New Phase Change Cooling System At CES 2015

Of course, H20 leak only has a chance of shorting your system ... Hydrogen ... well ... boom. ;)

Still $299 is a great price point for it if they can actually do it.
 
I have a few clients that like bleeding edge performance without the maintenance that a custom loop requires. A $200 premium over something like a h100i is a bit steep, but I bet I can talk at least one of them into it. Will definitely keep my eye on this one.
 
~$150 more than a dual fan AIO water cooler for a 4-6 degree improvement (on a single fan unit)? hmmm... I don't know...
 
Any idea what that goof was talking about? 7 min of video to not actually explain what it is .... other than it's a cooler of some kind that they spent $2.5 million "inventing".

How many million$ were required to put a window in it so you can see the nothing that is happening?
 
No mention of the actual working fluid. I can guarantee it's not liquid helium or hydrogen, that silly little thing could not handle the pressures. Plus, i am confused about dual phase change, that would mean liquid to gas to plasma, and that also aint happening in that thing.

Looks like it's more of a heat pipe type of technology, just better.

I'd bet it's a type of freon as the working liquid, and a traditional radiator to condense the working fluid. Still, if it works, and works well, why not? Phase change is going to be more efficient than simple water cooling, and is the path forward as processor watts per cubic millimeter continues to go up.
 
From what i remember of this thing from over a year ago, i believe the fluid to be Novec, made by 3M. It will boil from simply holding it in your hand. There is no pump, and since it cannot leak, it'll last pretty much for your entire life with no risk of failure. The fan is optional since the rad can displace a pretty amount of heat by leaving it passive. Since there's no pump, there's recuded power usage, reduced noise and reduced vibration, except what's made by the fan. Even if there was no 4-6 degree performance improvement, it'd be worth it just for that. There's alot to be said for the peace of mind you get for never having to worry about a pump failing.
 
Its not phase change in the matter that most would be thinking, this unit is not comparable in the slightest to a compressor type refrigeration unit. This design would be incapable of subzero temperatures unless ambient was at or near 0C.

This is more like a heat pipe/vapor chamber design that has been used on video cards for many years now.

People please dont get confused and dont get your hopes up.
 
Yeah phase change is nothing new, refrigerators have been using it for years (at the expense of a lot of energy), hell there's a particular high power LED light I'm thinking of (Kessil brand) that also uses a phase change cooling system in a similar fashion. Seems to me all the "tech" was fusing all those metals and what not together.
 
If I understood correctly a big part of the research was so that they could display the process of evaporation? So this like if was able to see what is going in a heatpipe? The point being?

While interesting, I don't see it as a reasonable replacement for a good tower cooler, since it neither increased the flexibility of mounting, nor does it take up less space. Of course it manages to get you an extra 4-6 degrees over a single 120mm AIO radiator...
 
Helium leak detection is a test used to determine how well a closed system is sealed. It is not a definition of the working fluid (refrigerant). Because engineered fluids have well known molecular characteristics such as molecule size, the leak rate of Helium can directly correlate to the leak rate of the engineered fluid without ever having to test the actual fluid. This is necessary because some fluids are either difficult to detect or are not friendly to the detectors (corrosive, or gunk up the detectors).

Phase change refrigeration is volumetrically efficient. This means that the amount of 3D space needed for the entire system is less than single phase systems of the same capacity. This advantage can all be attributed to the fact that it requires a relatively enormous amount of energy to cause a phase change than it does to change either a liquid or a gas temperature even slightly.

The amount of energy required to cause a phase change is known as the "latent heat of vaporization/condensation". It is called latent because it is not easily observable that anything is getting done. A liquid will reach boiling point and the thermometer measuring the temperature will not rise any more. Any additional energy added to the system is put into causing a phase change, not a temperature rise.
 
It's not active phase change like a refrigerator unit with a compressor. Like someone else stated, it's similar to the vapor chamber coolers found on some video cards.

VapoChill had a similar idea about a decade ago. This uses the same concept but with a better designed heatsink and more efficient coolant.
 
For you information, the OCZ Cryo-Z Phase Change Cooler never made it to the market in 2008-2009 despite a promising marketing campaign.
 
Witchcraft!

I always wait for the [H] review. Generally these things don't make it that far.
 
w4ffles said:
Not has [H]ard as submerging a whole computer in 3M Novec.
Click to expand...

About 15 years ago ( I would have been 16-17) there was a kiosk at the Mall of America selling boutique high end rigs that were completely submerged. At the time I shrugged it off. I believe it was in two separate cases ("sealed" PC inside of the a acrylic case full of non conductive liquid), but still cool nonetheless considering how long ago it was.
 
haste. said:
About 15 years ago ( I would have been 16-17) there was a kiosk at the Mall of America selling boutique high end rigs that were completely submerged. At the time I shrugged it off. I believe it was in two separate cases ("sealed" PC inside of the a acrylic case full of non conductive liquid), but still cool nonetheless considering how long ago it was.
Click to expand...

I believe they were submerged in oil.
A major issue was that the circuit boards soaked the oil and expanded causing component failure.
Thats not to say that components cant be made to be oil proof, but its not economically viable for consumer grade products.

Another problem with liquid is that it will take on metallic particles + other contaminants (even when sealed) and become conductive or react over time unless the oil is replaced periodically, increasing the complexity to keep running and cost.

And if you want to sell or store your old parts, it will be a pig to get rid of the oil !
 
Taldren said:
Oh, he said He , no H ... silly accent.
Click to expand...
I would truly be impressed by an actual phase change cooler using helium, since it boils around 4 degrees Kelvin. I'm thinking that it would be rather large and entail significant energy bills. :D
 
w4ffles said:
It's not active phase change like a refrigerator unit with a compressor. Like someone else stated, it's similar to the vapor chamber coolers found on some video cards.

VapoChill had a similar idea about a decade ago. This uses the same concept but with a better designed heatsink and more efficient coolant.
Click to expand...

Vapochill was way better

i owned on

-56 c on bootup

good luck trying to get this product to do that rofl
 
Nenu said:
I believe they were submerged in oil.
A major issue was that the circuit boards soaked the oil and expanded causing component failure.
Thats not to say that components cant be made to be oil proof, but its not economically viable for consumer grade products.

Another problem with liquid is that it will take on metallic particles + other contaminants (even when sealed) and become conductive or react over time unless the oil is replaced periodically, increasing the complexity to keep running and cost.

And if you want to sell or store your old parts, it will be a pig to get rid of the oil !
Click to expand...

You are correct, it's a mineral oil - after I posted my curiosity was piqued so I read up on it. They were definitely beyond their time though considering how long ago it was.

It does not seem like an economical way to cool a PC. You obviously have a better understanding of the chemistry behind it and if true makes it seem even sillier. I couldn't imagine pulling my case out everytime I wanted to tweak anything.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top