This Modder Turned His Freezer Into a Fully Functional Gaming PC, Without Damaging Any Components

YouTuber TrashBench has achieved what many others couldn’t: he managed to run a working gaming PC at -28°C inside a household freezer — and take it out completely dry and undamaged.

Turning a Freezer Into a Gaming PC

Many content creators, including major channels like Linus Tech Tips, have tried cooling PCs by placing them in refrigerators or freezers, usually with disastrous results. The main issues are always the same — condensation and thermal instability. However, TrashBench has shown that, with patience and the right setup, overclocking with everyday appliances is actually possible.

For this experiment, he didn’t use the latest or most expensive hardware — a logical choice to minimize risk. The setup included an ASUS ROG Maximus XI Apex motherboard, an Intel Core i7-9700KF processor, and a GTX 1070 graphics card. These components generate far less heat than modern CPUs and GPUs, allowing the freezer’s compressor to handle the load without strain.

The main reason previous attempts failed is that small freezers heat up too quickly, causing sudden temperature changes that lead to water condensation. TrashBench’s trick was to use a large chest freezer. With hundreds of liters of air cooled to -28°C, it acted as a thermal battery, absorbing the heat from components gradually and preventing sudden humidity spikes.

To make the setup safe and functional, he implemented three clever safety measures:

• Suspension setup: All components were hung in midair, avoiding contact with the freezer walls and shelves.
• Humidity control: Socks filled with silica gel were placed at the bottom to absorb any moisture.
• Cable sealing: Air intakes were tightly sealed to prevent humid air from entering.

Performance and Results

In terms of performance, the results were interesting — though not extreme. The GPU gained around 51 MHz thanks to the lower temperatures. With a bit of manual overclocking, TrashBench achieved up to an 8% improvement in games like Shadow of the Tomb Raider and around 7% better scores in benchmarks such as 3DMark Fire Strike.

The most impressive part came after dismantling the setup: the components were completely dry and still at a mild 9°C, meaning they were safe to reuse in any future build.