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100 % Passive cooled Custom Mac

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Hmmm.

I think it depends on what the i9-9900K was doing for all those hours.

My initial reaction to this design was - Wa-hey! Noctua! That has got to be some quality kit !!

Then the more I looked at it the more I wondered why so few fins. Surface area is key, not just thickness. Surely two 0.75mm fins should dissipate more heat than one 1.5mm fin. Perhaps a metallurgist could chime in and tell me I'm wrong there. Six heat-pipes is nothing new. Maybe the metal is some new exotic alloy? Somehow I doubt it.

Plus, this might, just might work in the open where cool air is in abundance, but in a PC case ... ? In the installed photo, it looks as though the heatsink is mounted above a GPU cooler. This must be generating rising heat of its own.

So sadly I don't think I could trust such an insubstantial design to passively cool a hard-working top-of-the-line processor. Even by the best company in the business...

Besides, the description states the cooler is ideal for semi-passive set-ups. Either a fan mounted on the cooler or in the case.

So I agree @tabarus, progress indeed, but we are not there yet.
 
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Hmmm.

I think it depends on what the i9-9900K was doing for all those hours.

My initial reaction to this design was - Wa-hey! Noctua! That has got to be some quality kit !!

Then the more I looked at it the more I wondered why so few fins. Surface area is key, not just thickness. Surely two 0.75mm fins should dissipate more heat than one 1.5mm fin. Perhaps a metallurgist could chime in and tell me I'm wrong there. Six heat-pipes is nothing new. Maybe the metal is some new exotic alloy? Somehow I doubt it.

Plus, this might, just might work in the open where cool air is in abundance, but in a PC case ... ? In the installed photo, it looks as though the heatsink is mounted above a GPU cooler. This must be generating rising heat of its own.

So sadly I don't think I could trust such an insubstantial design to passively cool a hard-working top-of-the-line processor. Even by the best company in the business...

Besides, the description states the cooler is ideal for semi-passive set-ups. Either a fan mounted on the cooler or in the case.

So I agree @tabarus, progress indeed, but we are not there yet.

I read somewhere that due to the fact that there will be no fans to force air through the traditionally tight fin stacks, the fins had to spaced further apart to allow better natural air flow. If spaced too close, fans would be a necessity to push air through.
 
I read somewhere that due to the fact that there will be no fans to force air through the traditionally tight fin stacks, the fins had to spaced further apart to allow better natural air flow. If spaced too close, fans would be a necessity to push air through.

Good point. Still air is a great insulator.
 
but in a PC case ... ?
yeah and there comes the chimney type case into play again, i should just have 2 openings , top/bottom, sealed sides.
I wonder if there a way to calculate that chimney size. I wish I had some money to build a new Computer just to try passive cooling :) Noctua told me that the CPU cooler will be available 2020.
 
Well if companies would look to science as much as engineering then maybe they could actually come up with designs that cool quietly.

For example, add a Peltier heat-pump to a big heatsink like the Noctua and you could cool a CPU very easily and silently.

The old concern used to be condensation build-up because we all live in different climates and the system is so efficient. However a little engineering knowledge used to help out the science, could easily solve this. Is anyone working on this for PCs any more? I've heard nothing recently.

:)
 
Well if companies would look to science as much as engineering then maybe they could actually come up with designs that cool quietly.

For example, add a Peltier heat-pump to a big heatsink like the Noctua and you could cool a CPU very easily and silently.

The old concern used to be condensation build-up because we all live in different climates and the system is so efficient. However a little engineering knowledge used to help out the science, could easily solve this. Is anyone working on this for PCs any more? I've heard nothing recently.

:)

This one uses a Peltier, but from the reviews I've read, Noctuas are still better.

 
This one uses a Peltier, but from the reviews I've read, Noctuas are still better.


Good find :thumbup:

It's an alternative and you can imagine what Noctua could do with it allied to their new heatsink.

That one has a 92mm fan so good for confined areas.

As the OP wants totally passive, I guess some seriously clever engineering needs to be brought into play. I wonder where Jony Ive is ... ;)
 
How about a combination of Heatpipes and a Peltier Element places far away from any electronic component ?
Transport the heat away from the cpu to the Peltier Element. That way we could ensure that no condesation drops on the PCB.
 
related :

not 100% passive, but hey with slow spinning fans it might be OK
 
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How about a combination of Heatpipes and a Peltier Element places far away from any electronic component ?
Transport the heat away from the cpu to the Peltier Element. That way we could ensure that no condesation drops on the PCB.

That reminds me of the Shuttle barebones PCs. The Boxier ones used a miniscule heatsink with heatpipes that ran to a larger element and fan at the back of the case. Wonderful for leaving clear space around the actual CPU. Maybe something like your thinking of?

Ebay.jpg


Trouble is, I think the peltier has to be on the CPU die to really work. But you never know ...
 
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