IMO, Noctua could make a killing if they designed a pump that doesn't vibrate as much or produce as much motor noise.
Or, alternatively, whatever happened to their active noise-cancelling fan accessory? Slap that between your PC and where you sit, and you don't have to worry about how loud your PC is.
Companies have been showing off non-rigid heat-pipe coolers (thermosiphons are just heat-pipes with unidirectional flow) at trade shows for well over a decade, and thermosiphon cooling systems have been in use for many decades before then. The big problem is that for then to work with water as a working fluid (as in rigid copper heatpipes and vapour chambers) the flexible tubing needs to be gas impermeable - else the pressure inside will rise, the boiling point will rise, and the 'cold side' temperature will rise - which massively raises the cost of the cooler (and still degrades over time, just more slowly). Or the working fluid needs to be switched to one with a near-ambient boiling point (e.g. one of the Novecs), which also massively increases the cost of the cooler.
So, the problem is that you MUST achieve a sufficiently low boiling point (required for this system to actually cool the CPU to a tolerable temperature). Water boils at 100 degrees C at standard pressure (1 atmosphere), which means your CPU cores would probably be ABOVE 100 degrees to vaporize the water. So how do you reduce the boiling point? Well, there's option #2 edzieba already mentioned... use an expensive-as-hell fluid that has a far lower boiling point even at standard pressure.
But the first option (which is the primary one being discussed)... is to reduce the boiling point of the water. To do this, the system must be BELOW atmospheric pressure. You fill the system partially with water, leaving some "empty" space (gas/air, there is math involved that is beyond me). Now, vacuum out the gas until you achieve the desired negative pressure, and seal the system up. Like vacuuming out an A/C system in preparation for recharging. This "sets" your boiling point to the desired temperature. The PROBLEM is if outside gas (higher pressure) permeates into the system (lower pressure), it raises the boiling point of the water and the whole system starts to degrade. A check valve cannot reduce the pressure below outside pressure (1 atmosphere)
Really good flexible tubing can work but it has a limited lifespan. Then again, so do CLWC pumps.
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meacupla - Thursday, June 13, 2024 - link
IMO, Noctua could make a killing if they designed a pump that doesn't vibrate as much or produce as much motor noise.Or, alternatively, whatever happened to their active noise-cancelling fan accessory?
Slap that between your PC and where you sit, and you don't have to worry about how loud your PC is.
edzieba - Thursday, June 13, 2024 - link
Companies have been showing off non-rigid heat-pipe coolers (thermosiphons are just heat-pipes with unidirectional flow) at trade shows for well over a decade, and thermosiphon cooling systems have been in use for many decades before then. The big problem is that for then to work with water as a working fluid (as in rigid copper heatpipes and vapour chambers) the flexible tubing needs to be gas impermeable - else the pressure inside will rise, the boiling point will rise, and the 'cold side' temperature will rise - which massively raises the cost of the cooler (and still degrades over time, just more slowly). Or the working fluid needs to be switched to one with a near-ambient boiling point (e.g. one of the Novecs), which also massively increases the cost of the cooler.ballsystemlord - Friday, June 14, 2024 - link
To solve that, you could just use a check valve at the top of the radiator. Gas comes in, gas goes out. Very simple.Alexvrb - Wednesday, June 26, 2024 - link
So, the problem is that you MUST achieve a sufficiently low boiling point (required for this system to actually cool the CPU to a tolerable temperature). Water boils at 100 degrees C at standard pressure (1 atmosphere), which means your CPU cores would probably be ABOVE 100 degrees to vaporize the water. So how do you reduce the boiling point? Well, there's option #2 edzieba already mentioned... use an expensive-as-hell fluid that has a far lower boiling point even at standard pressure.But the first option (which is the primary one being discussed)... is to reduce the boiling point of the water. To do this, the system must be BELOW atmospheric pressure. You fill the system partially with water, leaving some "empty" space (gas/air, there is math involved that is beyond me). Now, vacuum out the gas until you achieve the desired negative pressure, and seal the system up. Like vacuuming out an A/C system in preparation for recharging. This "sets" your boiling point to the desired temperature. The PROBLEM is if outside gas (higher pressure) permeates into the system (lower pressure), it raises the boiling point of the water and the whole system starts to degrade. A check valve cannot reduce the pressure below outside pressure (1 atmosphere)
Really good flexible tubing can work but it has a limited lifespan. Then again, so do CLWC pumps.