Terrible cooling idea? Perhaps, perhaps not?

[Albyint]

Alright bear with me. How would using an air conditioning window unit with duct work venting cold air straight into the two computers into the room? The computers sit next to the window anyway, can ac be used to drastically cool system temp or is the air moist? If its moist then i know it cant be done but what have you guys heard of this for overclocking purposes?

 

[JohnnyLucky]

We've had similar questions in the past. Condensation would be a problem.

 

[Albyint]

Yea i figured as much, you could rig an inline dehumidifier somehow but that wouldnt be any garuntee(sp?) so definitely not doing it then. Thanks :-/ Could just use the ac to lower ambient temp i guess. Make the room icey :-D

 

[ainarssems]

Condensation will not be a problem. Condensation appears when warm moist air touches cold surface, You will have it other way around. Only condensation that can occur will be on the ouside of the case if all case get scold enough which I really doubt.

Anyway I don't think it is worth is as that will not double Your overclocks You will be lucky If You get extra 0.1 GHz. And then take into account all the bulkiness of setup and extra power draw. Not worth it unless You go for top benchmark scores or overclocking records in which case You would be using LN2 or liqiud hellium.

 

[Albyint]

^^^^ If thats the case then i will use it when i get a Callisto

 

[Conumdrum]

Seen a good AC unit ducted directly to the PC a few times. It seemed to work great. You have to PRECHILL the PC with the AC before turning the PC on. If your room AC humidity is pretty low it seems to work fine.

You can do the humidty math, soo many ways with Google.

 

[Albyint]

Really? You say "work great" but was is great being compared too? In terms of convential air cooling with case fans and the like i believe it would simply make it easier on my PSU not to run any fans (except venting) if I am pumping cold air into the case with the ac.

 

[Conumdrum]

Compared to lots of reading and just stuff I read. Compared to what standard ambient air temps of 85F, having 60C air pumped through the case is better.

It's not science, it's common sense.

Not using fans on the PSU, wow thats a whole 20 watts saved, when PSUs in a enthustast rig is way over 600 watts. Fans are a small, small part of wattage used from a PSU.

If the AC unit blows enuff air, why use case fans anyway, duuu.

the AC unit will use 20x if not 50x the wattage used by the fans. Still using electricity.

 

[overshocked]

Yeah, a fan will use about 4 watts actually. Also even if condensation does geton the board 80% of condensation problems can be solved by just letting the board dry out.

 

[jitpublisher]

Why do you think there is a hose or hole in the back of an air conditioner for water to run out of? Have you ever noticed on a really humid day, there is a steady stream of water running out the back of them? They actually act like de-humidifiers and REMOVE the moisture from the air as it condenses on the evaporator coils. Air coming out of an air conditioner will be far less humid than the warm room air was before it entered the unit.

 

[rubix_1011]

^ This is correct; air conditioning isn't only cooling the air, its 'conditioning' it, meaning removing excess humidity. (Remember, humans and animals are susceptible to humidity when accompanied to temperature, and inanimate objects are not). So, the air coming from the A/C unit will in fact, be cooler and drier. But, the argument of saving a small amount of power from removing case fans is by far eclipsed by the power draw of the A/C unit.

 

[Albyint]

Lol I know the ac consumes more power than the fans, it was saving my psu a little extra load (albiet little), i was just checking to see the sanity of using an ac unit for case cooling

 

[Conumdrum]

Air conditioning reduces the air temp. THAT IS NUMBER ONE. The byproduct of also removing humidity is secondary.

History of AC development is sooo easy to find.

 

[rnikora]

Found this thread because I was considering Water Cooling my QX9770 rig but found most quality solutions costing $400 - $500 and since they put more hot air into my computing room (which is too hot already) I looked into the latest developments in Quality Room AC and found that a 14,000 but Eco-Friendly Dual Hose unit with Dehumidifer could be had for $ 479.00 w/ tax & shipping.

http://www.imarketcity.com/whar14btuecf.html

No worries about changing coolant every 6 months, no worries about cleaning entire system every year, support for both my computer systems and I get the benefit of working in a room at 68F room Vs. 80F in summer.

Am I missing something here?

 

[rnikora]

CORRECTION -

Sorry that was BTU not but.

 

[Conumdrum]

It would work, yes. As long as it's on 24/7. Big item tho, did you read the LAST line? It has to be exhausted to the outside air.

So you can't place it in a room with windows closed.

And 10.8 amps? The power bill, thats a LOT of amps.