Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 GPU cooled by portable ice maker achieves massive thermal reductions despite critical hardware condensation risks
A hardware experimentalist has managed to adapt a portable ice maker into a bespoke liquid cooling solution for an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card, on the TrashBench YouTube channel. The results achieved insanely low temperature drops, far outside the realms of factory air cooling, but revealed numerous physical limitations which make it unsuitable for practical computing.
Before conversion, load testing on the graphics card while running the game 'Cyberpunk 2077' resulted in the graphics processor running at 60 C and 75 C on the internal hotspot with air cooling. When the custom ice maker liquid loop was plumbed in the graphics processor operating temp fell to between 22 C and 23 C. The internal hotspot fell to 34 C and the thermal reduction was almost 3x. Idle testing resulted in cooling which brought the graphics card down to 6.8 C.
To maintain these ambient temperatures, major modification to the appliance control board was required. Typical domestic Ice making machines are designed to run in a cycle, periodically freezing the water prior to switching off in a "harvesting" stage. To avoid the machine shutting down, 1 external thermostat was installed, and the compressor wiring was modified so that the compressor runs constantly pushing chilled liquid through the speed indicator cooling block attached to the graphics card.
However, the four times cooling rate from a basic refrigeration system created unintended, yet critical, hazards. Once the liquid cooled the hardware below the room air dew point, ambient condensation started to form on the exposed metal fittings, graphics card circuit board, etc. Thus, there was an imminent risk of a short circuit due to moisture buildup and the builder had to shut the test down, thus saving the hardware.
The project did succeed in determining that refrigeration appliances are more than capable of controlling a powerful heat transfer source like modern CPUs and GPUs, but its inability to do so without introducing an unwanted and quite lethal hazard makes it unfit for mainstream gaming applications.
