PCs established on racks

[SSO]

Hi,

In connection with my planning for Cockpit buildup, im considering arranging PCs in a rack (to be incorporated in the Central and left pedestals of an A320).
I am thinking of a 30-40 cm high enclosed rack with a large fan in the back (should give more efficient ventillation than a Ø12 cm fan).

Does anyone have experience with this?

Thanks in advance

Stephen

[Michael Carter]

You'll need a BIG fan. I tried that trick with a single PC in my RT box. It overheated everytime I flew. I chucked that idea in a hurry after listening to the noise of the 4" exhaust fan I installed to draw hot air out and cool air in.

Now my PC(s) are in another room entirely with a pass through for cabling to the sim. Now I don't hear anything at all except the aircraft.

Computers generate an incredible amout of heat. Far more than I imagined.

[warvet]

What I did was hook up an airconditioning system to my overhead switch for A/C and it also runs on remote control. I pipe 1 flow directly onto the PC's along with a circulating fan additional fans in each case. And pipe the rest of the A/C to the cabin to cool the room. This works good for me :)

Tim
A340

[Michael Carter]

Y'know, thought about doing that. I have ductwork behind the overhead exiting the wall in front of the sim. I thought about tapping into that and dropping a duct right to the RT box.

The problem starts in the winter when the heat is running. Not too good of an idea then.

[David Withers]

maybe just get a server cabinet. sit your pcs on the racks. most have four big fans in top. get a rack mount switch aswell. mine sits outside first doorway to instuctors pod. desks with laptop and desktop either side of pod, to rear of sim.
best to have at least two rack mount power strips with a total of say twenty to forty plugs.

it all takes time but.

[Deesystems]

Liquid cooling a PC

CPU Water Block - very important part of "liquid cooling PC". CPU (central processor unit) creates most of the heat in the system and most of the power of the computer rely on the processor. Heavy load on the CPU, like running flightsimulator will increase temperature of the unit and will increase temperature of whole machine generally. The waterblock is mounted to your CPU in order to remove the heat it is creating. It is very important to buy a good waterblock. <O:p></O:p>

GPU Water Block - does the same job as the CPU water block, but is used to cool the graphics card.<O:p></O:p>

HDD Water Block - again does the same job as the CPU & GPU water block, but is used to cool the hard disk drive<O:p></O:p>

Pump -. Instead of running another 110/220 Volt power cord near or inside the "liquid cooling PC", we can use 12V DC pump specially designed to fit and work inside computer, taking power from computer's power supply. The pump will circulate the cooling water in your system. The pump’s gallons per hour (GPH) rating and its life span are very important things to look at. Also pump's maximum head rating (MHR) is what we can't overlook. GPH is a measure of flow rate. This is used as the measure of the amount of fluid flowing through a tube or emitter in one hour if nothing is restricting the flow of the cooling water, and the pump is not pumping the water against gravity. MHR refers to gains or losses in pressure caused by gravity and friction as water moves through the system. It can be measured in lbs/in2 (PSI) but is most commonly listed in feet of water the pump is able to push above the pump. <O:p></O:p>

Heat Exchanger - or radiator in other words. It's a device that cools the liquid in the "liquid cooling system" by allowing it to circulate through a series of water channels.<O:p></O:p>

Coolant - a fluid agent that produces cooling; especially one used to cool a system by transferring heat away from one part to another, in our case transfer heat from water blocks to the radiator. In "liquid cooling PC's" we use distilled or de-ionized cooling water.<O:p></O:p>

Tubing - makes a road for coolant transfer between the water blocks and other parts used in "liquid cooling PC's". Commercially sold tubing comes in three different materials. PVC, Silicone, and Tygon. Tygon is the most expensive, and is a very clear in color. It is very strong, and very kink resistant. Silicone tubing is a milky color, and extremely flexible. It's made of very soft rubbery material, which is ultra flexible, and can be bent into very tight curves without it trying to spring out again. Silicone tubing is by far the easiest material to work with, and is highly recommended for your "liquid cooling system". PVC is the cheapest tubing that is sold specifically for water cooling. It is very strong, but very inflexible. PVC tubing is not recommended for "liquid cooling PC's" that will need tight curves in the hose, and it can sometimes make it very difficult to install the waterblock.<O:p></O:p>

Clamps & Fittings - used to connect tubing to water blocks, pump and radiator. You may need adapters to make, for example, a 1/2 inch hose fit on a 3/8 inch waterblock or vice versa.<O:p></O:p>

Reservoir - a water cooling reservoir is essential for a properly built "liquid cooling system". A reservoir will increase the cooling power of your system by increasing the amount of water in the system, and therefore the amount of heat the system can dissipate.<O:p></O:p>

http://www.thermaltake.com/product/Liguid/liquid_index.asp

Dee
Deesystems Group

[mpl330]

And this is what a water cooled pc inside looks like, just wiring left to be tidied up...

[Padraig]

Liquid cooling a PC

Reservoir - a water cooling reservoir is essential for a properly built "liquid cooling system". A reservoir will increase the cooling power of your system by increasing the amount of water in the system, and therefore the amount of heat the system can dissipate.<O:p></O:p>

http://www.thermaltake.com/product/Liguid/liquid_index.asp

Dee
Deesystems Group

Just a note to say on the above comment, I have been WC my Rigs for yrs with open and closed systems, which means no reservoir. This means that you can have a fully closed system without the need to be refilling it every so often and topping it up due to evaporation. A closed system will only need checking or cleaning every 16 months or so. Having a res will not lower your temps. Good waterblocks, Radiators, pumps and Fans will.

For the people that are scared about putting water cooling equipment into your PC don't need to be, there many are many coolants that are totally non conductive.

[NicD]

I had a lightweight steel shelving kit lying around so cannibalised that to make my server & PC rack. Pics here: http://www.insitesolutions.com.au/737project/construction_diary_03.htm

It now has two 100mm PC fans mounted - one near the floor to pull in cool air and one at the top to exhaust the hot air. 6 PCs do generate ALOT of heat, especially when the ambient temp is warm/hot.