19 October 2008



When I shut down my computers in my workroom there is an strange silence. It’s nice but feels strange since there is usually the whir of computer fans in the background. I have often though it would be nice to locate the computers remotely and simply have a monitor, keyboard and mouse in the room for each system. This passive cooling idea is interesting but you will never see this in an inexpensive off the shelf system since it would increase the cost tremendously. A small heat sink with a high speed fan is a much lighter and cheaper method of removing the heat from our modern heat producing systems.

"When designing passive cooling, first thing you have to have is lots of surface area to dissipate the heat that a modern computer produces. The second thing to take into account is the airflow. Without fans, the airflow rests solely on convection that is a very low force. This means that the places the air must go, must be open, and clear of obstacles. Convection means that hot air goes up. This would suggest that the heatsinks are lined vertically. This in turn, suggests that the case be modeled like a tower."

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