Bottom Line: DIY Fun With Oil PC Based On The Athlon FX55
During the entire testing, the PC - filled to the brim with oil - in the transparent case was an absolute eye-catcher. Silently it performed its work - very slowly the oil got warmer, eventually reaching just under 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40c). Above all, it was not noticeable that the system was running under maximum load.
Before dismantling the motherboard, the oil has to be drained.
Originally it was planned to equip the oil PC with an Athlon FX-60, but this processor had not been officially introduced yet by AMD. Thus, the AMD Athlon FX-55 (2.6 GHz, 1 MB Cache) together with the Socket-939 motherboard base and the GeForce 6800 Ultra were used. And so the system is still faster than a comparable PC with an Intel Pentium D 840. Our DIY system with its higher performing hardware costs just under $2,000 and works absolutely silently. The passive cooling of the eight gallons of oil in the case see to that. In order to get this result, a few steps are necessary that are shown in the video and accompanying pictures and text. Our prototype of an oil PC should just be a starting point. Slowly rotating ventilators can surely be installed to optimize the thermal convection within the liquid, for example.
Is there a flip side?
Experienced users should be clear on one thing: the large quantity of liquid in the case also involves risks. Much damage could occur, for example, in case of an oil leak - water would be a much lesser evil in this scenario, but due to the free ions it cannot be used. Even the smallest of impurities lead therefore to ionizing, followed by leak currents. When exchanging components, all of the oil might have to be drained and the hardware cleaned. That is why we mounted a rubber stopper on the floor of our case to aide in emptying.
The aggressiveness of individual types of oil (above all those with a high fatty acid content) when it comes to plastics should not be taken lightly. For simplicity's sake, we decided on vegetable oil - but we recommend motor oil.
If you want to flee the daily routine and have long seen enough of everyday modding junk, this trulyunique DIY project should offer some excitement in your life.