Cooling air before its put through the computer

FunkyCowie

FunkyCowie

FunkyCowie

Associate
Joined
31 Dec 2004
Posts
1,384
Location
Essex, UK
I don't want to go down the water cooling route. So I`m trying to think of a way of cooling down the air drawn in by my front case fans so they pass cool air through the heatsinks. I have no AC at home. Call me crazy but surely there must be a way of passing the air though a grid of tubing that has say liquid CO2 sealed in it thus keeping the tubing permanently cool. The fans pull air through this grid and passes it through the computer supplying it with constant cool air.

It sounds crazy to me... is it?
 
Why not buy some better coolers? :p

Or, get some air ducting and make a cold-air intake. Just in time for winter.
 
FunkyCowie said:
I don't want to go down the water cooling route. So I`m trying to think of a way of cooling down the air drawn in by my front case fans so they pass cool air through the heatsinks. I have no AC at home. Call me crazy but surely there must be a way of passing the air though a grid of tubing that has say liquid CO2 sealed in it thus keeping the tubing permanently cool. The fans pull air through this grid and passes it through the computer supplying it with constant cool air.

It sounds crazy to me... is it?
Click to expand...

Yes its crazy, as it wont work. Lets go with your idea of a tube containing liquid CO2. Yes it would be cold, but as the warmer air passes over, the air would cool down, and the tube would warm up until they both reach an equilibrium. It would go against the laws of thermodynamics to have the tube contionously cold AND cool the air. The other thing to consider, is if you cool the air going in too much, then you run the risk of condensation building up. You can get or make AC units for computers, but they are not particulary efficient. Why don't you want to go down the water route? Considered phase cooling instead?
 
This probably ranks alongside the idea of running the computer inside a fridge unfortunately, only good in theory.

I always thought a bit of air ducting going from an outside air vent might be a good source of cold air in the winter but its probably more hassle then its worth really.
 
Ok my idea was crazy but Icetea came up with something pretty interesting...

I don`t see water cooling as an option because I aven`t seen any water cooling systems that can be used on dual cpu machines... and lack the knowledge and courage to mod one.
 
Sorry but IceTea's find is "bad science" (no offense IceTea).

Using a TEC to cool air to cool the computer is vastly inefficient. If you want to use a TEC you must put it on the specific item you want to cool. And you will need something to cool the TEC - like water-cooling.

Even if you forget all of that and think this thing is a good idea, take a look at the specs.

80W TEC means it won't actually cool very much. Your systems is probably producing at least twice that as heat so the TEC won't have much effect.

It runs at 37DBA! Take a 120mm-based heatpipe heatsink like the SI120 or Scythe Ninja Plus. They can run in the low 20s which is almost inaudible. 37DBA is loud!
 
FunkyCowie said:
Ok my idea was crazy but Icetea came up with something pretty interesting...

I don`t see water cooling as an option because I aven`t seen any water cooling systems that can be used on dual cpu machines... and lack the knowledge and courage to mod one.
Click to expand...

Really? Haven't looked very hard then.

If you have dual AMD AthlonMP you can use any standard SocketA block and just daisy-chain the blocks or halve your flow before the pair and re-join after.

If you have dual Xeons, do exactly the same but with Xeon blocks.

Did you try Google?

All you need to make a standard kit into a dual-cpu kit is one more cpu block!
 
mike re the nextherm yes its innefficient and i probably wouldn't go with it as it will require so much power, and rape my electricity bill dry! but if you check out the threads for the actual full case units they are rated very highly on the cooling side of things! and as far as 37db being loud? mine is running around that and it doesn't bother me one bit, loudness isn't universal a lot is how people hear differen't pitches and tones (similar to things that smell). i have a panaflo m1a and 2 ystech 120mm the 40db's in my case and i dont deem it as loud, it's audible yes but when i'm gaming i don't even notice it and i can sleep comfortable with my comp in my room!
 
MikeTimbers said:
Really? Haven't looked very hard then.

If you have dual AMD AthlonMP you can use any standard SocketA block and just daisy-chain the blocks or halve your flow before the pair and re-join after.

If you have dual Xeons, do exactly the same but with Xeon blocks.

Did you try Google?

All you need to make a standard kit into a dual-cpu kit is one more cpu block!
Click to expand...

I just didn`t realize you could daisy chain them and still get effective cooling because surely the water from one cpu going to another is going to have heat taken from one to the other?
 
37db is loud enough to be irritating but it all depends on the sound, if its an oscillating or high pitched noise its much worse.

30db is ideal imo, I dont think I could easily get 20db on air on an overclocked system and things like outside traffic etc start to override the benefits anyway

That device you plug into your 5" drive looked very easy to use even if it is inefficient
 
FunkyCowie said:
I just didn`t realize you could daisy chain them and still get effective cooling because surely the water from one cpu going to another is going to have heat taken from one to the other?
Click to expand...

The difference between the water going into block 1 and out of block 1 is much lower than you might think. I haven't done this myself but from friends who have done this, I've heard numbers of cpu2 being only 1-2C higher than cpu1.
 
only works in winter, but works like a charm
buy flexible pipe with a diameter of 80mm or something , connect it to your intake fan (or even put soem fans in thepe so it flows into your pc, and put one end of the pipe outside, worked like a cham for me when it was freezing outside, temps down by 10C on almost all hardware becourse the pc was blowing in air near zero temps.
 
Last edited:
^^ Thats the idea I had, 8cm is pretty large tubing to have in your bedroom or whatever but if the pc is near a window anyway maybe its feasible. How did you get the actual connection outside without letting a draft into your room
 
this




i havnt read this thread properly so someone might have already come up with something simeler.

but the idea is you use energy from the freezer not your PSU.


OR.

arent gas lines suppose to be feezing cold?
 
Last edited:
FunkyCowie said:
Ok my idea was crazy but Icetea came up with something pretty interesting...

I don`t see water cooling as an option because I aven`t seen any water cooling systems that can be used on dual cpu machines... and lack the knowledge and courage to mod one.
Click to expand...


its easy, hell i can give you a list of what you need right now...


1 5,1/2 " resevoir with half inch fittings (usually about £10 to £20)
2 X nexxos XP blocks with half inch fittings (i got mine for £34 inc fittings off fleebay)
1 pump of your choice, (say £35)
1 x 120.2 black ice pro radiator £25
2 X 120mm fans. £6 each.
8 feet of half inch tubing £14
1 X role of PTFE tape £1
1 X bottle of distilled water £0.79p from tesco.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom