It can be mineral oil, or as pointed out below, Submer which is an engineered fluid. Perfectly fine, messy, and can be expensive. Not really practical, some people just like the look because “woah PC in water” look.
no_flair
It is more work than just building a normal computer that’s for sure. The liquid is mineral oil, which is non conductive. From what I remember, fan bearings will go out faster because of the added resistance of the oil (air is a lot less dense) and if you plan on upgrading anything, the parts you are taking out will be covered in oil and are a pain to clean.
cadst3r
This is the kind of thing you do once just to say you did it, then the regret sets in and you eventually vow to never consider doing it again.
Top-Surprise6577
If you plan to resell anything, then no.
Unfair_Jeweler_4286
No more dust problems? ✔️
IrishCanMan
Maximum PC and the PC Gamer Team did one of these about 15 years ago. It was pretty crazy
thebronzecat
That’s how Luke got hired by Linus way back when they were a small and meaningful youtube channel. He built a fish tank PC and it was love at first sight.
CrustyJuggIerz
the whole point of a submerged PC is to go bare die, take all the coolers off. This is…redundant.
CrustyJuggIerz
The whole point of a submerged PC is to go bare die, take all the coolers off. This is…redundant.
Extra_Dependent_1478
So just for theoretical purposes… say you built this unsealed in a very humid atmosphere. The dielectric strength of a pure mineral oil or base oil is what prevents shorting, but oils over time can assimilate humidity from the air alone. If so, would it be possibly over time to propagate enough water from the atmosphere in the coolant fluid to lower the electrical stability and cause a component to arc out? If so how long would it take and roughly how much water content would it require?
quantum_ice
No way would I run this, got a boot problem and need to troubleshoot? Have fun take it apart and cleaning all the oil off lmao
Sup3rGRIN
What ek controversy does to a water cooling mf
Jokes aside this is dumb and impractical……*i love it*
miaomiaomiaomiao12
it makes no sense, it’s clickbait junk for kids.
technically it’s possible but it doesn’t make sense.
Mobile-Ad-494
I wonder what that Submer smartcoolant liquid is going to look like in a few weeks use.
It brings back some memories of experiments with silicon oil based immersion cooling in the late 90’s where the coolant became too nasty to touch just after a few days.
gauerrrr
No, it’s a maintenance nightmare.
spooni88
I don’t get this.
Kindly_Elk_1234
Yea seems like a great idea, lmao
Particular-Pen-4789
i would say it’s a little overkill
theweedfather_
If it’s on TikTok, no probably not. But it got you talking about it.
Sensitive_Froyo_2850
I think after that the resell will be hard
soulofcure
I feel like this could fit in over at r/stupidfood
ProudSnail
Those fans…
UglyButUseful
I feel like every year or two a new influencer is like “look at this cool new under water pc!! How crazy is this” and its just the same mineral oil mess tbat ltt did a bideo on 9 years ago. Yeah it looks cool but you’re covering everything in oil, its such a pain to do any maintenance on
PuG3_14
For views yes
thisshiteverytime
Linus did this several years ago
Endle55torture
It’s a great setup until there is a leak or you have to replace the liquid. The mineral oil can be a bit expensive
savagethrow90
Is it worth the maintenance? Hell no. I’m sure the novelty wears off quick
DoomAddict
anyone knows the source of the (animated?) wallpaper at the end?
Bonkface
Neeeds one of those robotic aquarim toys that look like a fish
GardeniaPhoenix
Do you need different/specialized fans or just use regular ones?
Wouldn’t they wear out more quickly with liquid resistance making it harder to spin?
Alundra828
In general, no.
LTT’s Luke infamously championed the idea of a mineral oil computer in the early days. He regretted it because it had a few notable issues that I can remember him speaking about on WAN show.
1. It didn’t actually keep the PC all that cool. Cooling works in this case by mineral oil boiling around hot components carrying the heat away in the bubbles that are produced. Which isn’t as efficient as cold water carrying it away, or a constant stream of high turbulence air moving it away.
2. Mineral oil after are long ol’ time is *gross.* Upon performing maintenance, it left a very thick coat of greasy residue over everything. Which would get everywhere.
3. It weighed a tonne, and you couldn’t move it anywhere. It weighed as much as a… well a fish tank… Because it was a fish tank. While PC cases have come along way, there is no getting around this.
