Cooling -- Engadget

cooling posts

LED cooling fans steal sexy back from liquid-based solutions

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 4th 2009 at 8:31PM

Skipping the air cooled approach in favor of some fancy water-cooled rig? Think again, chum. Over at Computex, a smallish company going by the name of Fresh-Tech was on hand to demonstrate the absolutely howling device you see above: a LED-infused PC cooling fan. The fans can be programmed to display nearly anything you wish, and obviously these have the greatest impact on observers when installed in clear or translucent PC enclosures. Ghetto fabulous? Maybe. Nerdalicious? Totally.

Liquid-cooled desk contains full-fledged PC, won't be sold at Ikea

by Darren Murph, posted May 24th 2009 at 12:02PM

We've heard of productive work spaces, but this thing has feng shui written all over it. The geeks and gurus over at Popular Mechanics were able to mix their construction and PC building skills in order to create the rather astounding desk that you see above. Aside from serving a purpose as a desk, looking fantastic and being next to impossible to keep clean, it's also a full-fledged computer. Packed within is a half-gallon of glycol, twin 300GB VelociRaptor hard drives, a GeForce GTX 280 GPU, seven fans, a Sony Blu-ray drive, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a 3GHz Core 2 Quad processor and copious amounts of "win." Check the read link for a how-to guide... if you dare.

[Thanks, Jay]

Ionic cooling system adapted for laptop use, scalded legs cautiously rejoice

by Darren Murph, posted May 21st 2009 at 7:41AM

To be totally candid, we can't even utter the word "ionic" without thinking of Sharper Image, but the concept here actually seems like one that just might benefit the public at large... or at least those of us forced to cook our upper legs on a daily basis. San Jose-based Tessera, in cooperation with the University of Washington, has adapted an ionic cooling system for use in everyday laptops. The magic elixir consists of two electrodes, one of which is used to ionize air molecules such as nitrogen, while the other acts as a receiver for those molecules. According to reports, this method can extract around 30 percent more heat from a lap burner than the traditional "fan and more fans" approach. Still, a major obstacle remains in terms of ensuring that the electrodes remain reliable throughout the life of a laptop, but if Tessera has its druthers, some form of the system will be commercialized next year.

New cooling material keeps heat down in densely packed electronics

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 9th 2009 at 3:17AM

Oh sure, liquid cooling rigs are all the rage, but they aren't too useful within minuscule things like netbooks, MIDs and pocket projectors. The always churning minds over at Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft are already on the issue, recently conjuring up a new material designed to "efficiently dissipate heat even in devices with densely packed components and that can give increasingly miniaturized electronics a longer life." Researchers at the entity's Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Applied Materials Research have teamed with gurus from Siemens and Plansee to create the substance as part of the EU project "ExtreMat." Unfortunately, details beyond that are few and far between, but given that demonstrations have reportedly "already been produced," we'd say it's well on its way to infiltrating things far smaller than your mind can grasp.

SilverStone Raven's unique case design highlights cooling, not to mention "ugly"

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted Jan 28th 2009 at 3:03PM

Those crazy kids over at bit-tech got their hands on SilverStone's new Raven RV01 PC case and have been kind enough to give us their impressions. The big news here is that the motherboard's been rotated 90 degrees clockwise, so that your expansion cards are slotted in vertically (they face up, not out the back). This is intended to facilitate cooling -- cool air is taken in at the bottom and exhausted through the top of the machine -- but as the reviewer points out, although this "seems the most logical orientation for a high-end PC," the actual case design is poor enough to rate as fairly frustrating. "For every welcome piece of design," he writes, "there's another to annoy." Cable management is described as nigh on impossible, especially with drive trays and mobo in such close proximity that there isn't any wiggle room. Judging by all this -- and by an appearance that betrays not one wit of "innovation" -- you might want to hold off on this bad boy. Someone is sure to take another stab soon, hopefully with a package that is nowhere near as goofy looking. Available now in the UK for £171.35 MSRP and Stateside for $249.99.

Waste heat close to becoming useful in cooling / lighting applications

by Darren Murph, posted Dec 26th 2008 at 10:11PM

Not that waste heat in general hasn't been repurposed for non-wasteful activities before, but researchers at Doshisha University are now edging ever closer to making useful the previously annoying thermoacoustic phenomenon. For those not really tied into the science realm, said phenomenon is a nonlinear one in which "heated air autonomously transforms into sound when passing through small mesh holes in a wire sheet." Gurus are now developing a cooling technology that would have heat converted to sound, where it would then be transferred through a tube and reconverted into heat; furthermore, other whiz-kids are looking to generate actual electricity from the racket. In related news, the thermoelectric conversion is being used to transform waste heat from candles into energy for LEDs, which would emit more light than the candle powering it. Pop on past the break for a demonstration of the former.

Continue reading Waste heat close to becoming useful in cooling / lighting applications

Danamics liquid metal CPU cooler found to be impractical, ineffective, but still impressive

by Tim Stevens, posted Dec 5th 2008 at 10:54AM

Looking for a completely impractical and ridiculously expensive cooling solution for your new i7? Danamics has your number with its LM10 CPU cooler, full of a sodium and potassium mixture (called NaK) that would explode if it came in contact with water (which, remember, is what you're mostly made of), but is perfectly inert inside its little pipes. We're more worried about the pump: a marvel of modern tech that uses a powerful electromagnet to create flow -- not exactly the sort of thing you want next to your RAID array. It all sounds menacing and lovely and would be a nifty conversation starter at your next LAN party, but sadly it simply doesn't perform according to NordicHardware -- it's beaten by $50 heat pipe cooler from Thermalright. At $350 the LM10 seems to be an impressive technological trophy-piece, but unless we can amp up that magnet and spray NaK all over our case during an RIAA raid, we think we'll pass.

