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Hardware

Off-The-Rack Liquid-Cooled PC Case 182

Posted by timothy from the good-kind-of-vaporware dept.
hummer357 writes: "A Korean company is making a computer case with a nifty liquid-cooling system (for psu, video and processor) that doesn't use any fans or motors. The CalmPC. Here's a review. Maybe this is the thing we have been waiting for ... finally silence on the desktop. Too bad the supplied case is extremely ugly"
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Off-The-Rack Liquid-Cooled PC Case More

Off-The-Rack Liquid-Cooled PC Case

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  • Who cares that it's Ugly? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Vladinator ( 29743 ) on Saturday January 19, 2002 @04:38PM (#2869420) Homepage Journal
    I don't - I want to run a 2 CPU athalon system as a server for my website, and knowing that it's not going to croak like that one on Tom's Hardware is very important to me. I may just have to get one of these.
    • Croak? Do you plan on manually detaching the heat sink while it's running? The whole issue is the cooling device being removed, either by force of by the heat sink clamp breaking. Who's to say that this system won't suffer from that problem. Maybe the adhesive or whatever is uses has the possibility of wearing out.
  • Entering inside a server room and the only thing you can hear is "gloup".
  • this page [calmpc.com] says

    2. Applicable types for the CALM(CPU , Graphic card)
    CPU Less than 1GHz socket type (Intel, AMD)


    it must be cheaper now, to buy a >1GHz chip than a slower one and this case.
  • Why would I cut the noise? Nothing like waking up to the sound of 3 80mm delta fans whirling away keeping my baby cool. If one dies, you'll instantly :)
    • Why would I cut the noise?

      To be able to concentrate on your work or getting a good nights sleep perhaps?

      • Its like purring cats to me think about people who live in the city I have growen up to computer fans i dont hear them anymore but i do hear the hard drive and CD ROM clicking away don't take that away from me thats how i know my system is up
        • I used to keep my computer running all the time, but stopped after I was discovered what a difference having a totally silent room at night made in my sleep quality.

          I've got DSL but I don't run web, ftp or other kind of servers. Then why should the computer be on 24 h/day? It just sits there producing heat and noise and wasting electricity I've got to pay for.

          I recommend you try sleeping with your computer off for a week or two and you'll see what a difference it makes.

    • Well, being able to wake up to the noise of a normal alarm clock (instead of an extra loud one) when you're 40 seems to beat that.
  • having a passive liquid cool PC is nice and all, but if the hard drive is loud, then that takes away all the benefits of the quiet...espesialy since the anoying whine of a PC is normaly caused by the hard drive.....give me the barracuda IV any day.
  • I don't care if the case is ugly or not. What's bad is that the cooling system isn't powerful enough to let me overclock the CPU twice, as with the home-made nirogen thing discussed the day before yesterday.

  • Sheesh. (Score:1, Redundant)

    by AltGrendel ( 175092 )
    Could the guy possilble be more obnoxious about posting his name all over the review?

    I don't THINK so.

    • It's a © notice (Score:2, Insightful)

      by yerricde ( 125198 )

      Could the guy possibly be more obnoxious about posting his name all over the review?

      What you're seeing in those JPEGs is part of a copyright notice. Give the fellow a break; would you want credit if somebody else used JPEG images that you created in his own review?

    • Only in the images--I presume that deters people who would embed images from his server in their reviews. In the text, his name only appears in his email address.

  • CPU Specs: Under 1Ghz only? (Score:5, Informative)

    by aredubya74 ( 266988 ) on Saturday January 19, 2002 @04:46PM (#2869457)
    Seems pretty bloody limiting to me, given the large number of readily available >1Ghz CPUs nowadays. If you're looking for an ultra quiet system with a VIA C3 [via.com.tw], perhaps their 933Mhz model. These suckers run cool, and generally can use an extremely quiet fan.


    If you want something for the higher-end CPUs, Koolance [koolance.com] has had a pre-built waterblock tower case for a few months now. Try one of those.

    • Koolance case looks somewhat better than the Korean one - somehow I don't see the point of it though, given this:

      Contained in a 3cm low-profile expansion, three 80mm dual-ball bearing fans maintain airflow to the radiator.

    • These suckers run cool, and generally can use an extremely quiet fan
      Indeed, I think the 933mhz model requires a small, quiet fan. However, the 800mhz model [via.com.tw]is a throwback to the days of the 486 requiring a passive-only heatsink. That's why it was my choice for my custom home theatre MP3/Ogg/DVD player. Plenty fast for all of that, and plenty fast for most computer users.
    • Seems pretty bloody limiting to me, given the large number of readily available >1Ghz CPUs nowadays

      Well, obviously the cooling capacity is really an x amount of Watts. There's CPUs out there that are faster and use less power than a PIII 1GHz, I'm sure you could use those.

      It's just that the manufacturer hasn't tested these yet. I spoke with them and they are testing faster CPUs.

      The purpose of this box is to create an ultimately quiet PC, it's NOT intended for overclockers (a water-cooled case is great for that purpose, but they are not designed to be quiet,- the pump for example still produces noise). The CPU you recommended doesn't solve the power-supply fan and graphics card fan either. And in some environments you just don't want a fan at all.

      Fans not only produce noise but they also produce a lot of EMI, in very anoying frequencies. So for example in an enviroment where you are dealing with analog audio it's better to not have fans at all.
    • ultra quiet system with a VIA C3 [via.com.tw], perhaps their 933Mhz model.

      You say that as if it is of comparable performance. I was looking around just the other day for info on UNDERclocking and passive cooling possibilities, and found
      this comparitive review [mit.edu] that suggests for work involving some FP, the 866Mhz version is not much faster than a K6-2/400.

      I held hopes of a silent PC with decent performance up til then. Anyone know anything about underclocking (say) Athlon 1400XP[*] to 900Mhz and the reduction in heat output that would result?

      [*] pick the current processor that is the right side of the 'how much?' price break.
  • Koolance [koolance.com] have been doing this for the past year or so. Their cases look *alright*, but not great :( They have two models, the 'silent' model and the overclockers model. Both are at least "pretty decent." [H]ard OCP [hardocp.com] have a review of the first one, and I think the overclockers model too.
    • The review in the post mentions the Koolance systems and that they are loud with 3 fans and a pump. The Calm system uses convection radiation with no fans or pumps for a completely silent system.
  • ...I could combine it with one of them nifty Lian Li aluminum cases, I start building a new system to replace my P2-300.

  • oh yeah... (Score:2, Funny)

    by DanThe1Man ( 46872 )
    But can it keep my beer cold like thouse refrigerator cases? I think not.

  • Just got mine in (Score:5, Informative)

    by slashdot.org ( 321932 ) on Saturday January 19, 2002 @04:53PM (#2869482) Homepage Journal
    a couple of days ago.

    I didn't have a problem with the max. of a 1Ghz PIII processor,- this puppy is going in my AV rack, so all I care about is noise. (or lack of)

    However, it is but-ugly, and since I saw the same enclosure for sale in the non-Calm-PC version, I had hoped that I could rip out the cooling system and place it in an other enclosure.

    Well, it seems to be possible,- the PS has normal dimensions. The rest of the cooling system isn't all that crazy either. BUT, the cooling elements are mounted on the side panel of the enclosure. The thing is that this is a customized side panel. It's about twice as thick as the original one.

    This got me a little worried about heat distribution if I mounted the elements on a surface that does not have the same 'body' as this panel. So now I'm thinking, maybe I'll keep the original construction, cut off some of it, and fit the entire thing in an other enclosure.

    I had hoped to creat a horizontal enclosure, but I'm worried that cooling system might not work if the elements aren't mounted in the right orientation.

    Anyways, waiting for my solid-state disk and CPU to arrive so I can start playing around with it. I'll post my findings. :o)
    • According to the manufacturer [calmpc.com], they are using that thick side panel as a heat sink. Probably any chunk of aluminum (or other good heat conductor) with a large surface would do.
      • Yeah, I will certainly try it out. However, I suspect that the elements have to be mounted vertically for the circulation to work properly. Since there's four of those, rather large elements, you'd need quite a bit of surface, vertically. In other words, it's not easy to use this in a low profile horizontal enclosure.
    • Couple of more notes.

      I just removed one of the elements,- it looked like they where glued on, but the good news is that that is just heat-conducting paste. They are just screwed on, and easy to remove. :-)

      I also wanted to mention that most of todays hi-end graphics card (such as the ATI 8500DV which I have) come with a fan installed on the graphics chip. Unfortunately these are not attached using the semi-standard holes but rather glued straight onto the chip. This means, you have to break off the fan and then glue on the CalmPC heatsink. The material that comes with the CalmPC to attach to the graphics card doesn't work. :-(

  • Oh... stop the PUNishment! (Score:3, Funny)

    by tswinzig ( 210999 ) on Saturday January 19, 2002 @04:55PM (#2869491) Journal
    Early glimpses of the plan suggested a system in which water is replaced by a fluid that evaporates over the hot parts of the pc, is then moved by convection to a radiator where it cools, condenses and is returned by gravity to the start of the cycle. Sadly the idea remained vaporware for a long time.

    Sounds like it still is?

    • Early glimpses of the plan suggested a system in which water is replaced by a fluid that evaporates over the hot parts of the pc, is then moved by convection to a radiator where it cools, condenses and is returned by gravity to the start of the cycle. Sadly the idea remained vaporware for a long time.

      Sounds like it still is?

      Looks like you made a pun too: cuz that's how a still works!

      Mmm, moonshine.

  • ... I am a great fan of PC's cooled without a fan.
  • I like the idea of the power supply at the bottom [calmpc.com].

    Although conventional wisdom has it at the top so that the heat gets sucked out the top. Which raises a whole question of air circulation in the design that is troubling.

    • There is no air circulation, that's the point. No air movement means no dust, no noise, no power requirements, and no moving parts to fail. The heat is carried away by a fluid from the processor, graphics card and power suppy. From the review: "...a fluid that evaporates over the hot parts of the pc, is then moved by convection to a radiator where it cools, condenses and is returned by gravity to the start of the cycle."
      • Regardless of air circulation, having the PS in the bottom will create a warmer environment than one in the top - Heat rises, and will affect all the components it rises through - It seems like a top mounted ps with top vents would be a better idea for passive cooling.
        • It looks like each evaporator has to be below the condenser for their no-pump convection to work. They're cooling the power supply, CPU, chipset, and video chip. Is a little extra heat for the other components going to matter in an aluminum case?

  • Never in my server room (Score:5, Funny)

    by ruvreve ( 216004 ) on Saturday January 19, 2002 @05:03PM (#2869526) Journal
    How are you suppose to impress non-techies with your server room, when it sounds nothing like a 747 preparing to take off?

  • Efficiency (Score:5, Interesting)

    by 3ryon ( 415000 ) on Saturday January 19, 2002 @05:04PM (#2869532)
    If I could just figure out a way to let it dump it's excess heat into the cold water line that feeds my water heater, the case would pay for itself! But why stop there? We could run pipes all over the house (to the refridgerator, the Air Conditioner, etc) and dump their excess heat into the cold water line...we may not need a hot water heater at all.

    Ok, it's a loony idea, but I have to find some reason to justify a water cooled PC to my wife.
    • In a SF book (Spider Robinson?) a while back, a time-traveler from the near future observed the modern kitchen. "You have this stove to remove heat, and this refrigerator to add heat ... and they're not connected?"

      • Re:Efficiency (Score:2, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward
        A stove to remove heat and a refrigerator to add it? Sounds like you need a new stove and fridge...

  • Quieter Fans (Score:3, Informative)

    by PoiBoy ( 525770 ) <brian@poihold[ ]s.com ['ing' in gap]> on Saturday January 19, 2002 @05:06PM (#2869540) Homepage
    Are all fans really as noisy as some people make them out to be? I have an older Gateway system, and certainly that thing is loud. However, I've also got a newer Dell machine with three fans, and it's whisper quiet.

    Looking through the DigiKey catalog, I've noticed that small fans cost anywhere from $10 to $50. Instead of paying extra money for a water-cooled case, why not just buy fans with better bearings, closer tolerances, and whatnot to make them more quiet? I'm sure there are very quiet fans available.

    • then the papst 8412 ngl fan is just for you.

      80x80cm, sintec sleeve bearing, perfect balanced, only 12 db loud, 19,64 CFM / 33,0 m/h

      just imagine them modded to 7 volt instead of 12. that are the most silent fans i know.

      i wrote a longer article to the german c't forum about silencing personal computers, if someone wishes it i can translate it to english
      • I would very much appreciate a translation of your article to English if you've the time. Also, thanks for the Papst 8412 specs...I'll buy several!

        • Re:Quieter Fans (Score:3, Informative)

          by dunkelfalke ( 91624 )
          How to build a fast and silent PC (sorry for bad english):

          Ingredients:

          1 Antec SOHO SX1030B Midi Tower (aka Chieftech cs-601)
          http://www.listan.de/images/products/CS-601 Open.jpg
          This case is really good. You can snap 4 fans in it, it is heavy,
          with easy to mount hdd racks, and no sharp edges you can cut yourself.
          AND you can get it in silver, blue and BLACK *yum*

          1 Athlon XP 1600+, maybe less if you don't mind less performance

          1 Alpha PAL8045 heatsink.
          This one is big and heavy and of an excellent quality. And it can not
          break the socket and fall off, you can't damage your cpu core while mounting.
          It also enables me to mount a 80mmx80mm fan

          6 papst 8412 NGL fans. As I already mentioned it, they are the quietest fans allover.

          1 Enermax EG465P-VE PSU with 431 watt.
          I can already hear you mumbling about this thing is really loud. Yes it is. But we are going
          to modify it a bit. Attention, warranty will be void.

          1 Seagate Barracuda ATA IV HDD
          This one is the most silent of the fast HDDs.

          1 NoiseControl NoVibes III for silencing the HDD even more

          1 packet of noise insulation materials for your pc.

          btw you can order the novibes 3 and the already insulated case at http://www.pc-silent.de
          but it is not very cheap. maybe better doing it yourself.

          1 ecs k7s5a motherboard
          a budget one, without fan (but it's heatsink sucks)

          2 256 mb ddr apacer/nanya
          quality memory, works very good with this motherboard

          1 ati radeon 8500 or 7500
          because they run very cool so you can take the loud fans off and place a big heatsink instead

          2 zalman zm-nb32 northbridge coolers
          that's for the radeon and for the chipset.

          4 DDRRAM heatsinks
          for the radeon, too.

          1 tube arctic silver 2
          this thermal paste is really good

          some foam rubber

          We take carefully the chipset heatsink off, clean it carefully with alcohol,
          then put the first zalman northbridge heatsink with the help of thermal adhesive
          (you get it with the heatsink) onto the northbridge.
          Then we take off the radeon cooler, clean the chip, put a small amount of arctic
          silver thermal grease on it (I suppose you know how to do that), then we mount the
          second zalman heatsink on it. The same thermal adhesive we use on the ram and mount
          the ram heatsinks on it. wait 15 minutes - the adhesive needs time to stick firmly.

          Put the cpu into the socket, attach the mounting washers and so of the big alpha
          heatsink. clean the cpu core and heatsink plate properly, put a small amount of thermal
          grease on the core, mount the heatsink carefully on top of the cpu, screw it firm.
          Mount one of the papst ngl fans onto it.

          Mount the hdd into the novibes 3 and put it into the case. Let the 4 fans snap into the
          fan mouns. We'll go on with them later. Mount the memory, mount the motherboard,
          cdrom, fdd, vga... you get the picture

          open the psu and ripp of the 80mm fan. replace it with the ngl one. you must modify
          the plugs of the fan a little but it is not a problem I suppose. The second fan of the psu
          is speed controlled, so set it to the slowest speed possible.

