Custom cooling

[skool h8r]

Hi all,
I've been thinking about making a custom cooler for my Chipset. Now, the HR-05 i have is awesome, but it's in such an awkward place, that i can't upgrade my graphics card without getting rid of it. What i've been thinking is that i could make my own heatpiped cooler. By using longer heatpipes that are customised to my needs, maybe it's possible to make it easier to get into components based in that area.

I already have manufacturers that can make the heatpipes for me, but i don't know anywhere to get custom copper blocks from. I have access to solder and the rest of the gear, but i just can't find anywhere online that can make custom copper blocks (i.e. custom size in all dimensions). I also need another one that can make custom aluminium fins.

Does anyone know of any manufacturers that do this sort of stuff? A website is appreciated.

Back to the idea, i was thinking of having 2 or 3 heatpipes that are 12mm diameter. I'm not sure about the length yet, as i still need to measure that. I can get heatpipes up to 350mm +/- 0.5mm in length so there's no problem there. I am considering trying to get them to run up alongside the DIMM slots since there's nothing there apart from a few caps, and since the cooler is gonna be raised above the surface, there's no problem there either. Or, i could run it horizontally along the inside of the HDD cage to the front of the case where there's a 120mm fan.

I also had another idea of heatpiping my HDDs; 2 nickel plated blocks along the spare screwpoints, heatpiped up to the top, and along the top of the HDD (where the fins will be located). This way, i can not only keep the HDD a lot cooler, it means i can still utilise my 3.5" drives, as opposed the requiring the HDD's to be moved to a 5.25" drive (like the current cooling solutions). I was also thinking that if the fins are angled at 45°-20°, it would allow air in between the fins and HDD itself. It also means that more fins can be fitted in with a bigger surface area, as well as meaning that you don't have to use one whole 3.5" bay just for the cooler. It does mean that i would have to use 6mm or smaller heatpipes, but if there are 2 or four for each side, it should mean that there's still a lot of heat being transferred.

Comments?

Thanks,
Scott.

[Favu]

There will probably be a limit on how long a heatpipe can be and remain effective. Appart from that have you considered taking a standard heatpiped cooler and bending it to fit your needs or replacing the heatpipes for longer ones?

Both of those could work

[skool h8r]

Well i could bend the HR05 SLI i have now so that it runs alongside the motherboard, but i don't want to break it. I have bent it a little bit just now (i've used my original chipset cooler for now) and it seems pretty easy. But if i go too far, it means buying another, and i don't really have any money at the moment. I risk kinking the pipe or breaking the pipe.

Also, how do you replace the heatpipes in a cooler like this? AFAIK, they're soldered to the base and possibly the fins.

If i can figure out where to go with this custom cooler idea, it could turn out to be quite the cooler, and one of the best custom mods. There's the people out there that can turn a dream into reality, it's just finding them that can prove difficult.

I swear that when Epox made this board they broke the mould. They put the chipset directly next to the PCI-E ports, and the SATA ports to the other side of the cooler. They put the 24-pin PSU port about 2mm above the PCI-E 1X port. When i originally asked them about a cooler for the chipset for this mobo, they recommended Zalman, hardly the most compact coolers in the world.

[noob]

If the heatpipes are created properly (they use a low pressure refigerant inside), you can make then pretty long before they start to lose their effectiveness, for what you are using them for. Just check out th Asus boards.

As for custom blocks, probably the best thing would be to check the phone book for people who can do this. They are oftem cheaper than online retailers. In NZ we have the 'Yellow Pages' in which businesses advertise, with contact details, and its sorted by business type. You maybe want a company to give you the rough block, and drill/lapp the rest yourself, if you want to save money of course.

[keithwalton]

To bend the copper of the heatpipe without collapsing the tube heat from say a blow torch is your friend, however i dont know what will happen to the stuff on the inside so it may well all blow up in your face literally

As for working with the copper blocks and all you'll need an engineering workshop for that, there will be a few around take a look in your yellow pages for one.

You will probably want to go the CAD/CAM route using a multi axis cnc machine, they're not cheap and making just one will cost you an arm and a leg!
So erm its a vice, drill, saw and alot of elbow grease for you then

http://www.rifi.soton.ac.uk/EDMC/index.htm

they're the people at my uni which we does alot of inhouse work. i wouldnt recomend them tho! it'll cost to much and take to long.

Does your college have a workshop for resistant materials ? might be worth making some friends there