Fact check: Tony the Tiger’s milk-cooled PC would work, somewhat Rock Paper Shotgun Support us Join our newsletter Visit our store Sign in / Create account If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Fact check: Tony the Tiger’s milk-cooled PC would work, somewhat Good cooling performance, sub-optimal smell News by James Archer Hardware Editor Published on Aug. 17, 2022 26 comments Tony the Tiger – the neckerchiefed mascot of Kellogg's Frosties – is becoming a VTuber, with some kind of heavily sponsored Twitch stream scheduled for this Friday in which "he" will play "a popular battle royale game" with some other livestreamers. I'm not very interested in this, to be honest, but I am curious about the "milk-coolant PC" that Tony's avatar will be using to get the W's and build creepy parasocial relationships with viewers. Could such a PC, liquid-cooled by a dairy product, actually function? Watch on YouTube The answer is yes, to an extent, because it's already been tried - as far back as 2016. Tech YouTuberists JayzTwoCents and Toby's Tech have both tested milk as a coolant in open-loop liquid cooling systems, thus enriching mankind with the knowledge that cow juice can chill a gaming CPU. Until it turns, at least. JayzTwoCents's experiment used skimmed milk to cool an Intel Core i7-5930K, overclocked from 3.7GHz to 4.4GHz, while Toby's Tech filled a homemade open loop system with semi-skimmed milk to cool an Intel Core i3-2100 at stock speeds. In both cases, CPU package and/or core temperatures were not only stable under increased load, but could compete with – and sometimes slightly even outperform – regular PC coolant. Tony's imaginary rig seems to include the graphics card in the open loop system as well, not just the CPU, but the evidence suggests that a milk-cooled PC could run comfortably if the milk is fresh. At no point does the milk overheat, separate, or curdle, and for the benefit of any beverage manufacturers considering a similar marketing stunt: JayzTwoCents found that milk is a more effective coolant than both orange juice and some revoltingly coloured energy drink. We could also consider the Irn-Bru PC, but that cheats by merely using a Bru-mimicking coolant colour, not the drink itself. However, all of that is not to say that regulating temperatures with Cravendale is in fact a clever PC building hack. Or even a good idea at all. Both videos discovered the milk left a nasty residue on the inside of the cooling setups' tubes and reservoirs, even after flushing them with water. Then there's the obvious issue of the milk eventually going sour – even if it's in a sealed environment, proteins in the milk will invariably break down in time and spoil it. Presumably turning lumpy if left for long enough, and you can imagine the issues with having a trail of miniature fatbergs clogging up the PC's pipes. Milk, then: refreshing, affordable, and available in several non-dairy varieties, but not an ideal PC cooling liquid in spite of its weirdly impressive performance. Tony and anyone else who's just really, really enthusiastic about breakfast cereal should consider a white-coloured conventional coolant instead. More News Jack King-Spooner's next handcrafted game has a teaser demo out Judero brings chat and action in the Scottish Borders Alice O'Connor 17 hours ago 1 If you were hoping for any Overwatch 2 balance changes then you'll have to wait until season two The next season begins in December CJ Wheeler 18 hours ago 3 The Dead Space remake will chuck random Necromorphs at you as you wander the Ishimura In space, no one can hear you proper bricking it CJ Wheeler 18 hours ago 8 Valve register mysterious new Neon Prime trademark in the US It doesn’t seem to be for a particularly colourful Steam Deck CJ Wheeler 20 hours ago 11 Latest Articles What are we all playing this weekend? Well? Alice O'Connor an hour ago 21 Past Wordle answers Here's an archive of previous Wordle words Ollie Toms 2 hours ago 1 Wordle answer today (Saturday 15 October) Hints and the answer to today's Wordle word Rebecca Jones 9 hours ago Overwatch 2 hero tier list Which are the best heroes in Overwatch 2? Ollie Toms 16 hours ago Supporters Only You're probably better than me at One Many Nobody You go on without… uh, you? Sin Vega 17 hours ago Supporter podcast - The Nate Files episode 13: dry bones Bad science is also FUN science! Alice Bell 18 hours ago Japanese dating show Love Wagon has surprising parallels with Yakuza and Persona My new obsession Ed Thorn 2 days ago If you're hankering after Bayonetta 3, Valkyrie Elysium might be a good substitute It's not out on PC until next month, but the console demo has been a surprise charmer Katharine Castle 1 week ago 4 We've been talking, and we think that you should wear clothes Total coincidence, but we sell some clothes Buy RPS stuff here