          Mount the psu, modify the fans to 7 volt (very easy, if you don't know how, ask).
          Stick the insulation plates into your case properly. Inner sides of the cover must be insulated
          with heavy materials.

          Stick foam rubber to the case legs. Doing so you reduce the remaining oscillations.

          Well, here we are. Your computer is almost silent but still cool enough. Maybe even cool enough to
          allow some overclocking. Try it out!

          you can buy the stuff at many german sites like www.com-tra.de, www.pc-silent.de, www.aconto.de and so on.
          • One note - I have a very similar case, the Antec SX830. Papst 8412NGLs do have some problem with low-frequency vibrations. When I had 5 of these mounted in the case (in each of the fan spots and one in the HDD rack) the case emitted a bad "growling" noise caused by these fans.

            Papsts REALLY need to be decoupled from the case so these vibrations don't get amplified. Unfortunately the little fan caddies that are used with this case don't allow this. So, instead I've taken all but one of them out, and it's suspended from the HD rack with string. Works well; the case is a little warm but well within my Athlon 1200's spec.

            Ian
      • I'd appreciate that translation too, though since I'm a German student I'd also like the original :), and where can I buy the Pabst fan?

        Thanks.
      • just imagine them modded to 7 volt instead of 12.

        Or you could get the equivalent Papst VarioFan, and have it adjust it's speed as necessary. I'm sure I remember reading somewhere on slashdot why it's not such a great idea to connect the 12V and 5V aspects of your switched-mode PSU in this way. Something to do with exciting failure modes.

  • But the cost? (Score:3, Funny)

    by nizo ( 81281 ) on Saturday January 19, 2002 @05:07PM (#2869542) Homepage Journal
    Price delivered ~$202 each. Cost of balls of toilet paper stuffed into each ear so I don't have to hear my noisy case: free if I steal it from a public restroom. Plus I would really miss the feeling of hot air blowing on me as I sit next to my computer. Yeah my components would last longer, but what excuse would I have to upgrade if they didn't burn up now and then?????
    • toilet paper stuffed into each ear

      I bet you're a huge hit with the women in your company...

    • Cost is actually cheaper than my solution: bose noise-canceling headphones @ $299. I tried two other cheaper noise-cancelling ones, and they didn't work as well (they seemed to introduce a lot of white noise). Bose is in an interesting situatuion: The headphones aren't comparable in quality or sound to others of the same price, but then again, it's a lot quiter.
  • Move to the north of Alaska and place your computer outside the window. Make a hole in the window, so you can change the CDs and operate power switches. And don't forget to screw it down securely, just in case a moose likes it... :) But you'll never have to worry about noise or the components overheating.

    Condensation, you say? Hell, you were going to pump water into that case anyway... :)
  • Kinda limits the overall usefullness. Liquid cooling is generally the thing for overclockers, but if you're overclocking, it's probably going to be more than 1ghz. And if it's not, would you really want to spend upwards of $200 for a case for it?

    It's a good idea, but they need to get it to the real speed ranges. Especially with 2.5+ ghz on the way. Copper heatsinks still seem to be the way to go right now. And lots of fans, sadly. (Clearing box for takeoff, engaging primary propulsion units.)
  • Here's one made in the United States and is highly regarded by many OCers and it looks better IMO.

    http://www.koolance.com/ [koolance.com]
    • It's got fans and a pump: lots of noise and noise is bad.
      • I own four of these Koolance cases and I can say that they are NOT loud. For one thing, the pump is damn near noiseless unless you physically open the case and put your ear on it. Even then it's more of a vibration than a noise.

