Mineral Oil Cooled PC updates

[Aaron1001]

INTRO:

 

Nearly two years ago, I was inspired by Linus and Luke's build log of their mineral oil PC from Puget Systems. Sure, it isn't very practical. Sure, it is a pain in the ass to maintain. Sure, it weighs over twice as much as any other system, but I couldn't deny that it was, and still is, the coolest PC that I have ever seen. But, two years ago, I did not have the necessary skills, time, or money to design and build something of that caliber. But now that it is summer, and I have another month and a half to kill before college starts, I decide to tackle this build. 

 

DESIGN CHANGES:

 

 

Now, seeing that Puget Systems no longer sells their matx v2 mineral oil PC  kit, I had no choice but to design my own. Which means I also get to change some aspects of their design that I did not agree with.

 

-No space for 3.5in HDD: (not in design yet) There is absolutely no reason to not put a mount for 3.5in drives. Especially since there is ample space on top for one. While the HDD mount is not in the design yet, this design should be able to support 1-2 3.5in drives.

-Dual 240mm radiators instead of dual 280: Yes. I understand that the Puget systems version supports a 3x3 array of 120mm radiators. But, in my opinion, it looks hideous; and that just wouldn't work for a build like this. A simple spacing change for the radiator mounting system allows for dual 280 radiators.

-The Computer is .3125in taller then it has to be: By shifting the I/O plate up to mount on top, I save .3125in in height. It does make installation of the GPU harder, and you need a extra acrylic piece. But you are not upgrading this system any time soon, so a little bit of hassle during the build is no problem.

-The First PCI Slot is blocked: Part of this is due to the EVGA board's CPU socket being abnormally close to the PCI slots. But, if the board was now switched to something like a ASRock x99M board, the CPU Cooler will hit the Pump. To fix this, I moved the pump to the back of the motherboard. I do loose the flow it provides around the CPU heat sink, but my hope is that because it will now draw in oil around the motherboard tray and motherboard, it will lead to a more even spread of heat. 

-The way the lid is centered: It's just ugly. I'm sorry, sue me. I like their matx v1 design much more. so I use bolts and slots so the lid remains flush.

-Lack of I/O: (Not in design yet): 1 molex and 1 esata is a horrible waste of the board's other headers. There is more then enough space for 1 molex, 2 esata, 2 USB 3.0 and 2 fan headers.

-Small handles: This is mostly for people with larger hands, like me. No reason not to put a 3.5in handle there.

-Other changes: A few structural changes. larger bolts for handles, thicker acrylic... probably a few more things I forgot.

 

PARTS:

 

CPU: 6800k

GPU: MSI 1070 (the black and white one)

MOBO: ASRock x99m matx (the black and blue one)

PSU: EVGA Supernova 750w

Heat sink: Thermalright sinver arrow ib-e

RAM: 16 gb of Trident Z (silver/black)

 

Google Sheet of all the parts.

 

-"case": Penn-Plex Radius 7.5 GAL tank. This tank is shorter, deeper and thinner then the custom case Puget uses. Basically, it is smaller in all the wrong dimensions, and larger in the useless ones. The shortness is the reason for all the standoffs. or else i cant put any rocks on the bottom.

 

THE DESIGN:

A 3D view of the current design
 

As I have learned time and time again, if one person designs something, there is bound to be mistakes in the design. So I would be very grateful if the LTT community can take a quick look at the design, give me some constructive criticism, and tell me what aspects of it I can change for the better.

 

Does anyone have any cheaper alternatives the stuff on the list? The high price makes me cry on the inside.

 

If anyone is willing to sell me old water-cooling hardware, that would be amazing.
 

- I will be updating the design nightly, so you can click on that same link to see my progress.

 

 

 

 

[AstroBenny]

This gonna be god good.

[JakeNTech]

Going to be amazing when compleated

[19_blackie_73]

looks very good  could you pls tag me when start building this thing? I'm really interested in seeing this done

[Kampfpudel]

This looks very cool! Couldn't wait to see how it looks finished.

[Aaron1001]

11 hours ago, 19_blackie_73 said:

looks very good  could you pls tag me when start building this thing? I'm really interested in seeing this done

uhh... I have no idea how to do that. Pretty new around here.

[19_blackie_73]

12 hours ago, Aaron1001 said:

uhh... I have no idea how to do that. Pretty new around here.

just do it with a @   and then my username

would look like this (but with my name  ) @Aaron1001

you might to select me from the drop down list

[Franpadi]

dude...

[Aaron1001]

Mineral Oil PC update #2:

What has been done/changes to the design:

-The design is nearing the final stages now. With only the drive mount, the "front I/O", a couple fittings and screws left unfinished.

 

-The I/O plate has been expanded to fit the power button as well (I put my computer on the right side, so this makes the switch closer to me), but one of the sata ports have been removed. This was due to cost reasons. The mineral oil part of the project is starting to get more expensive then I would like. So some corners have been cut. The 2 USB 3.0 ports will still be there, however, I have not received it yet. so I can not CAD the mounting points.

 

-The thickness of the Acrylic has been lowered as well due to cost reasons. Now, most of the Acrylic is 0.236 instead of the original 0.3125

 

-The radiators have been lowered so the 90 degree fitting on the top plate matches up perfectly with the straight fitting on the radiator. 

 

-The spacing between the pump and motherboard has been increased.

 

-Now supports GPUs up to 12.475in without the rocks.

 

-The location where the mineral oil from the radiators enter the tank has moved from the front, in between the GPU and CPU heat sinks, to the back, behind the motherboard tray. From there, the oil goes down more soft tubing and enters a T where it is split into two hard pipes. The tubes are bent so the cool oil will shoot in front of the GPU fans, and through the CPU heat sink. The total area of the two pipes are a little bit over double the area of the soft tubing, so it should still exit relatively forcefully. Hopefully, it does not create any splashing on top. This addition by itself costs $60 and is the reason why i had to cut back on other parts. 

 

General Updates:

 

-I've brought all of the cooling parts, and am now scouring ebay for good deals on components. Got a 6800k for $382. A pretty good deal.

 

-Need to buy and cut the Acrylic. Which will happen in the next few days. The acrylic looks to be around $50, and the Laser cutting will be around $75. If anyone in SF has a laser cutter that i can use for free, I would be extremely grateful.

 

-As of now, it seems like the project will be finished around the 19th. Assuming I can find the PC parts i need.

 

-you can view a 3D model of the design at the link on my first post.

 

A quick bit of simple physics:

Q=(KA(Thot-Tcold)t)/d

Q=((1.1)(.5)(35-15)(1))/.2

Q=55

 

If the oil is at 35 degrees, and the ambient is 15 degrees. I can expect to dissipate around 55 watts of energy simply from the surface area of the tank. According to AnandTech, the idle power draw of a 6800k in a system similar to mine is around 110. So my system will overwhelm the passive cooling of the tank. I do not know what the number will be if I let the pump run slowly. but I do know from experience that a horizontal 280mm rad is enough to passively cool a overclocked 4790k when doing simple tasks like web browsing.

 

similarly

Q=(KA(Thot-Tcold)t)/d

110=((1.1)(.5)(Thot-15)(1))/.2

Thot==51.4 degrees

 

So if I let the oil reach 52 degrees, it should be enough to passively cool my system. Though I probably wont let it get that high as any load will make the temps spike up.