Custom Air Cooler

[ID0]

Hi there,

so I know that it's pretty easy to make a cooler without heatpipes, just using a CNC machine.
But is a cooler without heatpipes as good as a cooler with heatpipes if the cooler is about 6x3x8cm (WxHxL)
I would assume that this size would be too small, because you put a heatpipe into the fins to exchange the heat from CPU into air and if you only can make it about 3cm high and the heatpipe is 5mm then it has 20% less airflow / cooling area.

 

So if using just a solid block of aluminium with ridges/fins and no heatpipe, would it be good enough if the size is the same and it needs to cool a 20W CPU/GPU?

[Tan3l6]

6 minutes ago, ID0 said:

But is a cooler without heatpipes as good as a cooler with heatpipes if the cooler is about 6x3x8cm (WxHxL)

Not likely.

A modern dual-tower 6-7-heatpipe cooler is far above solid metal radiators in efficiency. That's why the latter are gone I believe.

 

  

6 minutes ago, ID0 said:

So if using just a solid block of aluminium with ridges/fins and no heatpipe, would it be good enough if the size is the same and it needs to cool a 20W CPU/GPU?

That's hard to tell. But I'm not an expert.

The lower end coolers would cool 20W CPU very easily and cost ~$10€. For GPUs there are not many options for lower end GPUs.

 

 

If making a custom cooler it might cost more and be relatively inefficient is my point.

[Kilrah]

4 minutes ago, ID0 said:

But is a cooler without heatpipes as good as a cooler with heatpipes

Definitely not. Conduction through the alu thickness isn't anywhere as good as what a heatpipe can do. But the heatpipe usually brings the heat to a much larger dissipator.

 

4 minutes ago, ID0 said:

So if using just a solid block of aluminium with ridges/fins and no heatpipe, would it be good enough if the size is the same and it needs to cool a 20W CPU/GPU?

I mean a stock Intel cooler is still just a block with no heatpipes and a fan on top, and they work to 65W or so. That said they use copper for the center part for the better conduction, and they're much bigger than what you say.

[PDifolco]

6 minutes ago, ID0 said:

Hi there,

so I know that it's pretty easy to make a cooler without heatpipes, just using a CNC machine.
But is a cooler without heatpipes as good as a cooler with heatpipes if the cooler is about 6x3x8cm (WxHxL)
I would assume that this size would be too small, because you put a heatpipe into the fins to exchange the heat from CPU into air and if you only can make it about 3cm high and the heatpipe is 5mm then it has 20% less airflow / cooling area.

 

So if using just a solid block of aluminium with ridges/fins and no heatpipe, would it be good enough if the size is the same and it needs to cool a 20W CPU/GPU?

I suppose that to cool 20W any block of aluminium with  some perforation will do the trick indeed

Yet basic  aircoolers cost $10 and will be much better

[ID0]

1 minute ago, Tan3l6 said:

Not likely.

A modern dual-tower 6-7-heatpipe cooler is far above solid metal radiators in efficiency. That's why the latter are gone I believe.

So, there is a size limit on the CPU Cooler.
If you knew how big 6x3x8cm are, then you wouldn't mention a 6-7 heatpipe dual tower, so I assume American
6x3x8cm closest too it would be a portable power bank. In freedom units this would be: 2,3622 x 1,1811 x 3,14961 in

[Tan3l6]

12 minutes ago, ID0 said:

So, there is a size limit on the CPU Cooler.
If you knew how big 6x3x8cm are, then you wouldn't mention a 6-7 heatpipe dual tower, so I assume American
6x3x8cm closest too it would be a portable power bank. In freedom units this would be: 2,3622 x 1,1811 x 3,14961 in

Nah, you did not mention that the dimensions are required/max, rather you mentioned  "if the cooler is about.."

Metric system here last I heard.  

6x3x8cm  would be required max dimensions for a CPU or power bank? For CPU there should be possible retail products, for a power bank it's obviously another deal.

