T w e n t y S i d e d

So, some goofballs decided to build a computer that was submerged in 8 gallons of cooking oil. The idea is that the large volume of non-conductive liquid can absorb a lot of heat and eliminate the need for fans. Amazingly, it works. The computer is totally silent.

Although: Imagine what a hassle it will be if you need to do any upgrades. Want to put a network card (doesn’t look like you have one in there) into this machine? Enjoy reaching into oil up to your elbows. Also, this sucker is going to be heavy. I hope you don’t need to move it anytime soon.

However, this is just proof-of-concept. I bet with the right case you could achive the same effect using a fraction of the oil used here. I don’t know how much liquid you need to be able to absorb the heat, but I’m thinking 8 gallons is overkill. How little could you get away with? Cases are built to be more or less open inside to allow airflow. With this design, it might be sensible to try to eliminate all the empty space (fill it in with something airtight) to reduce the need for so much oil.

With all thoat oil inside, tipping is a real danger. Also, it looks like the power supply can’t be submerged.

How do people think of stuff like this?

Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.