[macattack0037]

So my room mate and I have been trying new ways to keep the temperatures in our computers down. We actually built our own water cooling system for around 35 bucks from parts from Wal-mart. Easy.

But so we were thinking, has anyone tried using a mini fridge as a case for a computer. Like putting everything in the computer and drilling a small hole for the cables to come out. I don't mean like just throwing everything in there but actually doing it nice. Drilling mounts and securing everything in correctly.

Anyone have any thoughts?

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Some ideas similarly have occurred:

Evolution of the Fridge Computer
Japanese company combines computer and refrigerator
US Patent 6483695 - Computer/keyboard built into refrigerator door
Computer in a refrigerator?
And in a reverse idea: Refrigerator Cools Future Computers

Edited by Major Payne, 19 November 2008 - 11:14 PM.

[Major Payne]

Some ideas similarly have occurred:

Evolution of the Fridge Computer
Japanese company combines computer and refrigerator
US Patent 6483695 - Computer/keyboard built into refrigerator door
Computer in a refrigerator?
And in a reverse idea: Refrigerator Cools Future Computers

Edited by Major Payne, 19 November 2008 - 11:14 PM.

[BHowett]

I can’t imagine a real need for it, but it sounds like a pretty fun project! What kind of rig are you running that you already built a water cooling system for, and you still need a refrigerator to keep it cool?

[dsenette]

But so we were thinking, has anyone tried using a mini fridge as a case for a computer. Like putting everything in the computer and drilling a small hole for the cables to come out. I don't mean like just throwing everything in there but actually doing it nice. Drilling mounts and securing everything in correctly.

i've actually done something like this before....we gutted an old computer and mounted everything in a minifridge...the problem is moisture....you're going to get a lot of condensation since it's not a sealed system...we just packed as many of those silica gel packets as we could find in our clothes and shoe boxes....seemed to help...

i did once find a link where someone had done something with one of those mini fridges that also has a freezer where they put the MOBO with the proc and video card in the freezer part and the rest of the equipment in the fridge part.....i think their temps were somewhere around 5 or 6 Celsius on the proc

[dsenette]

http://www.fragware....e&id=13&pages=0

[macattack0037]

that's really cool. No pun intended there. And yea thats a really good idea with the gel things. i never thought of that.

[PedroDaGR8]

Another idea you can look at, as you already have water cooling is a water chiller. I use them in my lab all the time on my columns and rotovaps. They can run off straight water, water and ethanol etc. I think the ones I used could get down to -20C, of course not with water, so cold enough.

[Troy]

I would love to do this one day.

I've always wanted to do it... Although I would have just a small hole with all the cables through, instead of the whole rear of the case visible through the door.

Too bad if the fridge died on you though... It looks like they picked up a cheapie, and like anything you buy cheap...

Troy

[james_8970]

Fridges are not build to run 24/7 and the compressor will burn out rather quickly. Additionally as mentioned by dsenette, condensation may be an issue if you are in a humid environment, though most modern fridges remove the humidity from the air so it shouldn't be too much of an issue.
If you are serious about getting below ambient temps, the only method that you can try is cold plates, LN2 and TEC cooling, among a few others. Many of which are VERY expensive and in the case of LN2, very, very risky and should only be performed on hardware you're willing to lose.

Lastly, if you do try this, which I don't recommend, remember to remove your hard drive from the cold. Hard drives do not like a cold environment.
James

Edited by james_8970, 29 November 2008 - 09:38 PM.