most of my hardware is outdated as I built the system in 2007-2008, Is my system able to use the puget system version two of the aquarium submerged or do I need to upgrade parts, and what is needed to be upgraded?

Thanks in advance,

Brysky

The only you'll want to look at is hard drive mounts. I think the Puget system may only have a single disk mount.


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## brysky

Thank you for the quick response, I am a gamer, and when I do start to game, I can go for 12-18 hours no problem and some times longer, Will the system keep the pc cool enough or should I just go for another water cooling system?


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## brysky

This is the response I got from Puget Systems when I asked the same question.

We typically turn our aquarium system off when not in use, so it only sees about 8 hours per day. Additionally, we do not play games on it or stress the system very hard, so it is unknown how hot a system could get in mineral oil.

The system you describe sounds like it would fit. The major concern would be if your video cards extend beyond the motherboard. If they do, then you may run into some space issues. Additionally, do NOT put the hard drives in the mineral oil.

I don't want to be a bearer of bad news, but overall I would avoid a mineral oil system. It certainly doesn't give you a gaming performance edge and it adds a lot of complexity to your system. It has the potential to degrade components and you also void your warranty.

Thanks,

Jeff Stubbers
Puget Systems

I thought it was a bit funny they are turning someone away from there product. So was thinking of Building my own kind of case out of glass with 2 chambers, one on each side of the PC and fill the chamber with some type of cooling agent, like a small refrigerator system or fill both with giant water cooling reservoirs with a radiator and pump on the back of the case. Here is a early sketch I made real quick in paint










Now would this be a good idea or what would be the best means for cooling the system?


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## atlas_nathan

Quote:


Originally Posted by *brysky* 









Now would this be a good idea or what would be the best means for cooling the system?

I don't believe your design would be effective.

Version two of the puget system will, on the other hand, keep a high end gaming rig at a very low relative temperature continuously.

Even without a radiator, the mineral oil kept their system at a stable 88C. This is hot, yes. Adding a radiator, their system stabilizes at about 45-50C with the fans on 'low'.

Keep in mind that submersion cooling is different than air or water cooling. You are extracting the sum heat of the system into the working fluid, rather than just the heat dissipated into the heatsink/waterblock for the CPU/GPU.

Among other things, you're extracting the power supply heat. You'll see more consistent voltage output from a cool PSU, especially when the temperatures are consistent throughout the supply.


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## brysky

Thanks a lot, I think I will go with the version two then.


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## anomie

I'm in the very early planing stages of building an oil submerged system and pretty much everything makes sense to me but one very important aspect. I don't know how to install a radiator with pump. More specifically, how is the tubing hooked up? The way I think it goes is a tube submerged in the oil is hooked up to the pump which pulls the oil through then another tube exits the pump and enters the radiator and then a 3rd tube enters back into the system. Correct me if any of that is off. Also, are the tubes going in and out of the oil just submerged loosely in the oil or is it attached to anything? Lastly, the second Puget system had was an air hose: http://www.pugetsystems.com/gfx/subm.../air_valve.jpg. What is it's function, is necessary, and how is it installed?

Thanks,
-anomie


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## Buddharoxor

A friend of mine did a build log on Bit-tech.

linking to another computer forum may be looked down upon, but its a scratch build and could provide a lot of info for you.

http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=163649


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## Beat

I've actually built one of these PC's last year June. It was only for display purposes really in a friends IT shop. It attracted many visitors. Sadly I only have a few pics of it left, while It was getting built.

It was an old P4 1.8Ghz, 512Mb DDR400, 30Gb HDD, Nvida 6600 AGP(I think). It use to run a video all day/night with me building it. I'll see if I can get hold of the video.

Mine never used a Radiator so it never really cooled. It's still running to this day, however, about a 2 months ago, the silicon in the corners of the *glass* gave way from the oil eating away, there was apparently Mineral oil all over the show. I wouldn't recommend a glass tank, rather go plastic if you going to build. It did run rather hot over time but nothing about 45'C. So I'm not entirely sure about gaming with this stuff.

Just thought I'd add my 2c.









Pics are in the attachments.


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## atlas_nathan

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Beat* 
I've actually built one of these PC's last year June. It was only for display purposes really in a friends IT shop. It attracted many visitors. Sadly I only have a few pics of it left, while It was getting built.

It was an old P4 1.8Ghz, 512Mb DDR400, 30Gb HDD, Nvida 6600 AGP(I think). It use to run a video all day/night with me building it. I'll see if I can get hold of the video.

Mine never used a Radiator so it never really cooled. It's still running to this day, however, about a 2 months ago, the silicon in the corners of the *glass* gave way from the oil eating away, there was apparently Mineral oil all over the show. I wouldn't recommend a glass tank, rather go plastic if you going to build. It did run rather hot over time but nothing about 45'C. So I'm not entirely sure about gaming with this stuff.

Just thought I'd add my 2c.









Pics are in the attachments.

These tanks are held together by a rubberized hot-glue. Your tank literally melted apart.








10 points for style.


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## Cassanova

If you were to add several fish bubble units, wouldn't that cool the system considerably? It would be just like a reverse bong. Or is the oil to viscous for it to cool very well like that?


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## scottath

i want to see a pic of the top but with a higher end rear venting video card (have a nice geyser at the top of the card)


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## musicPC

Quote:



Originally Posted by *GigaByte*


It should work great for a while untill all that heat gets trapped in the oil, then it becomes an oven, if theres no way to move that heat out of the oil fast enough.


I think that is why they have a air pump there. They use air bubbles to bring heat up to the surface.


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## Perfectionist

Have you seen this? www.hardcorecomputer.com

I thought about it, but way too inconvenient (thinking time delay, it's apparently free shipping) to send back to US from UK if have problems with it


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