i had that idea for some time, for complete passive cooling of the psu. it came to my mind when i saw a test in the german c't of a silent pc (pentium 4 something), that had absolutely no fans, just large heatsinks and heatpipes. i thought this could be easily done, if the components that need to be cooled would be in the right place.. for example (maybe stupid, but anyway), the cpu on the back of the mainboard, so it would touch the case, and one could install a really large heatsink (like the high-end amplifiers have) on the outside of the case!
but for the psu, one could just unsolder the hot components (like in the psu water cooling article) and put some cables inbetween so you can put them where it's best for cooling!! like in the example above, put a large heatsink on the outside of the case, and cool all the hot psu components with it.
i didnt try it, since my pc (and psu) is already silent enough (here some photos) (and because i'll get a new case soon, would have to do everything again), but i think it's a good and cheap way to get a fan-less psu!
anyone tried this already? any thoughts?
idea for fanless psu
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PassiveMan
- Posts: 31
- Joined: Mon Jan 27, 2003 4:48 pm
- Location: London, UK
Re: idea for fanless psu
How would you put any PCI or AGP graphics card that way? The HS would have to be very very big and tall. Then this defeats the object, because less heat wil be transferred to the case itself. The case would also have to be aluminium if it was to make any real difference.quix wrote:the cpu on the back of the mainboard, so it would touch the case, and one could install a really large heatsink (like the high-end amplifiers have) on the outside of the case!
It's a real shame that aluminium cases don't have some kind of HS/heatpipe with a arm that is attached to the case itself and then you could just use it as a massive HS.
I don't quite understand what you mean with the PS, but if you are thinking of attaching the HS or removing the HS on the PSU and attaching it to the case itself, I heard this will give you a electric shock everytime you touch the case. Ouch!
just the cpu would be on the back of the board, the rest would stay as it is now. it was an idea, it's not possible at the moment, there are no such boards. maybe its inpossible to build such a board, because of the way the contacts are on the cpu and how they have to be routet to the northbridge on the mainboard.
about the psu. you unsolder the transistors, the power-regulators whatever that needs to be cooled, basicly unsolder the stuff that is mounted on the heatsink. then, put cables inbetween, solder it on the pcb of the psu and the transistor/power-regulator/whatever the way it was connected before unsoldering. now, you can put those transistors/power-regulators/whatever where it's best for cooling (screw it on the inside of the case, and on the outside a really large heatsink).
about that shock, could be true with some psu's, but i dont have such problem with my psu, i put a large heatsink over the smaller ones inside the psu, and touching it doesnt give me a shock.
about the psu. you unsolder the transistors, the power-regulators whatever that needs to be cooled, basicly unsolder the stuff that is mounted on the heatsink. then, put cables inbetween, solder it on the pcb of the psu and the transistor/power-regulator/whatever the way it was connected before unsoldering. now, you can put those transistors/power-regulators/whatever where it's best for cooling (screw it on the inside of the case, and on the outside a really large heatsink).
about that shock, could be true with some psu's, but i dont have such problem with my psu, i put a large heatsink over the smaller ones inside the psu, and touching it doesnt give me a shock.