Inventor caffeinates liquid cooling with coffee-cooled Coffeematic PC — computer built on old 1980s appliance runs completely fine despite the hot drink running through its radiators

Doug MacDowell, a data analyst and maker, built a coffee machine PC that uses the hot and tasty beverage as its primary ‘cooling’ method. MacDowell said that his build is part of “a lineage of coffee maker computers made since 2002.” For this build, he bought a 1980s GE Coffeematic coffee maker from a thrift store, and then sourced a mid-2000s motherboard, CPU, and RAM from a recycling center. Lastly, he purchased pumps, radiators, and all the incidental hardware needed for coffee cooling.

Aside from all these parts, MacDowell also used food-grade silicon and vinyl tubing, making the coffee somewhat drinkable from the system. Still, that isn’t recommended, especially as the CPU block and radiator aren’t rated for food use. According to Hackaday, MacDowell is concerned about mold growing in the system over time, especially as it’s nearly impossible to clean the CPU block and radiator (unless the inventor finds a way to flush the coffee out of the system after every use).

When the system is first turned on, it initially runs on freshly brewed, 90-degree Celsius coffee. Despite that, the PC kept on running, even if its median temperature was at 93C. Eventually, though, the coffee and CPU reach an equilibrium, with the system running at around 33 degrees Celsius. The coffee-cooled PC even has a dedicated dispenser, allowing you to drink the coolant if you need a bit of energy. You’ll have to top up the system with beans and water, though, to ensure that the Coffeematic PC doesn’t run bone dry if you’re especially thirsty. Though we would not recommend this.

The Coffeematic PC is just the latest in a line of computers that incorporated coffeemakers. MacDowell says that the first recorded instance was in 2002, when a creator combined a coffeemaker and a computer in a single case. After a 16-year silence, The Cre8or collaborated with Zotac to build a Mekspresso, a Zotac Mek1 mini-PC which integrates a working Nespresso machine. This was followed a year later by the Mr. Coffee PC, which hides all of its computer components inside its unassuming body — the only way you’ll know it has a PC inside is through the ports on its side.

Finally, Nerdforge built a PC with a full roaster and grinder inside a massive Corsair 1000D in 2024 — around the same time that MacDowell is planning his Coffeematic PC. The biggest difference between all these builds and what Doug made, though, is that his machine uses the coffeemaker not just to make something to drink, but to cool the CPU itself.

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