        The fans on the top are low-RPM ducted fans that are thermostatically controlled. You can set the fans to one of three preset temperature gradients that ramp up fan speed to deal with increased temps. I leave mine on setting 1 (the quietest) and even with four systems in one room the noise doesn't approach even the quietest standard air cooled PC I've ever heard. Although I don't have a noise meter handy, I've got a good deal of experience in dealing with sound levels (I do audio/video work). I'd estimate that the cases produce at best 32dBa of noise.

        Sure, no fans and no moving parts is nirvana, but for heavy duty systems (all of mine are dual Athlon 1800+ XP's) the heat load will overwhelm passive cooling. I give the Koolance cases 3 out of 4 stars for the overall engineering.

        Cons? Well, to start with, the waterblocks they supply are far too fragile. The polycarbonate top portion cracks very easily and overenthusiastic hose clamping will crack it in a heartbeat. I've broken three of them so far (out of 8), all replaced with much better sub-mini copper blocks obtained from Chip at www.overclock-watercool.com. The original rev1 Koolance cases came with all copper blocks that were bulletproof, I wish they'd switch back.

        BTW, my 1800+ dual systems running 3D Studio Max 4 rendering like mad (and running distributed.net clients) heat the water temps up to 92F in a 72F ambient air temp room. I think the best possible air cooling you're ever going to find (even with a screaming 7000RPM Delta fan) couldn't hope to cool one of these puppies down below 100F. In fact, most of them can't keep 'em below 110F.

        Give Koolance a try, your ears will thank you. Just go easy on the hose clamps and you'll be just fine.
    • That (American) case sucks. Well, maybe it cools effectively, but the distinguishing feature of the Korean case is that it uses no fans or motors. Less moving parts and less noise is a good thing. The American one has 3 freaking fans on the top.
  • I have 4 pc's in my computer room right now, I love the pleasant hum. I don't see what everyone's problem is with it considering when you do anything audible it drowns out the fans without a problem.

    When I was living at home and these PCs were in my bedroom, the gentle hum made me fall asleep in an instant, it's very calming if you ask me.

    I just think you all are fan-nazis. :)
    • Well, lucky you. I guess you're just not sensitive to noise.

      I bought a dual AMD for a while ago. I thought I could make it silent enough, but I'll probably have to sell it now. The noise, although only moderate due to the slowly rotating fans, is still too much even for a daytime working. The hum of two Miprocool CPU fans [tiger-electronics.de] (80 mm, 1300-3000 rpm and huge heat sink) and a power source was too much even after I padded the case with carpet and soft foam.

      The problem is the huge 60+ W power consumption of the processor. Intel's new Tualatin PIII line has only is rated at only 27 W and I've been thinking about building a new machine based on those and Zalman's passive heat sinks [zalman.co.kr]. If the passive cooling isn't enough, I'll get a large, slow and silent fan to move the air around a bit.

    • In Graffenwhor in Germany, they started shooting artillery in 1912 and other than 4 hours on sundays, all of Christmas and New Years day, and four days when Patten took it over as WWII ended, the artilery firing is constant. When I got home, after three years there, I had nightmares for two weeks until I got used to not hearing constant explosions in the background.

      You would be amazed at what kind of noise you can get used to when sleeping, it's usualy the change that bothers you the most.
  • Is it just me or is the case upside down in the picture? If they made a mistake like that on the site, I think I'm going to be a bit wary of the hardware...
    • The case must be right side up, since the top isn't flat. Clearly the power supply is mounted low (below the condenser) so its evaporated coolant doesn't have to flow "downhill". Maybe they mount the drives low and the board on the left so the power cables reach everything easily.
  • You can have a -4C vapochill case [vapochill.com]
  • Didn't the PowerMac G4 Cube run silently? Haven't all of the latest iMacs come without fans?

    Hmmm....

    And don't the new iMacs have a variable speed fan, that comes on when you need it, and rests when you don't?

