- klb856
- Nov 30
- 4 min read
Author: Max Spicer
11/30/2025
Max Spicer is an industry analyst for XtremeSystems.org, Forsaken PC, Overclocker for team XtremeSystems (Spicer on HWBOT).Contact directly at SpicerXtremeSystems@gmail.com
Intro
When I first started to get into XOC I was extremely worried about killing boards cold. It’s been just over three years now since I ran Liquid Nitrogen for the first time at Benchmeet in Fremont California hosted at Asus and I’ve only sustained two hardware deaths, a Maximus XII Apex and the i9-10900k it took with it.
This guide is supposed to go along with a DIY AC Chiller guide that will be coming out hopefully soon and with some other cheap DIY XOC guides that are planned. The DIY AC Chiller Guide will have more relevant information about insulating waterblocks and tubing for those who are looking for that.
Step 1 - Supplies
Supplies Needed:
.Multi Bit Precision Screw Driver kit
.Scissors
.20-40ML Syringes
.WD40 Specialist Silicone
.Shop Towels
.Liquid Electrical Tape (LET) or Plasti Dip - (Dip / Open Top Can, NOT Spray)
.Painters Tape
.Neoprene Foam Closed Cell High Density - (1/4 Inch / 6.35mm thick) (NO adhesive or embossed Alu)
Personally I just buy a 100 pack of the syringes and it lasts me about a year at the worst. For shop towels I prefer Scott Shop Towels, I also just buy the six packs of them. I also prefer using Plasti Dip over Liquid Electrical tape, if you can’t find Plasti Dip I recommend using Star Brite over Gardener Bender. I can find all three at my local Lowe’s; buying a tall can of Plasti Dip is by far the best value wise. Almost everything on the supplies list can be bought at a local hardware store, the roll of foam most likely will have to be ordered online.
Step 2 - Preparation of the board
The absolute first thing that is needed is to remove all heatsinks and covers on your gpu or motherboard near the area you will be insulating. I don’t typically use the painters tape when I use syringes but if you haven’t insulated many boards I would highly recommend using it. Cover all slots and sockets with the tape, make sure there is some excess so it is easier to remove later. If you are only running cpu cold I’d recommend insulating down to about where the second or third expansion slot would be in a case. If you plan on running graphics cards cold then do the whole board.
Step 3 - Applying Plasti Dip
The cans of liquid electrical tape typically have brushes built into the lids, you need the painters tape applied if you plan on using this. I don’t personally recommend it but I have many boards that have been done this way. My currently preferred method is using syringes to apply LET onto the pcb
I also do NOT recommend covering the VRM on the motherboard in a majority of cases, I do it and leave the tops of the phases exposed so that they still do get some passive cooling. On ln2 it typically will be warm enough to not have issues unless you are going for single core loads or cpuz valid. I wouldn’t do this on many legacy boards, pre z390 era unless the vrm is very over built
I typically apply multiple layers, you’ll miss spots or see that a leg is exposed on something and go patch it up later. Drying takes a few hours at the least and I normally leave stuff on my bathroom counter with the fan on, sometimes it does have a strong chemical smell.
Step 4 - Post LET Preparations
After the LET has dried and there are no obvious areas I have missed I spray the cpu socket, ram slots, pcie slots and all connectors with WD40 Silicone Specialist. This is something I have been doing more recently but picked up from Charles Wirth, “Fugger”. If you saw the LTT video we were in then you probably saw it being used. If you want to let the WD40 dry it takes a day or two, after a day I normally take some shop towel and wipe up any excess that didn't dry onto the board.
For the next part you will need your pair of scissors and your neoprene foam. The way I normally make my foam cut outs is by taking a larger piece of foam, pressing it against the board with some pressure to leave an indent of the components and cutting out those indents, for can style capacitors I normally just press it over and let it put a small tear for the cap to slide through. For inductors that are shorter than the foam I try to dig out sections with my scissors to let the foam sit flat. I prefer putting the m.2 covers and all back on but that's more of a personal preference and most people don't put them back on.
If you are just running a single stage or chiller you can get away with just having foam around the cpu socket and ram. For ln2 I recommend doing the entire upper half of the board.
Step 5 - Towels
The last piece of insulation I do is applying shop towels in small areas and larger hand towels to insulate pots, evaps or waterblocks. Shop towels can and are used as a substitute for foam but personally I prefer using foam for around the socket and vrm areas. My normal shop towel application starts after I have mounted whatever cooler I am using, I typically tear them by hand to make smaller pieces if needed. I know some people get a little ungenerous with the shop towels and cut them up into small sections before getting ready to apply. Treat the shop towels like thermal paste and just accept that the application is almost always a one time use.
For applying the hand towels just focus on filling or covering large exposed areas like around the cpu pot or around the universal block on a gpu. For Ln2 and Dry Ice if you are using shop towels over foam just cover as much as you can with the shop towels
