Maximum PC cooling RSS Feed

Boiling Liquid Microchannels Could Cool PCs and Autos

Ryan Whitwam — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:00:20 -0500

Researchers at Purdue University claim to have developed a new kind of cooling technology. Tannaz Harirchia and Suresh Garimella, are using boiling liquid inside microchannels on specially fabricated chips to more efficiently cool components.

Fluids do not behave in the same way in microchannels as they do elsewhere, allowing for increased heat exchange. “Allowing a liquid to boil in cooling systems dramatically increases how much heat can be removed, compared to simply heating a liquid to below its boiling point," the researchers wrote. The device constructed at Purdue is basically a small one inch square heatsink. After liquid has boiled off in the microchannels, a small compressor disperses the heat, returning it to a liquid.

The technology has possible applications in both PC and automotive cooling. PCs are relying on numerous fans, or bulky water block cooling. Similarly, cars use both air and water cooling to remain in working order. Both these areas could see advancement if this microchannel cooling technology takes off.

Help Cooler Master Design a Kickass Case, Cooler, or PSU

Paul Lilly — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:45:35 -0500

Nothing to see here, just an empty, desolate post.

Quiet Your Xbox 360 for...$900?!

Paul Lilly — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:32:22 -0500

Looking for a noise-dampening cooling solution for your obnoxiously loud Xbox 360 console? A-Tech Fabriction might have just what you need, but after looking at the price tag, you may conclude it's not that loud anyway.

To be fair, the company's HeatSync Three-Sixty 'only' costs $700 (plus shipping, which runs around $25 for UPS Ground) without any add-ons. But should you decide you also want a one-piece rack mount faceplate, black or silver aluminum case feet, memory card ports, accessory ports, DVD drive isolation and machining (which attacks the main culprit of the Xbox 360's noisy cry for attention), and thermal control system, be prepared to tack on another $195, bringing the tally to just under 900 smackers. For $1,200, A-Tech Fabrication will ship the case with a complete Xbox 360 system already installed, or just under $1,400 with all of the aforementioned extras.

What you get in return is a rather attractive heavy-duty chassis constructed from heat-treated aircraft quality aluminum. And with both CPU and GPU cooling benefiting from the integrated cooling system, you might up your odds at staving off the dreaded Red Ring of Death. Just don't tell your significant other how much it costs, or she/he might ring your neck.

Product Link

Image Credit: A-Tech Fabrication

New HTPC Enclosure Ditches Fans in Favor of Heatpipes

Paul Lilly — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:50:56 -0500

Case manufacturer HD Plex looks to make noisy HTPC enclosures a thing of the past, as the company just announced a new HTPC case devoid of any fans. Instead, the all-aluminum chassis relies on heatpipes to get the cooling job done.

"We set out to create a family of products that look good when combined with high-end A/V equipment, and are silent and affordable," said Larry Liu, CEO of HD Plex. "We ended up accomplishing our goals. Our new line of H-series HTPC enclosures combine skillful engineering with an eye for minimalism design, heatpipe cooling for silent operation, and all at a price piont competitive with the current market."

HD Plex says its fanless case comes in three different sizes and variations, including mATX (H10), mini-ITX (H5), and the H3, which the company claims is the "smallest ever heatpipe cooled enclosure." All three models include an LGA775 heatsink and heatpipe kit and an anti-vibration mounting kit for 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch drives, along with an optional chipset cooling kit sold separately.

No word yet on price or availability.

Image Credit: HD Plex

BFG Announces Self-Contained, Liquid-Cooled GeForce GTX 285 and GTX 295 Graphics Cards

Paul Lilly — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 14:45:03 -0500

Setting up and maintaining a liquid-cooling setup isn't for everyone, and it's this crowd BFG is targeting with a pair of maintenance-free, self-contained liquid-cooled GeForce graphics cards, the GTX 285 H2O+ and the GTX 295 H2OC.

Both new cards sport BFG's new ThermoIntelligence Advanced Cooling Solution, which when you take away the fancy title means you can enjoy the benefits of water cooling your videocard(s) without all the fuss. According to BFG, the cards are easy to install right out of the box and never need refilling or additional components. The benefit, says BFG, is up to 30C cooler temps under load when pitted against standard air cooled models.

"We're very excited to be the first company to bring this type of professional grade advanced cooling solution to PC enthusiasts," said John Malley, senior director of marketing for BFG.

