Passively Cooled PC Uses Giant Heat Sink for a Case

In the pursuit of a passively cooled PC with no fans, Ville "Willek" Kyrö happened upon a solution ingenious in its simplicity: make the entire case a giant heat sink. A whole bunch of custom rigging later, his Opteron-powered machine was a success—ignoring that the case weighed over 44 pounds.

Project: Passive [Metku.net]

[#1 posted by Anonymous , March 5, 2008 7:04 PM]

Zalman already created cases like this this several years ago. (And you can buy them!)

http://www.zalman.co.kr/ENG/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=116

and the smaller, saner version:
http://www.zalman.co.kr/ENG/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=186

Now the only issue is making them cost less...

[#2 posted by dculberson , March 5, 2008 7:57 PM]

Awe-SUM!!!

[#3 posted by strider_mt2k , March 6, 2008 4:05 AM]

WOW
That was an interesting read.

I've had to deal with maintaining electronics in environments where sheet metal work and other fabrication was happening close by, and yes it does suck when a tiny piece of something screws up the works.

I watched a tiny trimmed-off piece of metal sail across a sheet metal shop and go into a hole in a control box for an industrial punch.
One in a million shot.

Of course the piece came right back out again. -it was being pushed by all the arcing and smoke.

Projects like this that aren't entirely successful are still good to learn from, and the thing was industrial-style cool looking to be sure!

[#4 posted by Jake von Slatt , March 6, 2008 7:42 AM]

That looks expensive!

I made one a couple of years ago with Home Depot parts:

http://vonslatt.com/proj-cc4.shtml

I did have to add one fan running at half voltage to cool the Northbridge, but the CPU and PSU were cooled purely through the Thermosiphon effect.

[#5 posted by Jake von Slatt , March 6, 2008 7:53 AM]

OK, I clicked through and actually read the article, I take back the "expensive" comment - the guy's a Maker Mench!

[#6 posted by w000t , March 6, 2008 1:30 PM]

I'm working on a passive-aggressively cooled PC in which the case is made out of a proprietary mix of guilt, blame, and doubt. So far, I've achieved some small success by repeatedly asking my motherboard, "Is it getting hotter in here?"

[#7 posted by clockwork , March 6, 2008 1:44 PM]

What a fantastic case (the Zalman that is)! Some of the features on there, even beyond the passive cooling, are pretty rare. the casters, the pretty HD tray, even the handles on top, automotive aluminum. I wish I had known about this before I got my Temjin Silverstone.

[#8 posted by Songe , March 7, 2008 11:13 PM]

Pass Labs Aleph 3 Amplifier:

http://calab.kaist.ac.kr/~cgkim/audio/amp/zen/www.passlabs.com/images/a3_lg.jpg

[#9 posted by Anonymous , March 12, 2008 1:05 PM]

Here is another fanless, passively-cooled case available for purchase:

http://atechfabrication.com/products/mini_client_2500.htm