Full immersion cooling goes mainstream

By David Hollingworth, Sylvie Barak
11:51 Oct 24, 2008 | 23 Comments
Tags: cooling | pc | systems

No fans required for this performance machine.

Hardcore Computer, a US based system maker, says it has launched its Reactor line of premium systems, complete with a full-immersion cooling desktop system.

The system, purportedly based on LGA775 motherboards and featuring Nvidia’s Nforce 790i Ultra chipset, even allows triple SLI, dissipating heat with special heatsinks to disperse the heat into a coolant, then cooled with a radiator.

The 'dielectric cooling liquid' is completely non-conductive and can even be made up of liquids like soybean oil. The liquid fills a contained space which includes the circuit boards and a pump. The pump pushes the hot fluid through a heat exchanger after which the liquid flows down a cooling path, only to re-enter the closed space again. The circuit apparently takes only 30 seconds and apparently works so much better than just regular air that heavy overclocking can be pre applied.

Hardcore Computer claims it designed the entire system from the ground up, including the patented coolant, and aims to sell Reactors at around $US4000 - $US5000. The systems will apparently be available internationally and users will be able to buy them with Core 2 Quad QX9770 processors clocked at 4.2GHz.

Cool, if you can afford it. Atomic has been in touch with Hardcore, and they have confirmed that they are hoping to ship internationally - if we can get one in for review, we certainly will.

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23 Comments

MrInsaneBuff Oct 24, 2008 12:07 PM	Oh baby... I think i need a new pair of pants. I spooged in mine.
LordBug Oct 24, 2008 12:17 PM	That case is _damn_ sexy!
iamthemaxx Oct 24, 2008 12:45 PM	I don't know how mainstream US$5K is though....
Hawkeye Oct 24, 2008 1:47 PM	We always work on the retail=mainstream model :)
Shikimaru Oct 24, 2008 2:38 PM	Would be a bitch to upgrade.
B82R3S Oct 24, 2008 2:38 PM	I wonder what kind of pump they are using because if the fluid is too thick or viscuous (whatever the word is) i wouldnt see the pump lasting too long
mohawk Oct 24, 2008 3:39 PM	I would like to see how good the international warranty will be and if there will be a local disro as, it would be a bitch and a hassle to have to ship it back to the US if something goes wrong.
Hawkeye Oct 24, 2008 3:47 PM	Yeah, we'll be looking into that if and when they make it out here, don't worry :)
battlefield_gir Oct 24, 2008 3:56 PM	Im at school and i cant see the picture, i tried looking at it and got confronted with a " you cannot view this page as it is blocked..." hard core / sigh.
2SHY Oct 24, 2008 4:25 PM	The case looks nice. But not mainstream at that price. Better ways to spend $5k USD
Hawkeye Oct 24, 2008 4:25 PM	YOU SHOULD BE STUDYING ANYWAY, YOUNG MAN!
rikk Oct 24, 2008 5:07 PM	Yawn. This is just so 2006. Give me something that I havent already done :-)
ahsoka Oct 24, 2008 7:41 PM	I want it.
Mademan Oct 24, 2008 10:23 PM	pfft, saw this on YouTube ages ago. Except they took the cooking oil option, and the fans were still on.
bu14-1 Oct 25, 2008 9:11 AM	"Would be a bitch to upgrade." That's what I was thinking.
cheozuka Oct 27, 2008 10:09 PM	Be awesome and quiet :) I can see a downside though. Excuse me sir, I bought this GTX 280, and it does not seem to be working, i'd like to RMA it, just ignore that fine oil! Spose it would just clean off though with some sort of solvent as it is non conductive.
walkerjian Oct 28, 2008 11:03 AM	so why is it patentable? Is this one of the first thin edge of the wedgy examples of the execrable 'first to file' patent laws the yanks rammed through? Anyone think that WW3 will start over patents? Sheesh, what next - patenting our own genes? oh...
plaztik Oct 28, 2008 11:03 AM	Ohhhhh! What can i say? ... RAD! ...
p_francis_bennett Oct 28, 2008 11:42 AM	I can't even find the URL to open the picture gallery.
p_francis_bennett Oct 28, 2008 11:48 AM	Does it mean you dump all your silicon into this liquid? That'd be like throwing a whole computer uncovered into a pool.
p_francis_bennett Oct 28, 2008 11:50 AM	BINGO!!! http://www.betanews.com/article/Hardcore_Computer_intros_totalimmersion_liquid_cooling_desktop/1224573859
p_francis_bennett Oct 28, 2008 12:03 PM	some logic from a beta news commenter: By foxfyre This technique was explored in the user built home brew niche in several of the consumer PC mags and on Tom's Hardware over the last couple of years. Novel, nifty, but for most users utterly beyond their ability to manage. So, if you want a user unfriendly design, you have found it. Simple liquid heat sinks function almost as efficiently and are much more easily managed. So, bottomline, you have novelty versus near equal efficiency with additional user-serviceable friendliness. A simple choice for me. It would be the add-on liquid heatsinks. And that would be the case if prices were equivalent! But factor in the price of this novelty and the entire concept becomes an absurd novelty. But then, each has their own criterion.
Juarlaxle Mar 3, 2009 6:12 PM	Hmm, it may still be worth it if you can breed and grow grow crayfish or prawns in the nicely heated fluid . . .

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