    You guys should try a new Mac to find out what a quiet machine can be like...
    • The latest iMac (iLuxo) has a fan. All iMacs prior to that had no fans. The addition of the fan is the one thing that might prevent me upgrading my wife's indigo iMac.
    • According to the register, the new iMac does have a fan, but apple claims it only produces 25DBs, and shouldn't be louder than the hard drive. Now of course if the same fan will be as quite a year from now is a question. But yes, apple machines are almost always insanely quite, the current line of powermac G4's produced "too much noise" for some people (around 30dbs total or something), but i think if I plopped them down next to a standard PC laptop, they would realize how little noise their machine is making.

      My powerbook is pretty much silent when the drive spins down, I think the bearings are starting to rub, since the drive has started to make a barely audible whine sometimes. But I need to get a new drive anyway. The IBM 38 gig with fluid bearings is supposedly dead silent. The only noise i hear usually with my computer is just my fingers on the keyboard.

      I didn't realize until I started putting together my own PC machine how loud those suckers get.

      info about the iMac and fan:
      http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/35/index.ht ml
  • I've always cringed at the thought that not only the is heat my processor is generating wasted energy, but I'm draining my battery further to run a fan to keep the processor cool. Liquid cooling could solve half of that problem.

    Most laptops are pretty tightly packed, though, so it would be difficult to modify this for an existing laptop, but it would be nice if a laptop manufacturer built liquid cooling into one of its models.

    • What's the difference between running a pump and running a fan?

      Jason.

      • Re:Laptops (Score:3, Informative)

        by Jobe_br ( 27348 )
        The liquid cooling system mentioned in this article doesn't use a pump, read the article and visit the site :).
      • Fan noise comes from turbulence (sharp edges moving fast through air), they can't be enclosed, and you have to move a lot more air than liquid coolant (air's low density doesn't carry away much heat).
    • Pulling up the keyboard on a Compaq Armada M700 will reveal a processor setup much like the case above, except it's a shorter pipeline, and uses a fan when necessary to dispel the heat off the pipes.

      So some laptops are liquid cooled, but with a fan to get the heat off that system.
  • Am I the only one who wants a truly ugly case? Not something that hurts my eyes, but something tacky, gaudy, or otherwise un-trendy. I'm jobless at the moment (just outta college), but I was thinking of spending a little to customize my own case - something in a fake wood grain sounds nice.

    Anyone else feel the same way, or should I seek professional help?
  • I thought I clicked on english . . .
  • From the webpage... [calmpc.com]

    Cost with shipping to the US 202.70.
    Applicable CPU with the case: 1Ghz or less Intel or AMD

    So you have to pay 200 bucks for a case that can't handle one of those fancy new processors we all want. That is a shame.
    • can't handle one of those fancy new processors we all want

      Well, not all of us. I don't care if my office and high-end gaming machine makes a lot of noise. Some of us want a DVD and MP3 machine in the bedroom or AV room where noise matters and CPU speed doesn't.
  • You have to unhook everything every once in a while in order to take your PC to the bathroom to pee.

  • From the 'how to setup' page:

    1. Check the voltage behind the power supply. It is 220V when provided.
    Adjust the voltage for your power.
    2. After you finish assembling the product perfectly, turn on the
    power.
    3. After you turn on your computer, check if the coolant circulates.
    If not, reset ypur computer in an hour.(that is not considered as
    a technical defect. It could happen from the heat of users)
    4. When you setup, stand your computer case as possible as you can.
  • I personally don't think it's terribly ugly, being basically upside-down is odd, though.

    However, WHY OH WHY can't I get something like this for my SLOT PIII's? All this watercooling/fanless/whatever stuff, is for sockets. Can't SOMEONE make something for my slot CPU's?

    Please?

    • Volume, of course. Most everyone has abandoned slot 1 for socket A or socket 370 (which both seem to accomodate the same heat sinks), because manufacturing is cheaper and layout and mounting is easier.

      My local screwdriver shop long since got rid of their slot 1 parts. Did they ever make fast (133MHz+ FSB) slot 1 boards?