But really, don't mind me, maybe I misread. Edit: yeah I actually did.

[ID0]

Are there maybe small flat radiators? The smallest I've seen was for 40mm fan, a radiator for a radial fan.

 

1 minute ago, Tan3l6 said:

Nah, you did not mention that the dimensions are required/max, rather you mentioned  "if the cooler is about.."

Metric system here last I heard.

I don't want to argue your understanding of "if the cooler is about", if you think that NH D15 is close to the size of 6x3x8cm then you do you.

[Blue4130]

50 minutes ago, ID0 said:

 

so I know that it's pretty easy to make a cooler without heatpipes, just using a CNC machine.

It's easy to make a shitty cooler using a cnc. Most coolers have fins that are much thinner than what a cnc can mill/cut. Thinner fins are much more effective at dissipating heat.

[thrasher_565]

there tower coolers for like $20... you never make a better cooler for less ever...

were are we going with this?

 

heat can only travle so far the side that contatct the cpu will be hot and the top will be cool making a size a limit what limit that is thats were heatpipes come in play as it move heat from the bottom to the fins. more fins more surface area to cool.

but the heat pips have to go across the chip for best cooling now between or part thats why there are off set mounts. and each cpu has the chip in diffrant locations. some disable as well.

Edited April 26, 2024 by thrasher_565

[ID0]

5 hours ago, thrasher_565 said:

there tower coolers for like $20... you never make a better cooler for less ever...

were are we going with this?

 

heat can only travle so far the side that contatct the cpu will be hot and the top will be cool making a size a limit what limit that is thats were heatpipes come in play as it move heat from the bottom to the fins. more fins more surface area to cool.

but the heat pips have to go across the chip for best cooling now between or part thats why there are off set mounts. and each cpu has the chip in diffrant locations. some disable as well.

The limit is the available space in the device. Cool on top, at 3cm I think the top part would be hot, if it was like 15cm tall then sure. But I think that 3cm arent that tall

[thrasher_565]

5 hours ago, ID0 said:

The limit is the available space in the device. Cool on top, at 3cm I think the top part would be hot, if it was like 15cm tall then sure. But I think that 3cm arent that tall

we need more context. what is the cooler for and why another cooler wont work.

heat and mass is how it works well serface area is how you cool that mass. but making more fins the less mass it has so its a balance. if you dont have aenuff mass you need more air flow but demising return. heat dose not travel across metal evenly it will be a circal around the heat source. if you dont pull the heat away then it will heat soke and w/e cooling wont get cooled.

[freeagent]

For 20w? just glue a bunch of pennies together 

[ID0]

16 hours ago, thrasher_565 said:

we need more context. what is the cooler for and why another cooler wont work.

heat and mass is how it works well serface area is how you cool that mass. but making more fins the less mass it has so its a balance. if you dont have aenuff mass you need more air flow but demising return. heat dose not travel across metal evenly it will be a circal around the heat source. if you dont pull the heat away then it will heat soke and w/e cooling wont get cooled.

So I wanted to make a better cooler for my Steam Deck because it get really hot and I thought that making one like there are for RPIs would be good enough.
But what you say, I think there isn't much that can be done without a heatpipe.

[thrasher_565]

On 4/27/2024 at 10:54 AM, ID0 said:

So I wanted to make a better cooler for my Steam Deck because it get really hot and I thought that making one like there are for RPIs would be good enough.
But what you say, I think there isn't much that can be done without a heatpipe.

didn't say you cant make one i just dont think your make a better one then whats out there.

people replace the cooling all the time but alot of times it requires cutting the case and having it stick out. lots of people done this on a switch. but a switch can be stationary well the deck is hadheld as far as i no

 

i would have to look as the stemdeck ans see what cooling it has what what can be improved on if any...

 

if you want to make it stationary then my question is why buy a steam deck in the first place?

Edited May 4, 2024 by thrasher_565