Large Update

Well, its been a busy few days, but I have some new stuff to go over.

Today, I drove up to Rochester to get a new graphics card to replace that radeon on that stopped working correctly.  I got a GTX 260 for a very good price.

So this card is a beast: it is much more powerful than those other two cards I had been using before.  Also, i got it basically for a steal off a guy who was moving and didn't want it anymore.  Anyways, this will allow me to more easily move around parts, because I know everything works correctly now.  I'll have to see if I can return that 4830 to Microcenter when I go to Boston in a few weeks.  

Also, I started my acrylic test with a scrap piece of acrylic Mr. Sauve gave me:

On a shelf next to my computers. (Yes, that is a SNES package in the background...)

So, I will let this piece sit for a while, probably two weeks, then see if there are any defects in the acrylic, like softness, small cracks, or anything else.  I really don't know what will happen, mainly because this acrylic is on the thin side.  Most of the thing's I've read have said it should work fine, but I don't know about this particular kind of acrylic.  

Next step for me: keep working on my tank design, and start thinking about actually how I'm going to cut the acrylic piece and put this thing together.

Until next time...

In class, 3/26

So today in class, we are tasked with writing an entry about our methods of researching. My main method of research so far has been searching on Internet forums. There have been many people who have attempted, and successfully built oil cooled computers. This research is mainly micro-research. These forum posts had been a great help to me, because they often include pictures about the problems they have encountered. This is particularly useful to me because I may come across these same problems during my build, and their solutions will give me a springboard to come up with my own solutions.

As well as doing a lot of micro research, I've also been doing some reading about upcoming computer technologies - more macro-research.  Being informed and aware of changes in technology is the best way to get a head in a technological field, so that will be helpful in my future.

Got some oil

Today, I got a gallon on mineral oil from tractor supply. It was 15 bucks for a bottle. With this, I can start testing the effects the oil would have on the acrylic I have access to. So the next step is to either build a small box of acrylic, seal it up and let it sit, or as my mom suggested, I could also take a small piece of acrylic and put it in a container of mineral oil, and me that sit for a while, and observe the effects. I plan I talk this over with Mr. Sauve this week.

Sponsorship!

Exciting news today.  Over the past few days, I have been in contact with the operating manager of High Speed PC, Scott Brown.  He has offered me a TechStation for my project.  This TechStation will easily allow me to change my hardware configuration, and will also allow me to more securely mount all of my components.  As of now, my system is sitting out on my table, and has been bumped and shifted too many times.  With the TechStation, I can be sure nothing unexpected will occur to my computer while I go about building the enclosure for the mineral oil. It should be arriving some time this week.

Again, thanks Scott!

Mentor Meeting 3/14

Today I met with Mr. Sauve about a few things.  First, we discussed how we would go about making sure mineral oil doesn't eat acrylic.  I've found a few sources that claim they work just fine together, with no ill effects.  However, I also have read there are certain typed of mineral oil that would eat acrylic, and other types that will not.  Either way, we thought the only way to know for sure would be to build a small box, fill it up, and let it sit for a few weeks.  Before that can happen, I need to track down some mineral oil around Ithaca.  I have a few places in mind that may have some, so I'll be giving them a call in the next couple of days.  My task for next time we meet is to find a source of mineral oil.  After that, we can start this small scale test.

(no pictures this time...)

Weekend update

So this weekend, I spent a lot of time tinkering with the rampage formula motherboard. As a result, I'm now running the processor, my pentium e5300, at 4.0 Ghz. However, it's not completely stable, so it will need some more tinkering. Also of note, one of my video cards, the radeon 4830, started giving weird artifacts all over: glitching out of 3d programs, acting weirdly in chrome, and even rendering green dots all over the screen in the bios... I hope it's just a driver issue and not a problem with the card. In the mean time, I put my 9600 gso in its place.

On a different note, I was going to meet with Mr Sauve last Friday, but I forgot he would be in Rochester for Code Red. I plan to meet with him early this week.

I'm trying out the blogger app, I'll see how this works out.

New Motherboard

So this last Wednesday, I made a trade with a friend.  I received a new motherboard, an ASUS Rampage Formula.

 

 

 

Since this is a much higher-end board,  I decided to put my highest end hardware in it: my Pentium E5300, 2 gigs of ram, and my tower-style heat sink.

 Here's some in-progress shots of my desk:

And of my current set up in my basement:

SO basically, the next step for me is to continue stress testing this new board; as I type this at school, the system at my house is running a stress testing program continuously, and has been since last night.  Anyways, right now I'm thinking I won't use this new board for submerging in oil.  I think I may replace what was in my old computer with my current 'desk' set up, which may require me getting a new case.  I think at this point, I am probably going to use my old computer, which would involve a full-sized board, so I will need to factor that size difference into my current case design.

Initial Case Design

Last Friday, I met with Mr. Sauve.  I showed him the design I had come up with so far...

I was thinking something like this, rounded corners, and not much bigger than the hardware that would  be going inside of it.  The blue part is the motherboard, and the grey box is the power supply.  However, Mr. Sauve had his doubts about my initial take on a case.

1).  He was concerned about the curves on the corners.  Bending the acrylic would be quite challenging and maybe even not doable, we would have to try a piece to find out.

2).  He reminded me that the acrylic comes in sheets, so I would need to make a design that could be built out of individual sheets of acrylic.

3).  He was also concerned about the effects mineral oil would have on acrylic.

Over the weekend, I spent some time researching the effects mineral oil had on acrylic, and I haven't really gotten anywhere.  I've seen a few sources saying that there have been no effects at all, and others saying I may have some issues.  However, there is only one way to know for sure, build a test box and just try it with some mineral oil.

On a different, more exciting note, I may have an opportunity to trade motherboards for a higher-end one.  We'll see how that turns out in a few days (fingers crossed...)