schmidtbag:

Yep.... arguably not worth it. For anyone who is considering the idea, be aware that anything kind of rubbery (including the sheathing for wires) will basically turn into solid plastic. Here's a pic in case anyone is interested:

Nice. How much constant power can you dump into it before the temps get to high? Can it run stable with 100W constant heat 24/7?

TLD LARS:

Nice. How much constant power can you dump into it before the temps get to high? Can it run stable with 100W constant heat 24/7?

Well the whole thing runs below 50W under full load. That being said, I don't recall temperatures ever going above 60C, even on a hot summer day. If I had a fan to better circulate the oil around the heatsink I'm sure the temperatures would be much lower. But, 60C is hardly worth worrying about for a passive cooler. If you want to do the same thing with a 100W chip, I'd recommend you use at least 15L of oil and maybe use something to make it flow.

schmidtbag:

Well the whole thing runs below 50W under full load. That being said, I don't recall temperatures ever going above 60C, even on a hot summer day. If I had a fan to better circulate the oil around the heatsink I'm sure the temperatures would be much lower. But, 60C is hardly worth worrying about for a passive cooler. If you want to do the same thing with a 100W chip, I'd recommend you use at least 15L of oil and maybe use something to make it flow.

100W was just a guess not a requirement, I found out that 100% passive is surprisingly hard at least cheaply in a ITX case, my server is only 50W total but aircooled, so it could easily run in the exact same setup. This case could actually be an option as water res, but maybe with robotic fish instead.

I guess that is for cooking fishes..

TLD LARS:

100W was just a guess not a requirement, I found out that 100% passive is surprisingly hard at least cheaply in a ITX case, my server is only 50W total but aircooled, so it could easily run in the exact same setup. This case could actually be an option as water res, but maybe with robotic fish instead.

So long as your CPU/SoC doesn't make up for well over 90% of the total power draw, you should be able to passively cool rather affordably. I lucked out because my chip used roughly 35W (60%) of the total power of my system, so it was easier to dissipate the heat using nothing but a crappy aluminum heatsink. As far as I'm concerned, unless you get specially designed heatpipes, do not use heatsinks with them for passive cooling. They're designed for active airflow. When you passively cool them, they get heat soaked very quickly, where the vapor never gets a chance to condense, and so the CPU is dumping a lot of heat into a pretty small mass. If you want to passively cool a CPU cheaply, you just simply need to throw a lot of mass at it, preferably something like copper. It's no coincidence how pretty much every passively cooled workstation is extremely heavy. You can always do what I did too, where you use a bubbler to simulate a little bit of flow. I actually haven't really needed it since my CPU never ran hot enough and my heatsink was pretty hefty, but just as a warning: do not use aquarium air stones. All they do is foam up the oil, and after just a few hours of being off they become totally clogged and unusable. Just puncture a few holes in a plastic tube - that should be enough.

Good idea. Game in the day and have cooked fish for diner.

Dumbest invention I've seen for a long time, and I'm sure plenty idiots with more money than sense will buy one.

All I can think of is: https://media.makeameme.org/created/but-why-just-5c1409.jpg

It screams of a crazy Japanese invention. I'm wondering if this was a sponsored article, because Hilbert links to the company. Fair enough in all honesty, got to pay the bills and money is money. But this is not the most useful concept...

Hey Hilbert, when can we expect the review? Can't wait Boss!....:p https://media2.giphy.com/media/S45If9bT4ny1xAvA4A/giphy.gif :D

I would use it as a res for my water loop. Or maybe at a lan party it can be a urinal for all the boy's LOL!!

fantaskarsef:

Have fun dying a thousand times inside every time you have to change the water 😀 Might better make it an aquascape than an actual aquarium

Actually, as long as the PC was unplugged from power when you did the water change, there would be no risk. PC components can get wet, they just can't get wet while they have power running through them. But it's really not hard to change the water, you just use a hose and syphon it. I'd be more worried about the fish. Seems like having a PC right under the aquarium could make the water too warm and kill the fish. Fish are very sensitive to temperature.

loser7:

Actually, as long as the PC was unplugged from power when you did the water change, there would be no risk. PC components can get wet, they just can't get wet while they have power running through them. But it's really not hard to change the water, you just use a hose and syphon it. I'd be more worried about the fish. Seems like having a PC right under the aquarium could make the water too warm and kill the fish. Fish are very sensitive to temperature.

Yeah I agree with you. My best friend does aquascaping and has an aquarium with fish in it too, but certainly I'd be nervous, just as anybody not having a custom loop like I do might be about general water cooling in a PC, mixing water and PC as a risky business to begin with. Sure components can get wet but in this case it's not just water, might be tricky with stuff floating in the water like fish poop and algea possibly 😀

schmidtbag:

I was going to submit it for RotM but seems like those aren't happening anymore 🙁

I have been wondering when they might make a comeback. I loved reading those. @Hilbert Hagedoorn please bring back the Rig Of The Month 😀 Hopefully we get to see more pics from @schmidtbag, cause I appreciate "different".