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100% Silent Passive Watercooled Gaming PC [BUILD LOG]

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[ShowMe!]

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Hi OCN,
Its [ShowMe!] aka VoKuS here.
I'm at it again, and this time I'm attempting a 100% silent passive watercooled gaming PC.

The Passive Radiator
So to start things off, I built a passive radiator directly on to one of my walls in my room. I used 100 feet of standard half inch copper pipe from home depot. The copper pipe is sold in 10 foot sections, and it has an internal diameter of 1/2 inch, and an external diameter of 5/8 inch. The typical price for half inch copper pipe at home depot is about $1.2 per foot, so 100 feet of copper pipe, cost me roughly $120. I mounted the 10 sections of copper pipe on to the wall using 3 wood support beams that I screwed directly in to the wall. The copper pipes are spaced out 6 inches apart on center, and mounted to the wood using 30 copper tube straps that you can find right next to the copper pipe in home depot. I wanted to do a minimal amount of work, so instead of getting right angle elbows and soldering the copper pipes, I used a ten foot section of industrial tygon tubing from usplastics along with plastics clips to create smooth transition loops at each end. I am hoping that 100 feet of half in copper pipe, will be enough to passively dissipate the heat of my gaming rig. If I did my math right, this should give me a total copper dissipation area of 16.3 square feet. You can imagine a copper sheet, roughly 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide to picture how much total area all this copper pipe represents if it was all unroled in to one flat sheet of copper. If for some reason this is not enough, I can add 9 more sections and have the grid spaced out 3 inches on center.







Stay tuned for the next update...

Happy Thanks Giving 2016 to Everyone!

biggrinsmiley.gif
 
#2 ·
Mounting the tubing on an angle would help cooling.

Even better would be an enclosure where you would get a "chimney" effect and suck more air over the tubes.
You could even add some quiet fans at the top or bottom.

 
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#3 ·
Subscribed for the results, would be nice to see stock air cooler vs. full passive wall setup vs. any other cooling option you can provide a quick benchmark on.
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
Quote:
billbartuska
Click to expand...
I am hoping the configuration I have now will be enough, but if not might have to add more pipes and try a case for chimney effect.
Quote:
axipher
Click to expand...
I will try to provide some data if I can.

Next Update
I am waiting on some parts that are being shipped. In the next update I will install the hoses that run to my computer and build a sound proof box for the pump and reservoir.
 
#5 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by [ShowMe!] View Post

Quote:
billbartuska
Click to expand...
I am hoping the configuration I have now will be enough, but if not might have to add more pipes and try a case for chimney effect.
Quote:
axipher
Click to expand...
I will try to provide some data if I can.

Next Update
I am waiting on some parts that are being shipped. In the next update I will install the hoses that run to my computer and build a sound proof box for the pump and reservoir.
Click to expand...
Awesome :)
 
#8 ·
This looks like so much fun! Subbed!
 
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Discussion starter · #10 ·
Next Update

I got some more parts in the mail today, so I installed the tubing that would run to the computer and pumps. I used two 5/8 in to 1/2 in reducer connectors to connect the 5/8 in tubing that is used to join the copper pipes, to a more standard 1/2 in tubing used in water cooled computers. I also used some handy clamps to mount the tubing to the wall so it would be secure and to keep it from just sitting on the floor. I routed the pipes to the approximate place where the table, computer and pump box would be located.

I have already started building a sound proof box for the pumps. Will post pics in the next update.









 
Discussion starter · #11 ·
Next Update

I built and painted the box. Its a simple box made out of 3/4 inch plywood and painted flat black with a roller. I drilled 1/4 inch holes in the top and screwed in 4 studs to allow me to use twist knobs for easy lid removal. I will wait till the pump arrives and put sound insulation material inside the box to hopefully silence the pump completely.




 
Discussion starter · #12 ·
Mini Update

I found an old 2 inch foam mattress in the garage. I cut it up to use as vibration and sound absorption material. Will see how this works when the pump arrives. If its not enough, I might have to add some butyl rubber sound deadening on to all the walls of the box on the inside.

 
Discussion starter · #13 ·
Micro Update

I got the pump in the mail today. Its a Koolance PMP 500. I was really surprised how small it is. Here are some pictures of it sitting next to the Logitech Pro Gaming Mouse.

I am still waiting on more parts before I can hook things up for a test.



 
Discussion starter · #15 ·
First Test Update

Alright, so I got enough parts in the mail to actually run water thru the loop.

As soon as I got water in to the loop, almost 2 gallons of it in the loop alone, I started to develop leaks. Turns out when I clamped the copper tube loops, I did not clamp them hard enough. I fixed the leaks by giving all the clamps a nice hard clampdown with a pair of adjustable pliers.

The part I was most interested in is, can the this passive rad actually handle a descent heat load.

So I submersed a 284 watt heating coil in the water as my static load and dropped a temp probe in the suction line to monitor water temps.

Here is some DATA that I collected.

The ambient house temperature is 74F - 23.3C.

1:12pm - 72F - 22C
1:17pm - 77F - 25C
1:22pm - 80F - 27C
1:26pm - 83F - 28C
1:29pm - 84F - 29C
1:33pm - 86F - 29C
1:39pm - 88F - 31C
1:43pm - 89.6F - 32C
1:45pm - 90.1F - 32.2C
1:47pm - 90.1F - 32.2C Stable Temp Reached

My house AC system is always on and always keeps the house at 74F.

So we know that at a static load of 284 watts and an ambient temp of 74F my this passive system stabilizes at 90F giving us a 16F DELTA!

I will now add another heating probe to test with more watts.








 
#16 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by [ShowMe!] View Post

First Test Update

So I submersed a 284 watt heating coil in the water as my static load and dropped a temp probe in the suction line to monitor water temps.

Here is some DATA that I collected.

1:12pm - 72F - 22C
1:17pm - 77F - 25C
1:22pm - 80F - 27C
1:26pm - 83F - 28C
1:29pm - 84F - 29C
1:33pm - 86F - 29C
1:39pm - 88F - 31C
Click to expand...
You should consider adding a second probe to monitor the ambient temp, delta temps are way more interesting. Either way, can't wait to see what temp it settles at.
 
#18 ·
This looks pretty interesting and I can't wait to see the full results.

One thing I would change is going with some worm gear hose clamps instead of the nylon ones you have. I think they would be allot more reliable and can be found for about 40 cents a piece at hardware store. Last thing you want is the nylon giving out and dumping two gallons of water on the floor and potentially ruining your system.
 
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Discussion starter · #19 ·
More DATA

Next test.

74F Ambient House Temp

550.6 Watt Static Load

1:53pm - 93.2F - 34.0C
1:54pm - 94.3F - 34.6C
1:57pm - 96.0F - 35.5C
1:59pm - 97.9F - 36.6F
2:02pm - 99.5F - 37.5C
2:05pm - 101.5F - 38.6C
2:07pm - 102.0F - 38.8C
2:10pm - 102.6F - 39.2C
2:12pm - 102.9F - 39.3C Stable Temp Reached

So we know that at a static load of 550.6 watts and an ambient temp of 74F this passive system stabilizes at 103F giving us a 29F DELTA!



 
Discussion starter · #20 ·
Cool Down Data

No Load

Ambient Temp 74F

2:14pm - 102.4F
2:15pm - 101.1F
2:16pm - 99.9F
2:18pm - 98.1F
2:19pm - 96.6F
2:21pm - 95.4F
2:23pm - 93.9F
2:28pm - 90.3F
2:30pm - 88.5F
2:36pm - 86.7F
2:37pm - 86.0F

I stopped the test here, but you get the the general idea...
 
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