air conditioning for pc?

was thinking about moving a windows unit ac into another room to cool my comp...here's the idea...ac sits in window, 12"X3" duct goes from vents on front of ac unit into some kind of case about 4 times the volume of my comp case...ac set on low w/ thermostat control to keep temp inside outer case about 50F...is this a good idea? or will i have condensation problems? or some other problems that i haven't thought about, perhaps? would appreciate your input!

edit: o yeah pc sits inside ducted case...i'm sure you figured that out though...

Waterchiller?

I would think condensation would give you the biggest problem.

Originally Posted by icehokplyr

I would think condensation would give you the biggest problem.

Condensation won't be a problem. If any condensation would happen it would be on the outside of the "outer" case.

You will need a return air duct to complete the loop. If you don't have a return airduct, put a vent hole in the "outer" case so that air can exit it.

that desperate huh? water cooling maybe? or u could bo with the A.C's specifically designed for computers look under Vapor Cooling

The window mount AC's can be bought for as low as only $100 for a cheap one and some good ones for $200 - $300.

Watercooling and Vapochill systems cost much much more than that.

my cooling system: a 9" windmere clip-on fan. does wonders for my toshiba satellite 1415-s173... which is 2 years old and you could bake a chicken on it under load.

condensation would be a problem and also a big electricity bill...

Originally Posted by darktiger

condensation would be a problem and also a big electricity bill...

No it will not be a problem.

He is going to make a cabinet that will have in interior cooled by the air from the AC. The PC will sit inside that cabinet.

Air from the AC is LOW humidity along with being cool. The only condensation that could possibly happen will happen on the OUTSIDE of the cabinet because the exterior surface of the cabinet may be cooler than the dew point of the air from the room it's in. I highly doubt it will ever happen.

So you tell me how you think that condensation will be a problem? Also, the AC units while cooling entire rooms usually only run $20-$30 a month on electricity, this should be consideralbly less...should be.

a hearty good luck then. it will be interesting to see how this goes...please get back then with an update. I too think condensation will be the enemy there but I am unsure of that proposed design but long hours of operation will determine...

Originally Posted by Met-AL

Condensation won't be a problem. If any condensation would happen it would be on the outside of the "outer" case.

You will need a return air duct to complete the loop. If you don't have a return airduct, put a vent hole in the "outer" case so that air can exit it.

that was why i was thinking of using a second case that the pc actually sits inside of, eliminate, or at least greatly reduce the risk of condensation giveing me issues...the reason i am thinking about this is my gf is very cold natured...ie wants the heater on a lot now that its winter...means my temps go through the roof...so i was trying to come up with a cheap solution to keeping my rig running cool...ive gone from 38-39 idle on my cpu to 45...akk...abd before you say it, i know my temps are still within acceptable limits, i just like it running as cool as possible...only problem with a exit hole is it will make the room where my pc sits a cold sob after a while...maybe i can duct it to the outside back through the window the ac sits in...i'll come back with an update and maybe some pics of the construction...once i do get this setup complete, im going to run an old box in it for a few days and see how it fares, so far as condensation...even though i know i shouldnt have a problem with it due to the outer case...it still makes me nervous

i'll update when i have more info...in the meantime, suggestions or input is more than welcome!

EDIT:same shitty typing

Originally Posted by Scheizekopf

The window mount AC's can be bought for as low as only $100 for a cheap one and some good ones for $200 - $300.

Watercooling and Vapochill systems cost much much more than that.

yeah since ive already got the ac unit, really all this is going to cost me is materials for the outer case and ducts...bet i can get out for under 50 bucks!

EDIT: my shitty typing

was just thinking would i need an exhaust fan at the beginning of my exit duct you think? or would pressure in the outer case be sufficent?

i am also thinking a temp probe inside the outer cabinet would be a good idea...what do you tthink would be a good temp to shoot for? go as low as possible? or just try for about 50F or so?

also any suggestions for materials for the outer case, ducts?

Originally Posted by quakefiend420

was just thinking would i need an exhaust fan at the beginning of my exit duct you think? or would pressure in the outer case be sufficent?

i am also thinking a temp probe inside the outer cabinet would be a good idea...what do you tthink would be a good temp to shoot for? go as low as possible? or just try for about 50F or so?

also any suggestions for materials for the outer case, ducts?

You should have a return air duct that goes back to the AC unit so it doesn't run nonstop. The AC units thermostat's probe is behind the grill, so if your return air from the cabinet went over that, the AC unit could cycle on and off.

I use a window AC to keep my computer room cool. I also use it as a water chiller. I simply mounted my radiator inside the AC right after the evaporator. Water temp stays 17*C while the AC is running and due to the dehumidifying properties of air conditioning, I haven't had the slightest problem with condensation, even though my waterblocks are cold to the touch. As a matter of fact, I have a fresh cold soda sitting on my desk right now and the can is dry as a bone.

BTW, I live in FL where the humidity is always fairly high.

