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Mineral oil bathed/cooled computer

mac2maverick

mac2maverick

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 19, 2008
108
0
Calgary
Anybody see or try the computers that are fully submerged in mineral oil to keep things cool? The drive and monitor are the only things that aren't submerged. Mineral oil in non-conductive and has a high specific heat capacity so it makes a great cooler. Even the fans are able to continue running while submerged. These are not aftermarket fans either.

Anybody see an Apple computer working with mineral oil? The Mac Pro would run as quiet or quieter than the iMac even if you were playing Crysis or some high end game with your Nvidia 8800 GT card.
 
I just dumped a bunch of baby oil in my new Mac Pro and it's not turning on anymore. Suggestions? :p
 
I don't think using mineral oil as a more efficient method of cooling over air is going to get you more frames per second in Crysis.
 
Baby oil is pureified mineral oil with fragrance added. It will absorb heat easily, but radiates it poorly ( ie slowly ).
 
I wouldnt put it in your Mac Pro. The only thing i would ever possibly put mineral oil in would be a Hackintosh or a Custom PC or somthing.

I would do it like this.
 
"... is your refrigerator running .."
"... do you have Prince Albert in a can ..."

and it just goes on like that.
 
Okay. Perhaps a little Thermodynamics 101.

Boundary Conditions: 1) The outside world is at room temperature. 2) The CPU uses a certain number of watts and because of this it deposits a constant rate of heat into the system, provided it is under uniform and constant load.

Initial Conditions: The CPU, oil, and room are all at room temperature.

Experiment: Turn on/Start CPU.

What happens?

Compared to air the oil has a higher heat capacity. That is, it can absorb more energy with a smaller increase in temperature when compared to air. The oil, however, is not limited in what temperature it can attain and with enough power (watts) deposited into it, it will heat up to the temperature of the CPU. Heating to this temperature would take longer than with air only, but eventually it would reach this temperature. Result? There is only a *lag* in how the system heats up.

How to improve the system? You need a heat exchanger (think radiator) to get the heat out of the system and into the atmosphere. Then you'll have *real* cooling.
 
hayduke said:
Compared to air the oil has a higher heat capacity. That is, it can absorb more energy with a smaller increase in temperature when compared to air. The oil, however, is not limited in what temperature it can attain and with enough power (watts) deposited into it, it will heat up to the temperature of the CPU. Heating to this temperature would take longer than with air only, but eventually it would reach this temperature. Result? There is only a *lag* in how the system heats up.
Click to expand...

So, could I cook my chips (French Fries) in it?
 
DWS said:
So, could I cook my chips (French Fries) in it?
Click to expand...

This may be possible if you are doing the following:

1) Playing Crysis at max settings while hooked up to 8 - 30" monitors while using 4 Nvidia 8800GT graphics cards
2) Running dual 3.2GHz quad cores and decoding video
3) Simultaneously downloading 15 torrents at a speed of 175 kBs
4) Watching HD video on half of the monitors (game on the others)
5) Running a program that is looking for DNA genome matches between humans, chimps, mice, dogs, gnats and aliens
6) pouring hot coffee on your keyboard
7) plugging in your sister and mothers 5 favourite curling irons and putting them into the oil 20 minutes before you intend to make fries.

That should just about do it. Let me know if this works so I can get ready for my new Mac Pro that is shipping soon or whether I will have to spend even more money to get a deep fryer so I can enjoy some fries while playing a few games.
 
We'll have to redesign the curling irons so they don't look so......hmmm............un Apple like. Do you want to submit a joint patent application? Let's see? How many new patents would be required for this breakthrough technology? I hope Steve doesn't read this thread.
 
Doesnt work.


I just babyoiled my self and I run way hotter now.
I dont know if it is the baby oil or my Macpro that makes me hot.


BTW, has anyone tried to baby oil their 8800GT or 10.5.2?
 
Macinposh said:
Doesnt work.


I just babyoiled my self and I run way hotter now.
I dont know if it is the baby oil or my Macpro that makes me hot.


BTW, has anyone tried to baby oil their 8800GT or 10.5.2?
Click to expand...

lol

Listen, the Mac Pro is not meant to be babied. I know I get hot too thinking about my MP, but rubbing it down is taking it to a whole new level that I'm just not comfortable with.
 
Tallest Skil said:
You moron, he said mineral oil!:p
Click to expand...

After looking at the transformer fires and how well the mineral oil does burn, a flaming Mac would really be interesting.

But alas, we aren't pumping that much energy through it to make it reach critical ignition either, and it would include a flame suppression chemical.
 
Mineral oil submerged computers have been done before with great success. The primary reasons it is rarely used in production computers is weight and cost. 5 gallons of mineral oil will easily run $60 and the whole system would weigh over 50lbs (about as much as an eMac).

Don't let people ignorant in the fundamentals of science try to tell you it won't work.
 
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