Mineral Oil Aquarium PC Now Allows EATX Mobos

By Kevin Parrish
published

The latest version of the Aquarium PC allows for EATX motherboards and ten gallons of oily fun.

Looking to build a wacky new rig to leave your pals in awe? Wanting something other than the standard chassis? Puget Systems has released a new version of its Aquarium PC DIY kit, allowing system builders to construct a mineral oil-cooled rig within a 10-gallon aquarium.

According to Puget, Aquarium PC V3 is a big improvement over the previous kit, now allowing for full EATX motherboards. The larger system also provides enough space for the builder to mount the power supply on the motherboard tray itself, making it easier to maintain the PC. Puget said that it even has twice the cooling power than seen with V2.

But how does this setup work? "The cooling module pumps the mineral oil through an external radiator, which provides excellent and quiet cooling," Puget said. "We have verified adequate cooling with the most extreme hardware on the market at the time we built our test system."

The test system included dual Intel Xeon X5677 CPUs, 12GB of DDR3-1600 RAM, and dual ATI 5870 video cards.

Puget also provides a warning on the kit's product page, claiming that--in addition to voiding the warranty--mineral oil is very difficult (if not impossible) to clean from the components once they're submerged. System builders wanting to take the chance will need $671.46 to get started. For more information, head here.

73 Comments Comment from the forums
  • shadow187
    The first review on the HD5970 Sapphire Edition 4GB on Newegg stated something about submerging in mineral oil. I didn't believe it.

    Gotta love what Enthusiasts will do.
    Reply
  • azcoyote
    $671.46? That had better come with a drain basket and a frozen bag of Jalapeño poppers.
    Reply
  • loomis86
    Good idea.

    However I think they are going about cooling totally backwards. I would take a freon unit from an old drinking fountain and submerge the evaporating coil in the aquarium. Then circulate the oil around in the tank. Use two drinking fountain units if necessary, and try to keep the aquarium oil below room temp. Then overclock the p!ss out of it.
    Reply
  • mlopinto2k1
    Now THAT is friggin cool.
    Reply
  • mlopinto2k1
    loomis86Good idea. However I think they are going about cooling totally backwards. I would take a freon unit from an old drinking fountain and submerge the evaporating coil in the aquarium. Then circulate the oil around in the tank. Use two drinking fountain units if necessary, and try to keep the aquarium oil below room temp. Then overclock the p!ss out of it.Does mineral oil coagulate at a certain temperature?
    Reply
  • retardedspleen
    loomis86Good idea. However I think they are going about cooling totally backwards. I would take a freon unit from an old drinking fountain and submerge the evaporating coil in the aquarium. Then circulate the oil around in the tank. Use two drinking fountain units if necessary, and try to keep the aquarium oil below room temp. Then overclock the p!ss out of it.
    condensation?

    The reason oil works is cause it doesn't transmit electricity. Add some water to the mix... things may change.
    Reply
  • wotan31
    loomis86Good idea. However I think they are going about cooling totally backwards. I would take a freon unit from an old drinking fountain and submerge the evaporating coil in the aquarium. Then circulate the oil around in the tank. Use two drinking fountain units if necessary, and try to keep the aquarium oil below room temp. Then overclock the p!ss out of it.Guess you've never heard of condensation before, eh? Your idea will fail miserably. Engineering is definitely not your subject, lol.
    Reply
  • wotan31
    This whole thing seems kind of stupid. Once you submerge your components, you'll never be able to resell them, or revert back to air cooling - like the article says, it's nearly impossible to clean the oil off. You'll be stuck throwing them in the trash at upgrade time. Furthermore, you've now made your PC a permanent fixture in your home. You cannot take it to a lan party, to a friends house, or anywhere! Even from one room to another will be a big hassle with spilled oil no doubt. What an awful concept.
    Reply
  • mrecio
    wotan31This whole thing seems kind of stupid. Once you submerge your components, you'll never be able to resell them, or revert back to air cooling - like the article says, it's nearly impossible to clean the oil off. You'll be stuck throwing them in the trash at upgrade time. Furthermore, you've now made your PC a permanent fixture in your home. You cannot take it to a lan party, to a friends house, or anywhere! Even from one room to another will be a big hassle with spilled oil no doubt. What an awful concept.
    LOL man this is not for practical use, this is for enthusiasts. This looks cool and is fully functional and enthusiast does not know what the word convenient is. If you expect this thing ti be practical or mobile then im not sure what to tell you.
    Reply
  • thekitty
    Dude, it's Puget, not pudget
    Reply