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Written on October 7th, 2008 by Jon Bach Subsequent updates:
While our original aquarium computer was still running strong, there were number of updates we wanted to make to the design. We decided to build a "Version Two" system, with these improvements. The biggest design improvement is that we have designed an acrylic motherboard tray, which is completely customized for this application, in this aquarium tank. Not only does this take the polish of the project to an entirely new level, but it makes assembly easier and the system much more secure. The other major design improvement came in the cooling system. We wanted to create a radiator system that was more compact, and that placed the pump submerged in the oil, for quieter operation. We built this system for demonstration at PAX 2008, and it was a complete success! |
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Do It Yourself Kits for Sale!
Puget Systems is pleased to be offering "do it yourself" kits for our V2 aquarium computer. Puget Systems has been running a mineral oil computer for years with no ill effects. It has allowed us to run an extremely high end system at under 50C with virtually no noise. It has also allowed an overclock of a QX9770 from a stock frequency of 3.2GHz, to an overclocked frequency of 4.6GHz!
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Aquarium and Cooling Module V2: contains all the parts necessary to mount your computer hardware in the aquarium. It would be the equivalent of the computer chassis. The cooling module pumps the mineral oil through an external radiator, which provides excellent cooling. We have verified adequate cooling with the most extreme hardware on the market at the time we built our test system (Intel QX9770 CPU, 8GB DDR3-1600 RAM, NVIDIA GTX280 video card). View Kit Contents |
WARNING: Submerging your hardware in mineral oil will void your warranty. Do this project only at your own risk. Puget Systems is not liable for any hardware problems, or damage to your personal property. Mineral oil is very difficult, if not impossible to clean from your components once they are submerged. |
Looking for more flexibility? We also sell the V2 aquarium kit and V2 cooling module separately, and all the individual components on our parts store.
Why are we selling DIY kits?
Having created two revisions of the aquarium computer, and observing their operation for years, we have gained extensive experience in building aquarium computers. We know first-hand that it takes endless hours to determine what parts you need, find a source, and wait for them to get in. What's worse, with something this customized, it often takes multiple attempts to find the parts that fit properly and work just right. After building our second revision of aquarium computer, we realized that we've done all of this work, and that we should share it with everyone!By offering these DIY kits, we are saving you very large amounts of time spent on research, ordering, and mistakes. The end cost of the project is much lower, because you can get in the right parts, the first time. Since we are ordering in the parts in bulk, we are able to get the parts cheaper, which allows us to make the margin we need to fund the project, while continuing to offer them at a lower price than you'd get if ordering them one at a time from various sources. It's a win for everyone!
Kit Differences:
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Useful Information:
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Aquarium Computer V2 Details
Our first version was to prove that it could be done -- knowing that it could be, we were able to put more finishing touches on version two! The overall look of the aquarium computer is much more polished. The radiator sits on back, and mounts directly to the aquarium.
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The view of the top with the cover off shows how much the custom acrylic motherboard tray improves the project. We were able to design mounting holes for CCFL lights, which allows us to permanently zip tie them in place rather than have to rely on adhesives. The tubing to the radiator uses quick disconnect valves, so you can quickly add and remove the radiator depending on your cooling needs. We mounted four Antec Tri-Cool fans to the radiator, and ran them on the low setting, for very quiet operation. The loudest part of this system is the bubble bar!
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The custom motherboard tray also allows us to install a power socket, and a control valve for the air hose. These connection points serve a distinct purpose! By not running any cables directly into the oil, we prevent wicking. The connection points break the suction, and has effectively stopped the wicking we saw with version one. A power cord extension is run down to the power supply at the bottom of the tank, and in this system, we directly soldered the cord to the power supply, to eliminate the bulky socket.
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In this system, the pump and hard drive (solid state) are both submerged. Using a special bracket, we are able to secure them both in the oil. We also used a larger heatsink, though our testing still showed that the Freezer7 is an ideal pick.
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How well does this setup cool? AMAZINGLY well! In this system, we put in the best hardware available at the time -- an Intel QX9770 overclocked to 4.6GHz, 8GB of DDR3-1600 memory, and a NVIDIA GTX280 video card. It ran at 50C under full load, and that was with our fans on the low setting! The graph below shows the temperatures we saw as we ran 3DMark Vantage, then let the system idle. You'll notice the temperature barely changes at all -- the radiator handles the heat with ease! |
Update posted on June 15th, 2010
Two Years Later, Still Running Strong!
We continue to run our V2 system as a workstation for one of our employees, and it is still running strong with no problems. The oil has remained quite clear, there have been no leaks, and the cooling system is running as strong as on day one!
See our Version 3 System!Share this page!