  • What I haven't heard mentioned here is the reliability of this system. If this system is reliable enough that it will work indefinitley, then its cost might be justified in that it has no annoying fans that will inevitably break down. In that case, it would be a logical step toward a better no-moving-parts computer.
  • So, now that it uses common pc parts, the looks suddenly matter? Wasnt it mentioned a few days ago that looks dont matter? (re:iMac)
  • And pray the electricy stays on in cold weather...or sell antifreeze at the local geek shop...
  • Liquid-cooled PC cases have been around for a while.
    Here are some links to other companies that sell them:

    Koolance [koolance.com]
    Ioport [ioport.com]
    PC Case Gear [pccasegear.com]

    And, by the way, here's [agaweb.com] how to build your own computer water cooler.

  • More and larger fans for a quiet PC? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by chrysalis ( 50680 ) on Saturday January 19, 2002 @07:42PM (#2870126) Homepage
    Mmmm... Let's see :
    • A small fan turning very fast are noisy. Most PCs have a couple of them.
    • A small fan turning slowly is quiet but inefficient.
    • A large fan turning slowly is quiet and efficient.

    So, what about having boxes with two slow, but very large fans (one on a side to inject air, another one on the other side to reject it)? It would probably be cheap and quiet.


    • I'm building a PC based on this theory. A case I got from Coolcases.com, modified with two 120mm fans; one, under the power supply, blows out, and the other is on the bottom front of the case to blow in. I'm not done testing it, but so far I haven't bothered to hook up the one on the front; the one on the back pulls enough air through the case to keep things cool enough, and it's quiet.

      I am using the Zalman "flower" copper cooler, a CNPSCU 6000, with a 92mm cooling fan that has a variable-speed control. On its lowest speed, it is keeping my Athlon XP 1700+ (1.46 GHz) CPU cool enough. (I don't think 60 degrees C is "cool", but it is well under the 90 degrees C max for an Athlon XP, so it is "cool enough".)

      I got the Zalman at Coolerguys.com. The guy there asked me what kind of motherboard I am using. I told him: an Asus A7V266-E. He looked it up, and said that some of the larger coolers would not fit well, but that the Zalman should. It does fit, although it is a bit tight: I had to bend the cooling fins slightly on one side, away from the memory slots, in order to fit two memory DIMMs in. The motherboard has three slots for memory, and slot 1, the closest to the CPU, cannot be used at the same time that you are using a Zalman flower cooler. That's okay, I'll survive somehow with just the 512MB of RAM I've got in the other two slots.

      If I feel the need, I can hook up the front case fan too, so I have some safety margin. But I haven't needed that second fan so far. Maybe I should hook it up to a switch on the front panel, in case it might come in handy during hotter summer days.

      steveha

  • Can't they just put an enormous heat sink on the CPU and then put vents in the top of the machine? Like a Mac, or even a TV, or stereo?

    Even if it still needs a fan why not point the damn thing up??

    It seems to me the equivalant of trying to make toilets flush to the right instead of down.

  • Ugly (Score:2)

    by Alsee ( 515537 )
    Too bad the supplied case is extremely ugly

    You think the case is ugly?? Did you see the bright tangerine background on the review page [gerla.com]? Now THAT'S UGLY!

    -

  • They overlooked something that might be life saving, and that's the installation of a GFCI outlet. It's very easy to do, I built one for my watercooled machine on a extension cord. Without one, a (rare) but possible failure of the pump could mean that current decides to return to ground through you. Ouch.

    For what it's worth, I run a custom watercooled setup [nyx.net] that I managed to get squeezed completely inside a standard PC case. It works great, no problems. I still need intake/exhaust fans, though, and until I put an intelligent controller in it isn't that much quiter than a normal setup in a good case. It works a lot better though :).

  • But it's just SCREAMING for case modding... I can see some groovy blue graphical LCD/LED displays in the top dome spelling out heat, power consumption, cooling efficiency, etc... Carve some holes in the side for a black light, then color the coolant with any flourescent dyes (or antifreeze if that can flouresce), then mod the top to look like some kind of a head with the display as a visor, and, and...

    Jeeze, this is like the Denis Leary joke about smoking pot to avoid going into carpentry...

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