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[KitGuru] CoolChip vows a cooling breakthrough by reinventing fans

6K views 81 replies 49 participants last post by  Thready 
#1 ·
Quote:
CoolChip Technologies, a startup from Massachusetts, promises a breakthrough in computer cooling by reinventing the way modern cooling systems work. While the tech itself seems to be simple enough and may bring in a lot of benefits, it requires major changes in the way how computer coolers are made.
Source
 
#3 ·
Ahahaha...

<35 dB noise, sure just install that small jet engine! I mean, technically they are saying less than 35 dB, but the fact they used 35 as the number tells me that prototype is loud!

Also, what happens when your case gets jolted while that thing is spinning just microns above the plate? You will end up with 3,000 RPM of metal being thrown around if it breaks.

No thanks!
 
#5 ·
I think they are trying to reinvent the wheel but okay... honestly, yes we can use some better fan blade designs for lower DBA/ Higher CFM ratios but a spinning HSF is kind of....dangerous.

Its also less end user friendly, if it dies out of warranty then what? at least with fans you swap it out on the cheap end
 
#6 ·
Producing a copper plate that is flat down to the nanometer and making the bottom of the impeller also flat to the nanometer sounds a bit expensive to me. It wont really matter if the tech is 3-4x as efficient at cooling if it costs 1-2 hundred of dollars for one fan/heatsink. OEMs wont want to eat anywhere near that cost and customers dont want to see their processor prices raise that much. Maybe it has a place in certain server markets.
 
#8 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by PostalTwinkie View Post

Ahahaha...

<35 dB noise, sure just install that small jet engine! I mean, technically they are saying less than 35 dB, but the fact they used 35 as the number tells me that prototype is loud!

Also, what happens when your case gets jolted while that thing is spinning just microns above the plate? You will end up with 3,000 RPM of metal being thrown around if it breaks.

No thanks!
Not to mention if over time the wear causes that gap to either get larger, or even worse, smaller. While it's been said before it would be great to have the heatsink also be the fan, in practice it's way more complicated to do so and have the contact as well. Also curious how large they can make it is I doubt something that small would be able to cool better than many of the current coolers around.

Cool concept. I'd just like to see how well it actually performs and even more so, degrades.
 
#10 ·
hmm they use alot of different types of ram in that video lol design looks interesting if it works well would be good for small profile builds such as thin itx and such
 
#11 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by PostalTwinkie View Post

Ahahaha...

<35 dB noise, sure just install that small jet engine! I mean, technically they are saying less than 35 dB, but the fact they used 35 as the number tells me that prototype is loud!

Also, what happens when your case gets jolted while that thing is spinning just microns above the plate? You will end up with 3,000 RPM of metal being thrown around if it breaks.

No thanks!
The thing sure looks like it would be loud.
 
#16 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Millillion View Post

So this is basically the Sandia cooler?

http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2722
Video at the end of that link is pretty cool to watch.

It would be awesome if it worked out in the end, but I just don't see it happening. Preventing the fan from smashing the base at speed is going to be extremely hard. Also manufacturing tolerances are a huge concern here.

Although towards the end of it they said they had signed agreements with electronic manufacturers, CPU specifically.....video is two years old. Coolers where?!
 
#18 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by PostalTwinkie View Post

Video at the end of that link is pretty cool to watch.

It would be awesome if it worked out in the end, but I just don't see it happening. Preventing the fan from smashing the base at speed is going to be extremely hard. Also manufacturing tolerances are a huge concern here.

Although towards the end of it they said they had signed agreements with electronic manufacturers, CPU specifically.....video is two years old. Coolers where?!
I don't know the physics behind it, but I'm pretty sure they've put a lot of research into making sure this won't happen. It has been in research for a several years, after all.
 
#19 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheLAWNOOB View Post

Gonna be serious stability issues if you bump the case when it's spinning full speed.

Besides, run Crysis or it didn't happen.
No, spinning objects are very stable. It's really not a problem. Your hdd rotate at 5000+ rpm, ever had any problem with it?
 
#20 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chargeit View Post

The thing sure looks like it would be loud.
the prototype a few years ago sounded like a circular saw. When i heard it i thought "dead tech, great concept"
 
#21 ·
#22 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Just a nickname View Post

No, spinning objects are very stable. It's really not a problem. Your hdd rotate at 5000+ rpm, ever had any problem with it?
Ever nudge a HDD while it is spinning? Yea, you can have serious problems.

I have seen/heard the platters explode in a HDD that was running when nudged. Is it guaranteed to happen? No, but it isn't that uncommon to damage at least a sector if nudged while at full RPM.

The difference is that with a HDD it is enclosed, so any fragments that are created stay confined. That wouldn't be the case here and you would have shrapnel flying around your case.
 
#23 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by PostalTwinkie View Post

Ever nudge a HDD while it is spinning? Yea, you can have serious problems.

I have seen/heard the platters explode in a HDD that was running when nudged. Is it guaranteed to happen? No, but it isn't that uncommon to damage at least a sector if nudged while at full RPM.

The difference is that with a HDD it is enclosed, so any fragments that are created stay confined. That wouldn't be the case here and you would have shrapnel flying around your case.
It's because the head touched the plate. The hdd or this fan won't get "unstable" if you bump it. Plus I am quite surprised it hapenned, I've opened multiple hdd and those things are study. I hardly imagine the disks could move. It's possible it was deformed (slithly curved due to centripete "force") and made contact.

I've manipulated many times my hdds while running. Of course I don't swing it that would be utterly idiotic but keeps working and nothing hapenned. I am not sure what your point is but I guess I've covered the subject enough to confidently say a bump won't cause anything.
 
#24 ·
i think a lot of people have thought of the same thing but just havent actually made it. At least, I did when I first got into computers. And yeah, the major question is, how will it perform? And, why not combine this with perhaps liquid cooling? You'd have a very sff aio (if this product performs well, that is).
 
#25 ·
Mmm a solution to a problem that doesn't really exist. I best if you made any fan solid metal, you'd improve the performance.
 
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