Phase Change cooling

[RonanC]

Hey everyone,

just wondering does anyone here use phase change cooling? there's a devils one on ebay at the moment, looks like nice kit + might pull the trigger. can these be used for 24/7 operation and are they noisy to use? what is the lifespan of a unit ?

cheers

[Zka17]

WOW, mate, you're going hardcore! :cool:

It was suggested to me (the phase change cooling) when I started my TestBench thread... I did read about them, but somehow I still have reserves...

As I got it, they could be seen as freezers, at least they're working on that principle... most of those units are pretty noisy, so you have to consider where and when you're using them (I'm doing a lot of benching in night time, so it was an issue for me)...

Also, you have to keep in mind that everything below 0C most likely will cause condensations in your system... you can certainly insulate your mobo, but I'm not sure how that will go for 24/7 usage...

For myself I didn't felt that phase change cooling would be a good solution, but obviously there may be other opinions/experiences too... I'm sure that HiVizMan and 8 Pack have tried, so you may want their thoughts too...

[xeromist]

You might see if you can get a hold of V2-V3. He's used several phase units IIRC. He should be able to give you the skinny in general and maybe even had experience with that devil. I just realized though that he doesn't have email notification for PMs here and he hasn't logged in for a while so you'd have to find him on one of the other OC forums where he visits more often. Maybe twitter twitter.com/V2V3

[RonanC]

@zka im trying do as much as i can for the team lol i would be worried about condensation on 24/7 rig too..and most my benching is done at night time too.

@xero. Thanks for that contact. I will try get in contact. Cheers

[Zka17]

RonanC wrote:
im trying do as much as i can for the team

And that is very much appreciated, my friend! 🙂

[RonanC]

😉 my pleasure

[speed]

Remember one thing a phase change can get you below ambient temperature will give you condensation. that is death to your machine.

[HiVizMan]

Yeah I use a single stage rotary unit phase change for benching. It is a very handy system for running either a single VGA or a CPU. The only downside is noise of course, OK well maybe electricity too.

Dependant on what it is you want to do, LN2 is far more manageable from a temperature control perspective, is quite and does not use electricity. I have 100l or LN outside my back door and it works out at £50 every 6-7 weeks. But that is for me to play when ever I want. Most folks will only get in a 50l dewar full and that will last them two to three hard benching weeks. CPU's do not use as much LN2 and graphic cards, and the newer graphic cards do not benefit as much from extreme cold as the 580 range did. So 50l will go a long way.

To give you some perspective. I held a LN2 event in Cambridge last March. 18 guys benching from 9am to 9pm on the Saterday, and from 9am to 5pm on the Sunday. Well they used less than 500l. And there were multi card systems going, with each card burning up 1 litre per minute.

[Zka17]

HiVizMan, those LN2 amounts represents a very valuable info for me! :cool: Last two days I've been trying to look up on the net how much I would need for a single CPU... Thanks!

[Arne_Saknussemm]

*best pedandic voice*...I would like to point out that LN2 cooling is phase change cooling since the cooling comes from the change in phase of the LN2liquid to LN2gas :rolleyes:;)