Noctua prototype: Thermosiphon cooling for processors
At Computex, the Austrian manufacturer Noctua is presenting a two-phase cooler for processors that works with gravity.
An unusual sight: Until now, Noctua has only produced air coolers for processors, but the company is currently also working on liquid coolers.
(Image: c't / chh)
Noctua is working on its entry into the world of liquid coolers. There have already been several attempts at thermosiphon cooling in the PC sector, most recently the ProSiphon Elite from IceGiant a few years ago. In contrast to this two-phase cooler, in which the gas and liquid phases are fed through one tube, the Austrian manufacturer Noctua brought a prototype to the Computex IT trade fair that works with separate tubes in one circuit.
At first glance, the design hardly differs from a conventional water cooling system: there is a heat exchanger with fans, hoses and a CPU cooling block. However, thermosiphon coolers do not have a pump, as they work solely with gravity and natural convection. This avoids annoying noises and vibrations. In contrast to heat pipes, which use the capillary effect, they always work internally without wick structures.
(Image: c't / chh)
Circuit without pump drive
Noctua fills the prototype with a hydrocarbon-based coolant with a low boiling point. After the PC is switched on, the processor heats the liquid, which evaporates and then rises as a gas in a tube towards the heat exchanger. There, the medium releases the waste heat into the air via the fans, condenses and flows back to the CPU cooler via the second hose. The main difficulty in the development is to design the system in such a way that the liquid and gas phases do not flow against each other and thus unhindered in the circuit.
Whether and when the concept will result in a finished product is not yet clear. Noctua's performance target is the cooling capacity of a conventional all-in-one water cooling system. The development of a market-ready thermosiphon cooling system will probably take several years – Noctua is known for taking its time in the further development of prototypes.
Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt
Mit Ihrer Zustimmmung wird hier ein externer Preisvergleich (heise Preisvergleich) geladen.
Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen (heise Preisvergleich) übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
(chh)