BFG's GTX 295 H2OC will sport a 675MHz core clockspeed, 2214MHz memory data rate, and 1458MHz shader clockspeed. The GTX 285 H2O+ will run at 691MHz, 2592MHz, and 1566MHz core, memory, and shader clockspeeds, respectively.

The GTX 295 H2OC will be available in limited quantities starting August 5th, while the GTX 285 H2O+ will also be available in limited quantities, starting August 12th. No word on price.

Image Credit: BFG

MSI's R4890 Cyclone Series Videocard Looks Wicked, Comes Clocked at 1GHz

Paul Lilly — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:45:23 -0500

MSI this week announced the R4890 Cyclone series graphics card. Like other HD 4890 videocards, the Cyclone comes equipped with 800 stream processors and 1GB of GDDR5 with a 256-bit memory bus, but what separates this card from the pack is its cooling solution.

According to MSI, the Cyclone is the only HD 4890 to sport a 10cm PWM fan. The cooling solution also packs four 8mm heatpipes, which the company says is 60 percent thicker than traditional heatpipes and offers up to 90 percent better cooling efficiency. The end result is a 1GHz core clockspeed, making the Cyclone the fastest clocked HD 4890 yet.

Taking the marketing blitz to another level, MSI boasts "Military Class Components." These include Hi-c capacitors made of Tantalum, an all-in-one solid chock, and all solid caps.

No word yet on price or availability.

Image Credit: MSI

Cooler Master V10

Nathan Edwards — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:02:56 -0500

Huge, mediocre, and difficult to install is no way to go through life, son

The Cooler Master V10 is a monster. It weighs two pounds, 10 ounces, stands 6.3x9.3x5.1 inches, and contains one thermoelectric cooler, two fans, and two heatsinks: one on the CPU and one on the TEC. The TEC, which needs to be powered by a 4-pin Molex on a dedicated power lead, activates only when needed.

The Cooler Master V10 is two and a half pounds of frustration.

The V10’s installation is the worst we’ve ever experienced. Two retention clips attach to the cooler, which you then attach to a bracket you mount on the back side of the motherboard. This means removing your motherboard and balancing the cooler on your lap while you screw it in. Unfortunately, the V10 is so huge that it blocks the motherboard’s top three ATX screws, making it difficult to mount the motherboard in even the roomiest cases. And the V10’s bulk made it difficult to connect both the 8-pin and the 24-pin motherboard power cables on our test system’s motherboard—impressive, since they’re on opposite sides of the motherboard.

The V10’s RAM fan means you have to remove the cooler to remount your memory, and DIMMs with cooling vanes, like Corsair’s Dominators, are likely to be bumped by the V10’s overhanging radiator. Indeed, the first few times we tried to install the V10, our machine wouldn’t POST due to RAM seating issues. It wasn’t until we replaced our tall DIMMs with shorter sticks, and removed the optional backplane bracket to mount the cooler (which can warp the motherboard), that we could even get our system to start.

Ultimately, the V10 offers nothing to recommend itself. It’s a nightmare to install in most machines—the only exceptions are cases with motherboard tray cutouts behind the CPU. Plus, its performance is merely mediocre: Our favorite air cooler, the Zalman CNPS9900, outcools it easily in both idle and full burn (by three and five degrees, respectively). The Zalman cooler is also smaller, $60 cheaper, easier to install, and requires less power.

Kingston HyperX 1600MHz Kit Now Available with T1 High-Profile Heatspreaders

Paul Lilly — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 07:30:20 -0500

More and more memory kits are starting to ship with high-profile heatspreaders, and the latest modules to receive Kingston's T1 makeover is the tri-channel HyperX 1600MHz 6GB kit.

"The 1600MHz frequency is a sweet spot amongst gamers, and combining it with the popular T1 heatspreaders gives enthusiasts a performance advantage through improved heat diffusion while overclocking and gaming," Kingston wrote in a press release.

Kingston says its revised 6GB kit -- part number KHX12800D3T1K3/6GX -- is available now for $155 MSRP. Other HyperX kits sporting "heavy-duty" aluminum T1 heatspreaders include the triple-channel DDR3-2000MHz and DDR3-1866MHz kits, and dual-channel DDR2-1066MHz and DDR2-800MHz kits.

Image Credit: Kingston