Dry Ice Cooling...

[Apoptosis]

Has anyone in the forums every played with dry ice cooling on their PC's?

I've started looking into here and am interested to see what our members think of it all.

[HONkUS]

ive thought about it, but I dont have my old hardware to try extreme cooling experiments with, I sold it all to Dragon Coolers parents so I could afford my current hardware lol but I am very interested in dry ice especially.

[KnightRid]

Wouldnt that get pretty expensive? Dry Ice doesnt last Plus what if it ran out when you were away..lol

Mike

As the statement above reflects, I have no idea about anything with extreme cooling or overclocking, so take it all with a grain of salt :p

[DMB2000uk]

If you dont mind modding your mobo to be condensation proof, for the short time you'd actually be able to use dry ice, then i guess it'd be pretty fun

You just looking to get suicide overclocks? Because like mike said it wont last for long enough to keep it stable for a long run.

Dan

[DMB2000uk]

Found a guide over at madshrimps if you havent already seen it:

http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=gethowto&number=1&howtopage=150&howtoID=59

Like i thought you'll need a copper shim thing to put the dry ice in... Ive seen people sell them before (If your not too handy in the workshop!)

Dan

[Apoptosis]

looking for fun... people like reading that stuff... plus i need a change... doing the same reviews for year after year gets old... need to try new stuff

I'm currently looking to build a budget dice (dry ice) tube for under $50 and can be done yourself. I figured it would be fun for a how to and overclocking article. I might use an old 939 board ;) I also plan on using a an over the top mounting solution using all thread to mound the tower to the board.

[infinitevalence]

yeah dry ice can be done really cheap, all it takes is a little skill in a metel shop.

[pcrobot]

Found a guide over at madshrimps if you havent already seen it:

http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=gethowto&number=1&howtopage=150&howtoID=59

Like i thought you'll need a copper shim thing to put the dry ice in... Ive seen people sell them before (If your not too handy in the workshop!)

Dan

Great guide! If I tried dry ice, I'd have to buy the copper thing pre-made. I have basically no metal-working tools. Do you know where I could find them for sale? (not tools, the copper thing)

[Apoptosis]

I didn't give up on my project... I've just been looking for the material.

I found what I am going to use for my dry ice tube this morning and the best part of the deal is that it was free. After calling a million places and having no luck for 12 inch sections (unless you want 10 or 20 feet at $15 per foot plus tax) I found this tube in my neighbors garage across the street!



The tube came out of a Schnucks supermarket in St. Louis during a remodel and was originally used as a suction tube for the air conditioning system. So It's a Cerro brand name tube with a Type L rating. It's length is 11.5 inches with an internal diameter of 2 inches...



My project has finally started! Now I need to go buy a 2" Type L cap and/or find a think chunk of copper to make the base out of and then braze the two pieces together.... All the supply stores are closed today (Saturday) so I'm stuck for today.

Just in case someone else is trying to do this be sure to get at least Type L pipe as it's thicker. Copper pipe is available in three basic types: Type M is thin-walled, Type L is medium-walled and Type K is thick-walled.

I measured my 2" Type L pipe and using dial caplipers that the outside diameter is 2.125" while the inside appears to be 1.985". I wouldn't make a dry ice tube using Type M pipe as the thicker the pipe the better the results will be. Since it's free I'll be more than happy to use this medium wall 2" pipe, but if you are going to buy some for yourself try to get Type K if you can find it.

My goal is to make a cheap dry ice tube for under $50 and I'm well on my way

[DMB2000uk]

All the supply stores are closed today (Sunday) so I'm stuck for today.

You a day ahead of us over there? Its only saturday in the UK


I was reading this AC to water cooling mod yesterday and that got me in the mood for some extreme cooling mods, but i dont even have a mobo i could condensation proof (let alone water cooling to mod!)

Dan

[Apoptosis]

opps... Saturday I mean... Lack of sleep here... been playing with too much hardware lately... damn video card launches are coming up

[pcrobot]

Nice Apop, WTG! Looking forward to the rest!

[Apoptosis]

Well I got lucky and found a shop open on a saturday and went and picked up a 2" type L cap for $4.99 at a wholesale plumbing shop.



Man that pipe and cap look a million years old... Look at the surface that is going on the CPU...



Time to take some 600 grit to 2000 grit sandpaper and do some wet sanding on this sucker....



oh yes a mirror finish on the cap bottom and 600 grit on the tube just to give it some bling before it gets wrapped up. I also used a wire brush to clean the junk out of the inside of the pipe. I'm not sure what it is, but I don't want any foreign material in the tube when I add Acetone and dry ice.

I'm now trying to pick between brazing it or using silver solder to secure the cap together. Silver solder would be free as I have the torches and rod here... hmmmm

[DMB2000uk]

Whichever you choose, make sure you do it well

How long did it take to clean all that up?

Dan

[DMB2000uk]

Just wondering (before you weld): How are you planning to fix the tube assembly to the CPU socket, doesn't look like you've got an easy way of clamping it down at the minute.

Dan

[Apoptosis]

Dan,

Since my goal was budget dry ice cooling (under $50) I'm going to do the cheapest and simplest thing possible... an Over The Top mounting solution...

Funny you asked that because I just got back from the hardware store (Home Depot) and picked up everything I needed for the mounting system...



This stuff was all cheap too...

2 x #6-32 x 12" All Thread Rod - $0.98
1 x #6-32 Cap Nuts - $0.98
1 x #6-32 Wing Nuts - $0.98
1 x Sealing Washer Bonded (Neoprene) - $0.58
2 x Blank Light Covers - $0.76

Total Mounting Hardware Cost -- $6.02

I also just ordered some 5" x 5" Closed Cell Neoprene Rubber from dangerden to insulate the CPU socket.

As of right now I got $11 and about 3-4 hours of time in the tube. An hour or two sanding and cleaning it up and another 2 hours getting parts.

[kenc51]

Can't wait!
The only thing I that might hold you back is lack of vcore!
With dry ice etc you can and will want to pump <1.7v to the chip. Do you have a DFI board? Most other mobos top out at around 1.65v.

Removing the IHS would also help ;)

[Apoptosis]

I was using the electric drill to cut the 2" hole out for the top mounting bracket and it started shooting flames out... It was the first tool I bought when I worked at Sears when I was 16... Looks like I'm done on this project for the night!

I did do a test fit though on a DFI 939 board with my FX-60 processor...



and guess what I figured out...



The mounting bracket on the DFI socket 939 motherboard uses #6-32 coarse threads, so my all thread rods screw right in them... forget the nut caps, washers, and other block off plate as they are not needed and this mounting bracket is already solid.

As for removing the IHS I'm not going to do that and I honestly don't know what system I'm going to run this on... It's either going to be on an old Pressler or an old AMD 939 processor as I can't afford to lose a Conroe or AM2 right now.

All i need to do now is drill a bigger hole in the top plate, braze the cap to the tube, and insulate my tube! I'm half way there!

[DMB2000uk]

The cleaned up tube is looking nice sat on the motherboard, shame you wont see any of it when its insulated...

Everything seems to be coming along nicely for you

Dan

[Dragon_Cooler]

OH THE ANXIETY..................I CANT WAIT TO SEE THE RESULTS!!!!!!!!!