fanless heat-pipe HTPC

Jazz and Baroque · « **on:** 29 Jul 2012, 10:20 pm »

Hi,
I've been developing plans to build a fanless, heat-pipe cooled HTPC. I was going to start with an H10 case from

http://www.hd-plex.com/

but I have been waiting for months and there is still no fixed arrival date for the H10 case.

I'm looking for a case to support a micro-ATX board with two SSD drives, at least one expansion card slot and, of course, heat-pipe cooling, no fans.

Does anyone know other sources for such a case? I don't have a machine shop where I could construct a heat-pipe assembly.

Thanks,
Mike

jqp · « **Reply #1 on:** 30 Jul 2012, 07:43 pm »

That seems to be a very expensive case that gives you a unique look and heat-pipe cooling. Other than that I am not sure what the benefits are. Heat pipe cooling is a neat concept, but not sure it is the critical factor for cooling an HTPC.

I assume you will not have a video card since it could not fit in the case, and instead will rely on the integrated graphics of the appropriate cpu?

You can buy a fanless powersupply and probably find a good case that would certainly fall within the same budget.

Jazz and Baroque · « **Reply #2 on:** 31 Jul 2012, 01:46 pm »

Okay. But how would I cool the CPU? I don't want to get an Atom board. I would like a dual-core i3 Sandy Bridge. What are the passive cooling alternatives for the CPU other than the heat-pipes running to the sinks on the side of the case?

bpape · « **Reply #3 on:** 31 Jul 2012, 01:52 pm »

Heat pipes are becoming more and more popular. There are active fans that are very quiet that would handle an i3 but not in a short case like that.

Bryan

Bizarroterl · « **Reply #4 on:** 31 Jul 2012, 10:57 pm »

Check out www.atechfabrication.com. They have what you're looking for, but they are expensive.

lowtech · « **Reply #5 on:** 1 Aug 2012, 02:05 am »

Quote from: Jazz and Baroque on 31 Jul 2012, 01:46 pm

What are the passive cooling alternatives for the CPU other than the heat-pipes running to the sinks on the side of the case?

Here's one: http://www.acousticpc.com/nofan_cr-95c_copper_icepipe_fanless_cpu_cooler.html

You may not save much money compared to your heatsink case but you could certainly fit several standard cards into the case that would house this beast.