Does cooling PCs with mineral oil really improve performance?

Although pre-built configurations are now the cheapest option due to skyrocketing component prices, nothing in the world beats the feeling of accomplishment you get from building a PC from scratch. No matter where you are in the process, chances are you’re thinking about how you’re going to cool your new release. Price absolutely matters here. For cheaper PCs under $1,000, air cooling remains the priority despite its less efficient performance. However, if you have the money and no problem splurging, a liquid cooling solution might pique your interest a little more.

Yes, water cooling reigns supreme, but mineral oil PC cooling, despite its niche status, is actually a viable option. The idea certainly sounds appealing, especially in terms of visual impact, as you’ll essentially be dipping components like the GPU and CPU into oil. Theoretically, this is a good option, as oil is known for its strong heat capacity. In oil-cooled PCs, hot oil rises while cold oil sinks to the bottom of the case, effectively cooling the components through a natural convection loop.

It sounds cool (excuse the pun), but the reality is unfortunately more complicated. While it’s true that liquid cooling presents its own problems, using mineral oil simply isn’t worth it. For starters, an oil-cooled system requires more maintenance. According to enthusiasts on the Overclock forums, in an efficient water-cooled system, many report that their GPU stays in a healthy range between 45 degrees Celsius and 75 degrees Celsius under load. Yet with mineral cooling, the temperature during intense gaming sessions often exceeds 80 degrees.

Credit where credit is due, the oil-cooled rigs certainly look neat. Besides the visual impact of having the PC’s interior soaked in oil, expect minimal dust buildup. By using oil you can also get a quiet PC. Thick materials, right?

While all of these things are true, cooling PCs with mineral oil is simply too impractical for most people. Filtering the oil is a hassle in itself, and the visual effect just isn’t worth it when you consider that oil cooling only offers a marginal performance improvement over fans. YouTube channel Toasty Bros tested an oil rig and recorded temperatures between 80 degrees Celsius and 84 degrees Celsius in the game “Sons of the Forest”, and in “Call of Duty Warzone 2.0” the GPU temperature remained in a similar range.

While that’s well below the danger zone that starts around 90 degrees Celsius, it’s certainly disappointing, given that gamers report their temperatures hovering around 45 degrees Celsius when gaming on water-cooled PCs, rarely climbing above 75 degrees. This, of course, wouldn’t be much of a problem if an oil cooling system didn’t cost around $400 (or even more), which is essentially double the price of admission of closed-loop water cooling. This is a tough achievement if performance is your main priority, but to be honest, a winner if you want to have a good conversation starter.