One of the premises of the cooling systems in a computer is to keep the internal components at the ideal temperature for their operation. On the other hand, many of you will have a mini-fridge in your room to store soft drinks. Well, more than one will have thought of combining both ideas and putting a PC in a mini-fridge that keeps the components very cool. However, it is a bad idea, or not. In any case, keep reading to find out why.
One of the curiosities that very few people know is that there are high-performance servers running in watertight compartments located at the bottom of the sea. The reason for doing this is due to the fact that the temperature in which the water is found is much colder than the environment and allows them to save an enormous amount of electrical energy per year. A similar concept may be to put a PC in a mini-fridge. However, if it were that easy, everyone would do it. Is it as crazy an idea as it sounds?
Is it possible to mount a PC inside a mini-fridge?
We must start from the fact that our refrigerators are designed to keep foods that are at room temperature at temperatures close to below zero. The components of our computer reach temperatures much higher than those of our environment. That is why conventional cooling systems, those that are based on air, are based on using fans to renew cold air.
In theory, a mini-fridge should provide a temperature where the air would stay cool enough to do without. And this is where the first problem comes in, there is no mini-fridge with the necessary power to cool the components of a PC more efficiently than a traditional box. What’s more, you would need a very high power for it. So not only would we not get better cooling, but much more expensive due to the huge electricity bill that we would have to pay.
The condensation problem
All this without taking into account an additional factor, that of humidity. Normally in a refrigerator used for food, it enters through four different channels:
- Due to the humidity of the food itself.
- Accumulated water in the air vents of the Mini-Fridge.
- Every time we open the door.
- The rubber seal on the door is leaking. Since we need to have cables connected to the outside this would be impossible.
We can avoid the first point, however, the other three cannot. But the key question is: would condensation occur? Well, the answer is that, although it may seem surprising, this would not happen during the operation of the PC. We must start from the fact that the radiator of a refrigerator does not use any type of fan to exchange the external temperature with the interior. Simply, being a sealed behavior in which the air would not be renewed, it would gradually increase its temperature. First, it would do it very slowly, since it would have the opposition of the refrigerator’s own motor, which would increase consumption, until it could no longer refrigerate and would trigger temperatures, causing the PC to shut down suddenly.
When this occurs, then it would end up generating a condensation effect, which is fateful for electronic components. So, if you are looking to mount a PC in a mini-fridge, our advice is simple: get that idea out of your head. Since it is still the same as mounting a liquid cooler with a broken radiator fan.
