Winter weather allowed a project creator to place a water-cooling radiator outside to chill a gaming PC, Živě.cz reported.
Uživatel Motor_Attention1865 showcased the result of a two-month project on the r/pcmasterrace subreddit, which began as a simple experiment to place a water-cooling radiator outside during winter because the computer significantly heated the room while outdoor temperatures dropped to −4 °C.
The project on the r/pcmasterrace subreddit kept an EK Kinetic D5 pump and dual radiators inside the chassis. An Alphacool XE240 radiator with Noctua iPPC-3000 fans sat outside the house, linked through a wall opening. A second Bykski D5 pump handles water circulation in the outdoor section, while a motorized three-way valve regulates how much water flows through the outdoor loop.
An Arduino Mega board governed the entire cooling loop using three water sensors and three humidity monitors. A Python script adjusted outdoor fan speeds to keep incoming water above the dew point, preventing electrical condensation. If the script loses connection, the outdoor section automatically shuts down.
A parallel resistor on the 16-pin power connector tricked the board into reporting a lower energy draw.
The graphics card registered 215 watts under a real load of 290 watts, though it could draw up to 510 watts against a 285-watt TDP. The benchmark score reached 6626 points in Steel Nomad, roughly 19% higher than standard models tested by ComputerBase.
The setup yielded unexpected results for room comfort during gaming sessions.
The Python script kept the circulating water 10 degrees Celsius above the dew point during normal operation. It allowed the temperature to drop to just 5 degrees Celsius above the dew point during intensive benchmark tests. During the Heaven test, the water supplied to the computer had a temperature of just 15 °C, and the graphics card ranged between 34 and 48 °C during testing.
The system circulated clear DP Ultra liquid mixed with ethylene glycol. That additive lowered the freezing point of the liquid from -18 degrees Celsius down to -28 degrees Celsius.
The Core Ultra 7 270K Plus processor underwent a delid process that removed its metal cap. Temperatures dropped from an initial range of 85 to 90 degrees Celsius down to 60 to 65 degrees Celsius with air cooling, and down to 40 to 45 degrees Celsius with the outdoor water cooling active.
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