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Submerge a PC in an aquarium for less than $1,000
We all went nuts over that hardcore computer submerged in mineral oil last week, but recoiled at its $11K price tag. Now you can get your own favorite components together and submerge them in an attractive aquarium-like enclosure from Puget Systems for around $10K less than that, depending on your chosen components.
Sure, there have been liquid-cooled PCs floating around for a while now, but this $315 kit makes it easy. It includes everything you need to mount your motherboard and (solid-state) drives, so you bolt everything in, add some fancy lights and a bubble bar (see the gallery below), pour in $60 worth of mineral oil, and you have a bubbling aquarium with a PC running inside. Just don't put any fish in there — they don't much care for mineral oil.
Click continue to see a video of this liquid PC in action.
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Puget Systems, via Marketwire
By budgethero at 2:31 PM ON 10/28/08
and not dust. brilliant
By Boxerfanatic at 3:15 PM ON 10/28/08
Not bad...
As long as you don't move it, and slosh oil everywhere, or plan on messing around with the innards very often.
With some extension cords for SATA and power, one could possibly even incorporate HDDs and optical drive(s), ports and buttons, in the aquarium cover somehow.
IF somehow one could come up with a way to mount the submerged section on some sort of vertical sliding arrangement that can latch in the extended position, one could lift the hardware out of the oil bath, and let it drip dry before working on it, then slide it back down into the oil bath...
Not only that, but you could even use a fan-less power supply. liquid convection cools and equalizes/conducts temperature much better than air, and fans use more power to spin through liquids than air.
By joshikins at 4:44 PM ON 10/28/08
The fans aren't really needed once your entire computer is submerged in the stuff. Not to mention the fans will probably die pretty fast considering they are meant to move air not a oil.
By Luis Arana at 4:57 PM ON 10/28/08
I have a bunch of uncased computers in my basement. Now where to find 6 gallons of mineral oil?
By lol at 5:49 AM ON 10/29/08
won't the oil disrupt the hardrive and the DVD player ?
By Roridge at 10:40 AM ON 10/29/08
Using Solid State Drives, and I didn't see a DVD player ;)
Wouldn't the pressure cause the fan motors to have to work harder, and therefore burn out quicker?
Also, wont the heat of the components warm up the oil and then cause everything to get warmer? = don't leave in sun light.
I don't know, but just my assumptions. Looks pretty cool though :)
By Unique Gift Ideas at 1:35 PM ON 10/29/08
@ BOXERFANATIC
Yeah, I'm sure you could incprporate all of those features.. but then it wouldn't be a simple and cheap idea, now would it?
but for all practical purposes, doing this kind of thing to your new PC, you'd probably want more flexibility in the design of the oil case.
By Brandoski at 2:07 PM ON 10/29/08
ok, this was done along time ago by Puget, and even back then they told us what all the parts were. Is it news that now they are selling things they already told us where to buy?
By N.A.T.E. at 2:06 AM ON 11/14/08
you could probably use the Mac's SuperDrive if has USB ports....
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N.A.T.E.:
you could probably use the Mac's SuperDrive if has USB ports.......More »