Originally Posted by Met-AL

You should have a return air duct that goes back to the AC unit so it doesn't run nonstop. The AC units thermostat's probe is behind the grill, so if your return air from the cabinet went over that, the AC unit could cycle on and off.

if the ac unit cycles on and off, when it cycles off wont its dehumidifying properties be lost for the off cycle? it still blows on thermostat control, just not nearly as cold...also anyone have ideas what i should try to go for as far as temps in the outer case? cold as possible or should i try to keep it at a certian temp, for condensation purposes?

50!? that's a bad ass room a/c i'd be afraid of blowing out the fuses on the wall sockets.

how did my thread get moved to the same place it was before...???

and now it wont go to the top...what gives?

lol i'm retarded...just realized thread was moved fom cooling to xtreme cooling...w00t i'm extreme

had a new idea though...i picked up a digital thermometer with a external probe...now i want something to check moisture levels inside the inner case...i got a moisture level meter (for plants, hey dont laugh i thought for 5 bucks it was worth a shot!)from wally world thinking it might do the trick but it seems to not be nearly sensitive enough for my needs...anyone got any ideas?

my buddy and i are starting on this project tomorrow...if he can get his dads digicam i'll have some pics and stuff for ya of what we've got so far...i dont think im going to get too cold though...stuck the temp probe in the ac vent and left it there for a couple hours to make sure temp was gonna stay stable...looks to be about 10C in the vent...im guessing i can keep about 13-15C in the outer case...so i might not get any really insane overclocks from this, but i bet i can get higher at least a bit...as long as my CPU stays at the right temp i might give it another tenth or so of a volt...might get me up a little higher, should at least let me get back to where i was before the gf and the heater.....

the basic idea now is to take a table and line the underside of the top and make walls out of that styrofoam insulation board stuff(dunno what its called, exactly, hitting the hardware store tomorrow) to make the outer case...someone suggested getting a mini fridge, taking the door off and just setting it inside the outer case instead of using the ac...anyone got any input on that? also any kind of special prep i should perform on my comp to get it ready for colder temps?

almost got the test box ready to go...300w cheapo psu, p2 400, 128mb pc100, no hdd yet...gonna hit up the local pc shops tomorrow and try to find a 2 or 4 gig for cheap, no optical drives either...would kinda defeat the purpose of this little endeavor if i had to open the case all the time to insert and remove discs...gonna stick my dvd burner in my htpc(gotta love network drives ) gonna run this box in here for about a week under prime torture test and see if it survives...if its still ticking im going to put the good rig in there...wish me luck...

another question i had was should i try to run this on thermostat control? the reason i ask is when the compressor kicks off it sitll blows, just not nearly as cold...im wondering if i should do this or have it running constantly due to warmer air entering the outer case might cause condensation to form...if i did this i would have to run my exit duct back to the intake on the ac unit...someone had suggested i do that anyway for thermostat control but i'm kind of leary......................on another topic, though somewhat related, what do you guys think about taking silica packs (you know, that stuff they put in shoes and beef jerky) all over the place and maybe line the vent with it...just to further reduce the risk of moisture...time to go rob my local shoestore also how long do those things last? well i guess it would depend on the amount of moisture in the enviroment to begin with, huh? scratch that last ?

another thing i was thinking was the dust filter in the ac's intake might cut down on the amount of dust entering my case....kind of a nifty bonus! ok enough with the long winded post...i apoligize for making you read all that, lol

thanks for all you guys' thoughts and opinions on this...makes me a little more secure doing this with my pc, should have an update for ya tomorrow!

This is very true the only condensation that are you going to have is outside to avoid that problem I would recommend to keep the temp. in the room low within 10 to 15 degrees of the inside of the cabinet or insulate the case and trust you don't want to do number 2.

Originally Posted by Met-AL

No it will not be a problem.

He is going to make a cabinet that will have in interior cooled by the air from the AC. The PC will sit inside that cabinet.

Air from the AC is LOW humidity along with being cool. The only condensation that could possibly happen will happen on the OUTSIDE of the cabinet because the exterior surface of the cabinet may be cooler than the dew point of the air from the room it's in. I highly doubt it will ever happen.

So you tell me how you think that condensation will be a problem? Also, the AC units while cooling entire rooms usually only run $20-$30 a month on electricity, this should be consideralbly less...should be.

with the moisture sensor thing:

the way that those plant sensors work is similar to a classic burglar alarm. electricity tends to choose the path of least resistance, in this case thru a small ballast resistor (say, 10kohm) rather than thru the led and its 470kohm resistor(in the case of a 12v circuit). because no moisture is directly shorting out the contacts of your plant sensor, it's not working... and it would be extremely difficult to make a working system. you would basically need a sheet of something that is hydroconductive (conducts electricity only when water is on it) and you'd have to adapt that to the plant sensor.

i know the stuff exists because it's used on the winshield of some cars to trigger "automatic" windshield wipers, but i can't tell you where to find it, tho american science and surplus (www.sciplus.com) usually stocks stuff that's wierd, unusual, and helpful.