Airflow and cooling

rian222 · Dec 16, 2010, 02:54 AM

Not sure if this is the right forum for this but i didn't see one that looked better. Anyways, i'm in the military and i bought a pretty decent computer about six months ago. However, i recently moved to a new station and the barracks i'm staying in have pretty different rules than my old one. My problem is that i'm required to keep my computer locked up in a cabinet with little to no airflow. The biggest reason for it is due to theft problems, which makes sense. I've been trying to think of a solution but I only have a few ideas and none of them seem very appealing. One idea is to look for a special cabinet that i can lock and has more airflow. I was also thinking about taking one of those foil tubes and making a duct from my fans to a hole in the cabinet. One idea my dad suggested is to take a mini fridge and remove the cooler, and stick that in the cabinet. Idk though, I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions. Thanks.

mcdragon2 · Dec 16, 2010, 05:33 AM

well the fridge idea will most likely be ineffective due to it requiring a fan to have the air move past the coils enough. and otherwise I would look for a mesh cabinet or put some ducting into a normal cabinet

Takaharu · Dec 16, 2010, 08:01 AM

Would a water-tight case filled with distilled water be appropriate in this situation? It needs practically no airflow but I don't know if it will remain cool enough to function properly.

iPlayer · Dec 16, 2010, 08:32 AM

^Besides that would be a pita to setup and maintain. You could instead go with a normal water cooling loop with the radiators outside.

I don't think a mini fridge would work. They aren't meant to remove heat that fast.

The meshed cabinet idea is the easiest way to deal with it. You could just use it as your computer's case.

OldBuzzard · Dec 16, 2010, 05:56 PM

One solution would be to secure a Koolance EXOS to the top of the case, assuming that you have room to do so, and run the tubing into a couple of holes in it.

The problem with that however is that the EXOS won't be cheap.

blibbax · Dec 16, 2010, 08:22 PM

If you're allowed to customize the cabinet, which it sounds like you are, simply perforating the front and rear would be fine.

Dec 16, 2010, 02:54 AM	#1
rian222 HardwareHeaven Lover Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 183 Rep Power: 0	Airflow and cooling Not sure if this is the right forum for this but i didn't see one that looked better. Anyways, i'm in the military and i bought a pretty decent computer about six months ago. However, i recently moved to a new station and the barracks i'm staying in have pretty different rules than my old one. My problem is that i'm required to keep my computer locked up in a cabinet with little to no airflow. The biggest reason for it is due to theft problems, which makes sense. I've been trying to think of a solution but I only have a few ideas and none of them seem very appealing. One idea is to look for a special cabinet that i can lock and has more airflow. I was also thinking about taking one of those foil tubes and making a duct from my fans to a hole in the cabinet. One idea my dad suggested is to take a mini fridge and remove the cooler, and stick that in the cabinet. Idk though, I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions. Thanks.

Dec 16, 2010, 05:33 AM	#2
mcdragon2 HardwareHeaven Addict Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: West, OH Posts: 252 Rep Power: 17 System Specs	Re: Airflow and cooling well the fridge idea will most likely be ineffective due to it requiring a fan to have the air move past the coils enough. and otherwise I would look for a mesh cabinet or put some ducting into a normal cabinet

Dec 16, 2010, 08:01 AM	#3
Takaharu I can fart in 7 languages Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: England, UK Posts: 1,847 Rep Power: 110 System Specs	Re: Airflow and cooling Would a water-tight case filled with distilled water be appropriate in this situation? It needs practically no airflow but I don't know if it will remain cool enough to function properly. __________________ I don't get paid to know the answer, therefore I'm far more likely to give you a straight and honest answer. Mods Rig, Box Mods Rig, Folding details

Dec 16, 2010, 08:32 AM	#4
iPlayer Filled with noobsauce Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: between the buns Posts: 1,450 Rep Power: 59	Re: Airflow and cooling ^Besides that would be a pita to setup and maintain. You could instead go with a normal water cooling loop with the radiators outside. I don't think a mini fridge would work. They aren't meant to remove heat that fast. The meshed cabinet idea is the easiest way to deal with it. You could just use it as your computer's case.

Dec 16, 2010, 05:56 PM	#5
OldBuzzard DH's oldest Geek Join Date: May 2003 Location: Oberlin, OH Posts: 2,783 Rep Power: 145 System Specs	Re: Airflow and cooling One solution would be to secure a Koolance EXOS to the top of the case, assuming that you have room to do so, and run the tubing into a couple of holes in it. The problem with that however is that the EXOS won't be cheap. __________________ When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY

Dec 16, 2010, 08:22 PM	#6
blibbax What does this do? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 4,230 Rep Power: 254 System Specs	Re: Airflow and cooling If you're allowed to customize the cabinet, which it sounds like you are, simply perforating the front and rear would be fine. __________________ Donate the spare computing power of your PC to help to cure Alzheimer's, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease and cancer: Fold for HH!