Previously the domain of adventurous overclockers, Hardcore Computer is now selling the “Reactor”, a PC case filled with mineral oil in which videocards are submerged. Because oil absorbs heat better than air, the videocards can be overclocked far beyond what would otherwise be safe operating temperatures.
The price will vary depending on configuration, but a mid-range machine with dual GeForce GTX 260s will cost around five grand. Not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but not completely ridiculous considering the outre nature of the case, either.
Reactor product page [HardcoreComputer.com]
Related • Strip Out The Fans, Add 8 Gallons of Cooking Oil : Dousing Your Athlon FX-55 With Eight Gallons Of Cooking Oil? [TomsHardware.com]
@ #2
You just made me giggle far more than is reasonable. You and arrested development. *sigh*
#6
I can personally attest to the laxative properties of mineral oil. Long ago, when I was a young(er) lad, I worked at Wendy’s as an opener/prep person. This was back when Wendy’s made their burgers patties on-site; every restaurant had a patty forming machine.
To say this thing was a nightmare to operate, service, and clean up would be an epic understatement. After every morning’s run of burgers, the machine had to be surgically clean; and all mechanical surfaces had to be (lightly) lubricated with light mineral oil.
(long thesis statement, eh?)
Anyway, the opening crew would take their brunch break from 09:45 to 10:15; the restaurant opened at 11:00. My break ritual always involved a nice, fresh cup of coffee. One of my co-workers spiked my coffee with about 1 1/2 tsp. (~7.4 mL) of mineral oil.
Bastards.
I spent the next hour wondering HOW I could have that much…poo inside of me.
Sorry for being long-winded. I get chatty when I’m nervous, or in an unfamiliar setting. This is my first post to boing-boing.
Upgrades will be messy
@ #1,
BRILLIANT! Now if you could just incorporate a soda fountain into the thing, you’d have the whole shebang.
@#2 – +1
It also makes homemade potato chips, but that’s one of its lesser advertised features.
Soy loco por los Cornballs!
#1:
I wouldn’t eat those chips. Mineral oil is a laxative.
And I’ve seen this done before in a DIY implementation. Mineral oil is what is used to cool major transformers like those at power substations. It doesn’t go rancid and has a high specific heat, so it is excellent for cooling electronics purely from a heat absorption standpoint. You’ll still need a beefy radiator though, and you will never, ever get those parts all the way clean once they’ve been dunked. Forget about reselling unless you find someone who doesn’t mind hidden oil in niches which attracts dust like a magnet. Not that anyone who spends on this kind of thing likely has to resell their used parts.
Then again I’ve also seen someone submerge their motherboard in vegetable oil while cooking fries in it and playing (I think) Quake II with said board. It didn’t last long, but cheers to them.
All it needs is that lava-lamp goo.