Minus the thing about pumping freezing air into a computer where it will condense and fry everything, is there a reason other than the noise why a big fan like this couldn't effectively cool a computer?

[–] lime@feddit.nu 30 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

when it goes below zero C outside, moisture content drops to 0%. with enough static pressure to keep the inside air out of the case it would be completely fine.

we had a long-running research project on this very thing at uni, they basically built a data center with no walls and ran it all through the winter. no damage, although they did have to periodically brush the snow off the servers so they didn't get too warm due to airflow restrictions.

[–] njordomir@lemmy.world 12 points 2 weeks ago

That sounds likes fascinating project. I Iove it when people do interesting projects instead of taking the low hanging topics like everyone else.

[–] drosophila@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

That sounds really interesting. I never thought about it that way before but I guess (dry) snow isn't very conductive.

Are there any articles about or pictures of this project out there anywhere?

[–] lime@feddit.nu 3 points 2 weeks ago

i thought there was, but unfortunately the computer society seem to be having issues with their infra at the moment so i can't find anything other than the DC3 blurb on the "systems" page. i remember it being called "dc3" because it was a "data cube"

I know that it started when this video from the university of Helsinki was being passed around in spring of 2013 and we all thought it was hilarious... then during summer break some guys started building a makeshift platform in one of the courtyards.

[–] sorrybookbroke@sh.itjust.works 12 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

If done right no, there's no reason other than noise, size, and power usage. It also might pick up small things which could impact the components if the fans are strong. At worst it may push them out of place. That last two are pretty unlikely though.

It my be hard to ensure airflow as small pockets of a may form due to turblance that can't exit the system however.

All in all though there's no reason why a big ass fan couldn't work and if airflow to the heat generating components is right it would be better at cooling

[–] zurohki@aussie.zone 8 points 2 weeks ago

Pointing a desk fan into a computer works fine and is a useful troubleshooting step if you suspect something is overheating, but if you need to do it that probably means heatsinks are clogged with dust, aren't sized appropriately or aren't making good contact. So you really should fix that problem.

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago

A small animal could also crawl in through the hose.

[–] carpelbridgesyndrome@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 weeks ago

Larger fans are generally quiter

[–] anothercatgirl@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 weeks ago

static pressure. fan blades wrong width.