Does Mineral Oil PC Cooling Actually Improve Performance?

Though pre-built setups are now the cheaper option due to component prices going through the roof, nothing in the world beats the feeling of accomplishment you get out of building a PC from scratch. Regardless of where you are in the process, there's a high chance you're thinking about how you'll cool your new build. Price absolutely matters here. For cheaper PCs under $1,000, air cooling still takes the cake despite its less-efficient performance. However, if you've got the cash and have no issue splurging, then a liquid cooling solution might pique your interest a bit more.

Yes, water cooling reigns supreme, but mineral oil PC cooling, despite its niche status, is actually a viable option. The idea certainly seems attractive, especially in terms of visual impact, as you'll basically be immersing components like the GPU and CPU in oil. Theoretically, it's a sound option, as oil is known for its solid heat capacity. In oil-cooled PC builds, warm oil will rise as cool oil sinks to the bottom of the case, effectively cooling the components through a natural convection loop.

Seems cool (excuse the pun), but the reality is unfortunately messier. While it's true that liquid cooling has its own problems, using mineral oil simply isn't worth it. For starters, an oil-cooled system requires more maintenance. According to hobbyists on the Overclock forums, in an effective water-cooled system, many report 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, oil-cooled rigs certainly look neat. Apart from the visual impact of having the interior of the PC drenched in oil, expect minimal dust buildup. By using oil, you can also get a silent PC. Thick materials, right?

While all of those things are true, mineral oil PC cooling is simply too impractical for most people. Filtering the oil is a hassle on its own, and the visual pop simply isn't worth it when you consider that oil cooling delivers only a marginal performance boost compared to fans. The Toasty Bros YouTube channel tested a mineral oil rig and logged temperatures in the 80 degrees Celsius to 84 degrees Celsius range in the game "Sons of the Forest", and in "Call of Duty Warzone 2.0", the GPU temperature stayed in a similar range.

Though this is well below the danger zone that starts around 90 degrees Celsius, it's certainly disappointing, considering that the gamers report their temperatures hovering in the 45 degrees Celsius range 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 basically double the price of admission of closed-loop water cooling. It's a hard pass if performance is your main priority, but to be fair, a winner if you want to have a nifty conversation starter.