AC into side fan?

JamesTuc · 5 Aug 2010 at 17:05

I've got an M59 case and was thinking, I've got a portable ac unit and could connect it up with a pipe so that the ac goes into the side fan and into the case.

Would there be any problems with this? any water vapour etc from the ac

UnworthyBean · 5 Aug 2010 at 17:18

Does it blow out sub zero air? If so, Yes there will be problems.

JeffyB · 5 Aug 2010 at 17:20

If your cooling to below ambient you will have problems with condensation forming on anything that gets cooler than ambient.

JamesTuc · 5 Aug 2010 at 17:45

Ok, well I think it cools to 16C, which would be below ambient, but since the internals of the PC are all above this wouldn't that mean I'm OK condensation wise?

JamesTuc · 5 Aug 2010 at 18:49

Wow, well I just tried it by holding the piping up to the side vent for a couple min and this is what I got:

Graphics down from 43C to 31C
CPU down from 53C to 48C

both still dropping and while running Prime95.

Graphics and CPU as in sig.

no_1_dave · 5 Aug 2010 at 19:21

JamesTuc said:
Wow, well I just tried it by holding the piping up to the side vent for a couple min and this is what I got:

Graphics down from 43C to 31C
CPU down from 53C to 48C

both still dropping and while running Prime95.

Graphics and CPU as in sig.

I'm not recommending it because to be honest I dot know if it will have any negative effect.
However, if I had one i'd probably do it lol

JamesTuc · 5 Aug 2010 at 19:40

Just tested it out at idle. I ran the PC for a little while doing nothing with normal cooling to get a base temp and then attached the ac for 10mins

CPU 32C down to 24C
GPU 37C down to 29C

The ambient temperature in my room is 24C! This is amazing, my case was pumping out cold air

Will be very useful on hot days

no_1_dave · 5 Aug 2010 at 19:44

What AC have you got?

Its_Me · 5 Aug 2010 at 20:14

http://www.lamtec.com/dew-point-calculator.htm

Dew point calculator for working out lowest temp you can use depending upon humidity (this can be got from google for your area).

PhillyDee · 5 Aug 2010 at 20:16

You could probably disconnect most fans doing it this way too. Just keep the PSU and CPU fans. The air pushing in will displace the air in the case.

Makhaira · 5 Aug 2010 at 20:19

Just be aware that aircon eats electricity, it's not a particularly cheap way to lower your temps!

JamesTuc · 5 Aug 2010 at 20:55

The ac is (I think) from Homebase a few years ago. It's a free standing unit.

Thanks for the dew point calculator, I guess I could set it to dehumidify first though.

Yea running the ac is definitely not the cheap option, but just wanted to see how much of an effect it had since I had the unit anyway.

JamesTuc · 5 Aug 2010 at 21:05

Am I right in thinking I shouldn't get condensation if my ambient temp is 25C?

Humidity=60%+ -> http://www.wunderground.com/global/Region/i_UK/Humidity.html

Dew point -> http://www.lamtec.com/dew-point-calculator.htm

And surely the higher the humidity, the lower the temp needs to be for condensation? The way I read the table it's the opposite.

no_1_dave · 5 Aug 2010 at 21:47

I find AC's dont seem to cause condensation because they dry the air out

Its_Me · 5 Aug 2010 at 22:28

higher the humidity, the temp at which the condensation forms (dew point) is higher.
I.e in the tropical rain forest, the dew point is virtualy the same as the ambient temp, negating your natural body's way to deal with heat (sweating).
So when the humidity is low, you can get away with pumping even colder air into your case without risking condensate.

Obviously if you remove some moisture from the air your pumping into the case (use the dehumidification ability) this also means you can go colder too.