4. Leaks. Leaks everywhere. Keeping a water cooling loop together is hard enough. When your whole PC *is* the loop, it’s a whole lot harder.
So yeah, it looks cool in a “hey, that’s a PC in a fish tank!” sorta way. But that’s about it.
venthis1
Looks cool, but I’d want one, but I also don’t really think it’s that cool to brag about either.
33 Comments
It can be mineral oil, or as pointed out below, Submer which is an engineered fluid. Perfectly fine, messy, and can be expensive. Not really practical, some people just like the look because “woah PC in water” look.
It is more work than just building a normal computer that’s for sure. The liquid is mineral oil, which is non conductive. From what I remember, fan bearings will go out faster because of the added resistance of the oil (air is a lot less dense) and if you plan on upgrading anything, the parts you are taking out will be covered in oil and are a pain to clean.
This is the kind of thing you do once just to say you did it, then the regret sets in and you eventually vow to never consider doing it again.
If you plan to resell anything, then no.
No more dust problems? ✔️
Maximum PC and the PC Gamer Team did one of these about 15 years ago. It was pretty crazy
That’s how Luke got hired by Linus way back when they were a small and meaningful youtube channel. He built a fish tank PC and it was love at first sight.
the whole point of a submerged PC is to go bare die, take all the coolers off. This is…redundant.
The whole point of a submerged PC is to go bare die, take all the coolers off. This is…redundant.
So just for theoretical purposes… say you built this unsealed in a very humid atmosphere. The dielectric strength of a pure mineral oil or base oil is what prevents shorting, but oils over time can assimilate humidity from the air alone. If so, would it be possibly over time to propagate enough water from the atmosphere in the coolant fluid to lower the electrical stability and cause a component to arc out? If so how long would it take and roughly how much water content would it require?
No way would I run this, got a boot problem and need to troubleshoot? Have fun take it apart and cleaning all the oil off lmao
What ek controversy does to a water cooling mf
Jokes aside this is dumb and impractical……*i love it*
it makes no sense, it’s clickbait junk for kids.
technically it’s possible but it doesn’t make sense.
I wonder what that Submer smartcoolant liquid is going to look like in a few weeks use.
It brings back some memories of experiments with silicon oil based immersion cooling in the late 90’s where the coolant became too nasty to touch just after a few days.
No, it’s a maintenance nightmare.
I don’t get this.
Yea seems like a great idea, lmao
i would say it’s a little overkill
If it’s on TikTok, no probably not. But it got you talking about it.
I think after that the resell will be hard
I feel like this could fit in over at r/stupidfood
Those fans…
I feel like every year or two a new influencer is like “look at this cool new under water pc!! How crazy is this” and its just the same mineral oil mess tbat ltt did a bideo on 9 years ago. Yeah it looks cool but you’re covering everything in oil, its such a pain to do any maintenance on
For views yes
Linus did this several years ago
It’s a great setup until there is a leak or you have to replace the liquid. The mineral oil can be a bit expensive
Is it worth the maintenance? Hell no. I’m sure the novelty wears off quick
anyone knows the source of the (animated?) wallpaper at the end?
Neeeds one of those robotic aquarim toys that look like a fish
Do you need different/specialized fans or just use regular ones?
Wouldn’t they wear out more quickly with liquid resistance making it harder to spin?
In general, no.
LTT’s Luke infamously championed the idea of a mineral oil computer in the early days. He regretted it because it had a few notable issues that I can remember him speaking about on WAN show.
1. It didn’t actually keep the PC all that cool. Cooling works in this case by mineral oil boiling around hot components carrying the heat away in the bubbles that are produced. Which isn’t as efficient as cold water carrying it away, or a constant stream of high turbulence air moving it away.
2. Mineral oil after are long ol’ time is *gross.* Upon performing maintenance, it left a very thick coat of greasy residue over everything. Which would get everywhere.
3. It weighed a tonne, and you couldn’t move it anywhere. It weighed as much as a… well a fish tank… Because it was a fish tank. While PC cases have come along way, there is no getting around this.
4. Leaks. Leaks everywhere. Keeping a water cooling loop together is hard enough. When your whole PC *is* the loop, it’s a whole lot harder.
So yeah, it looks cool in a “hey, that’s a PC in a fish tank!” sorta way. But that’s about it.
Looks cool, but I’d want one, but I also don’t really think it’s that cool to brag about either.
Down vote. No temps or tests. Gtfo here