AMD overclocks the snot out of Phenom II processors

by Tim Stevens, posted Nov 21st 2008 at 10:47AM

AMD overclocks the snot out of Phoenom II processors

No, you're not looking at some high-precision, multimeter-laden kegerator; the above is a picture from a recent AMD event in which things apparently got a little out of hand. The company started by talking up its upcoming Dragon platform (Phenom II X4, Radeon 4800 graphics, and 7-series chipset), took a few moments to discuss how its new 45nm chips will use 30-50 percent less power than their predecessors, and then threw all notions of sensibility out the window in an attempt to see just how fast the darned things could go. A Phenom II X4 managed 4GHz with air-cooling, 4.4GHz with a refrigerated setup, and finally a "stable" 5GHz on liquid nitrogen. That's mighty fast, but will the chips be quick enough to tackle Intel's mighty Core i7 when stripped of their fancy-pants cooling appendages? We'll see when they ship early next year.

[Image courtesy of Legit Reviews]

Micro refrigerated ThermalTake Xpressar case promises to outcool liquid cooling

by Donald Melanson, posted Sep 22nd 2008 at 1:33PM

Still somehow not satisfied by the vast array of PC cooling options at your disposal? Then perhaps ThermalTake's new Xpressar case will suit your excessive ways, with it boasting what the company claims is the first DC inverter type micro refrigeration cooling system to be used in a PC case. That system, which is more or less a reworked air conditioner, promises to keep your components 20°C cooler than your average liquid cooling system, and a full 40°C cooler than a regular air cooling system, although the folks at DarkVision Hardware seem to be a bit skeptical of ThermalTake's testing methods. You also won't be able to use any old motherboard with it, with only a handful from ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI supported, but the case itself seems to be more than accommodating enough for the rest of your components. No word on a price just yet, but you can pretty safely bet you'll be paying a premium to be a part of this particular "world's first" endeavor.

[Thanks, Thomas]

Suzukaze air conditioned seat cushion keeps the hindquarters cool

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 9th 2008 at 2:23PM

Kuchofuku is on the loose again, this time creating an air conditioned seat cushion to keep your fundament breezy. Reportedly, the unit can be powered via an AC adapter, car adapter or rechargeable batteries, and the built-in fan can move over 170 liters of air per minute in order to "dissipate heat and moisture around the buttocks that causes discomfort and sweating." Well, when you put it like that, $89 seems like a real bargain.

[Via Gearlog]

Purdue researchers want tiny refrigerators cooling your PC

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 24th 2008 at 7:02PM

You think your liquid-cooled rig is pretty snazzy, don't you? After Purdue researchers get their technology on the streets, that stuff will seriously look like old hat. The team is working on a "miniature refrigeration system small enough to fit inside laptops and personal computers," which would hopefully boost cooling performance while enabling computers to be smaller. According to Suresh Garimella, they have "a very good handle on the technology," but it's still a ways from being implemented in end products. Don't worry though, we're sure the likes of Alienware and Voodoo PC will have it up as optional equipment just as soon as it clears the quality assurance lab.

[Via TheFutureOfThings, thanks Iddo]

Nyko announces Intercooler TS for Xbox 360 / PS3

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 15th 2008 at 6:37PM

Never has one company mooched off of poor design like Nyko. Okay, so maybe that's a bit of a stretch, but according to the peripheral maker, the original Xbox 360 Intercooler is the top selling third-party accessory for the Xbox 360 -- despite the fact that it's known for torching consoles and leaving bits of carpet hot and bothered. Nevertheless, the long, long overdue Intercooler TS (for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) features a built-in temperature sensor and its own dedicated AC adapter, which will hopefully solve the aforesaid issues experienced with the original. This new, non-hazardous version will sell for $25, while the old, potentially hazardous iteration will somehow remain on store shelves for $20. Spend the extra $5 -- it's cheaper than a new house.

Update: Nyko pinged us to say that the original Intercooler is no longer being sold; the $20 version will be the Intercooler EX.

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

by Paul Miller, posted Jun 6th 2008 at 8:24PM

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.

Thermalright Xbox 360 heatsink spotted at Computex?

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 4th 2008 at 2:06PM

When everything looks like a netbook, anything out of the ordinary sticks out like a festering wound at Computex. One such sore thumb came from the Thermalright display, which saw a number of new cooling devices basking in the glory and just waiting for photographers. While most items at the booth were generally uninteresting, this particular image shows off one TR-360 -- something we can only assume is a replacement heatsink for the Xbox 360. All we've got right now is the picture above along with one other in the read link, but here's to hoping Thermalright gets around to sharing more information soon.

[Via Xbox-Scene, thanks Xant]

Enermax laptop cooling station beats the heat with an 8-inch fan

by Nilay Patel, posted May 21st 2008 at 9:25AM

There are laptop cooling pads and there are laptop cooling pads, and we've got to hand it to Enermax for building the biggest and silliest one we've ever seen. The Aeolus cooling pad features just a single fan, but it's an 8.66-inch diameter monster, capable of reducing temps by 22 degrees Celsius (39.6 degrees Fahrenheit) while only putting out 20dB of noise. On top that, it's got integrated blue LEDs for additional nerd cred -- although we're wondering how you're supposed to actually see them while your furnace of a laptop is parked on top. Should be around now for about $70, we hear.