MSI to Debut Unique Chipset Cooling Device
Category: CPU CoolingPosted: February 29, 2008 11:24AM
Author: Nemo
Who would have thought you could use technology originally developed in the early 1800's to cool 21st century technology? That's exactly what motherboard maker MSI is planning to do with their innovative Air Power Cooler to be unveiled at CeBit next week. The mechanism is actually a Stirling engine that harnesses the heat generated by the chip to drive a fan to blow air across a heatpipe based heatsink. While using heatpipes on a cooler is certainly not new, the use of a Stirling engine is as it requires no electricity to drive the fan other than that used by the motherboard and chipset. The heat from the chip causes hot air to expand and drive a piston connected to the fan. As the heatsink cools the air inside the piston, it becomes denser and causes the piston to retract. One has to question the practicality of the application for overclockers, but the idea is certainly novel and worth a look at the site in the link for more pictures showing the device installed on a motherboard.
