Thermalright's computer case is all cooling, all the time

We've seen a few heatsinks in our day, but Thermalright is taking things to the inevitable extreme with the new case it was showing off at Computex. The whole unit is pretty much one big radiator, with a bunch of internal heatsinks and heatpipes worked in for good measure -- the only fan is the one on the power supply. Apparently one side of the case if for the processor, while the other side cools the graphics card, with a nice 150 watts of heat dissipation per side. What with this, and that Xbox 360 heatsink they were showing off at this show, it looks like Thermalright is quickly carving out a niche for itself when it comes to cooling overkill. No word on price, but this thing can't be cheap.

[v3xx @ Jun 6th 2008 8:31PM]

cooling overkill is an oxymoron.

[MeatPop @ Jun 6th 2008 8:51PM]

Don't be such a girly man.

[v3xx @ Jun 6th 2008 8:55PM]

first let me say WHAT?

second
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooling
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overkill
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxymoron

[MeatPop @ Jun 6th 2008 9:05PM]

Thanks for your slew of Wikipedia articles but unfortunately you misunderstood my joke, because girly man is an oxymoron, and well I was joking about your complaint.

[phanbouy @ Jun 6th 2008 9:12PM]

guess ya had to be there

[v3xx @ Jun 6th 2008 9:16PM]

lol i get it now its been a long day, dont hold me to anything i say.

[gentux @ Jun 6th 2008 9:19PM]

Yeah I had to ask spotlight, too. I'm glad not to be the only one who doesn't knew the word oxymoron

[Secret Squirrel @ Jun 7th 2008 4:29PM]

Wow... I hope you never ever run any fingers or other fleshy parts across that thing, loss of several layers of skin in the shape of radiator fins is guaranteed!!!

[dro @ Jun 6th 2008 8:32PM]

i need one of these cases, for my car!

[Chad @ Jun 7th 2008 9:40AM]

Speaking of which....I used the oil cooler off a Ford pickup truck as my radiator for my old rig. It was about like 12" x 6" x 2" and solid copper. It actually looked pretty sweet.

[Minilap @ Jun 6th 2008 8:33PM]

Will it cool nehalem?

[Dom C @ Jun 7th 2008 10:48AM]

Well since Nehalem will be cooler than Penryn, yes!

[Richard Lai @ Jun 6th 2008 8:34PM]

Meh, I thought the best way to cool is to dunk everything (apart from the mechanical drives) into cooking oil.

[v3xx @ Jun 6th 2008 8:38PM]

dunk a hot chunk of metal in a bath of cooking oil and see how much of your face melts off

[Richard Lai @ Jun 6th 2008 8:40PM]

@v3xx: dude, no one said metal. Maybe you should check this out first:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/strip-fans,1203.html

[Keith @ Jun 6th 2008 8:48PM]

Now that you mention it, I'm actually seriously going consider this when I pick-up a Nahelem PC.

If you used SSD disks the only thing you'd need to keep external would be the optical drives. Hack, you could even remove the fans from the power supplies and submerge those as well.

[Richard Lai @ Jun 6th 2008 8:50PM]

@Keith: fans themselves are fine (if you check the link above you'll see they had kept the fans for the CPU and GPU). There is probably something else in the power supply that stopped them from putting it in the oil.

[v3xx @ Jun 6th 2008 8:51PM]

thats pretty cool. my dad used to work at a place that shocked water to shrink the molecules for better absorption of medical stuff, but he said it was totally non conductive and they were always talking about use with cooling computers. i just picture the comp heating up and hot oil splashing all over like saturday morning bacon.

[Richard Lai @ Jun 6th 2008 8:55PM]

@v3xx: bacon splashes hot oil all over the place simply because there is water in it. Next time try heating up oil and dip a dry metallic spoon into it - you should should see no splashing.

[Richard Lai @ Jun 6th 2008 8:57PM]

@v3xx: actually, just heat up some oil using a bare metallic (stainless steel?) saucepan, and you should see nothing much happens between the hot metal and oil.

[v3xx @ Jun 6th 2008 8:57PM]

my first comment was just a joke. people on here need to relax a little. was a low rank really needed?

[Richard Lai @ Jun 6th 2008 9:00PM]

@v3xx: it's probably because the "joke" was considered as irrelevant?

[barry99705 @ Jun 6th 2008 9:00PM]

Other than cooking oil going rancid, there's nothing wrong with it. Use pure mineral oil. Keep a lid on it as well. You can keep the fans on the devices this way too, they'll circulate the oil. I wouldn't put the drives in there, it will seep into the vents and kill the drive.

[Richard Lai @ Jun 6th 2008 9:01PM]

@barry99705: yep, that's right, but what about the power supply? What's in it that stopped the guys from putting it in the oil as well?

[Aaron Wanker @ Jun 6th 2008 9:20PM]

@Barry99705

Why would it kill the drive? it shouldn't effect the motor or magnets inside... or would it?

@v3xx

When people complain about low-ranks, it makes me want to low-rank them just for complaining.

[v3xx @ Jun 6th 2008 9:26PM]

hence the name wanker

[dziban303 @ Jun 6th 2008 11:59PM]

@ v3xx

I voted you up.

Too many people around here have their heads firmly inside their colons.

Although kudos to Wanker for trying to live up to his namesake.

[BorisBorf @ Jun 7th 2008 12:10AM]

Personally, I prefer to put chicken into cooking oil instead of my desktop.

[DWells55 @ Jun 6th 2008 8:36PM]

Awesome. Slap an industrial-grade fan on there and let's see some air-cooled world record overclocks.

[tim @ Jun 6th 2008 8:39PM]

it must weigh a pound or two

[Abuzar @ Jun 6th 2008 11:57PM]

My TT armor weighs about 50 pounds, and this thing has more metal in it. It's probably all Aluminium though, but still I'm guessing around 20 pounds.

[kastonie @ Jun 6th 2008 8:45PM]

im about to make a case out of an old a/c window unit....

[andres @ Jun 6th 2008 8:48PM]

a case or a cooling system?

[Catsceo @ Jun 6th 2008 8:49PM]

I so want.

[Dan Davis @ Jun 6th 2008 8:53PM]

Things are heating up at Thermalright!

Anybody?

[Marburg @ Jun 6th 2008 9:07PM]

Why use this or cooking oil when you can do this:

http://www.pugetsystems.com/submerged.php

[Richard Lai @ Jun 6th 2008 9:14PM]

Ah yes, I forgot about this one.

[Aaron Wanker @ Jun 6th 2008 9:25PM]

If you are making a cooling system, how will you prevent the condensation from the coils from getting on the parts? If the coils are cooler than the ambient temperature, then condensation should form on them, hence why (at least I believe) in normal water cooled systems, they use water that is about room temperature.

I've never made a cooling system, or used water cooling, but this ^^^ is what I have been told about others who have, plus it makes sense, at least the basic concept.

[David @ Jun 6th 2008 9:59PM]

Many PC users keep their machines on all day (not me)
this could replace central heating for them

[BIlly G @ Jun 7th 2008 12:08AM]

I've had some good Thermalright heatsinks in my PCs. Nice quality stuff.

[Abuzar @ Jun 7th 2008 12:23AM]

There will be no condensation because this is a passive cooling system and the temps will never go below ambient.

[Reid @ Jun 7th 2008 12:34AM]

Now I'll no longer have to run the furnace once or twice a year!

.. I'll be running the AC a lot more though...

[Chet @ Jun 7th 2008 1:54AM]

I wouldn't use cooking oil, or any food oil, since they contain fatty acids that could, over time, etch into the components of your motherboard.

Pure mineral oil should be pH neutral. Submergence cooling has the added benefit that, if you live coastally (or plan to be Teh Hardcorez on a yacht), your components are protected from moist, salty air.

On the other hand, it's highly flammable.

[Technex @ Jun 7th 2008 12:39PM]

I hear it also is full of calories...





And mudkips?

[ijyt @ Jun 7th 2008 9:12AM]

Pfft, dust magnet.

[ijyt @ Jun 7th 2008 9:12AM]

Though the side of the case being the whole heatsink for the CPU is really nice.

[Technex @ Jun 7th 2008 12:39PM]

-1.

[Technex @ Jun 7th 2008 12:40PM]

- 1.

Low rank, low rank, low rank.

[Technex @ Jun 7th 2008 12:41PM]

Woot! Go Engadget comment system, showing nothing even after a refresh. I thought there was a invisible character limit but no, it's just too damn slow.

[Bunson @ Jun 7th 2008 11:39PM]

One side of the case if for the processor. Very interesting...