Copper Heatsink on the Rocks

Just thought that all you overclockers out there might enjoy a new project that I have just recently finished entitled: Copper Heatsink on the Rocks. This play on words makes reference to a computer being passively cooled with a wine chiller.

Pros:
-Dust free (sealed completely)
-Easy to remove cover
-No moving parts, no fans, all passive (minus the one PSU fan, I couldn't afford a passive PSU)
-Pure copper insulated heatsink that is counter-cooled by a wine chiller at 41 degrees F, allows for much OC'ing
-Currently at 91 degrees F after leaving on for 1 whole day, still counting, with no flubs (heat measured from the copper closest to the CPU itself)

I have not OC'd it yet, but eventually will after viewing how stable it is after 1 week.

To view the video, tutorial, details, pictures, etc, go to leetupload [dot] com and then go to the tutorial section, then the latest post in regards to "Copper Heatsink on the Rocks."

Hope all of you enjoy! Comments are quite welcome.

Why the aluminum foil?

It could use a lot of work. A square piece of copper would work just as well over the pennies and foil if not better.

I used the foil b/c I lacked the resources to come up with another piece of flat copper. The foil does just as well though, to quickly transfer the heat to the copper. I used the foil also because the metal part of the CPU was a small raised area that unfortunately fit in between the empty gap, thus calling the need for foil.

What other imrpovements do you see? It works great as far as I can tell, considering the fact that it runs idle 2 degrees below the outside temperature, (92).

Nice little project
I would have melted the pennies down and made a solid block.
With some filing and stoning you could have gotten it < a .001 flat.......I didn't like the open space in the pennies(alot of cooling loss there).
Years ago when I watercooled I used a little beer fridge that wife bought me.........ran my system thought that and it never went over 74* fah.
I really think if you closed that gap on the pennies/lost the foil and use arctic Sivler 5 you would see MUCH better cooling JMO
Again nice project

Many thanks for the compliment! Oh, with the tin foil, I used arctic cooler thermal paste on top, wish I had the silver like you said. I'm glad that you aren't knocking it, since you said you've done something similar yourself. I am glad to say that I got it on hack a day, but people have been pretty pessimistic about the idea, and kid of knocking it. Most of the statements are nit-picky and absurd. But I'll let you be the judge.

Oh, and the copper pennies, it was HELL to solder them together. We used silver/flux, and we had to use 2 1,500 degree blow torches to help solder it since it kept cooling off. No way we could have melted that sucker, haha. I would probably need a plasma cutter since it takes 2000 degrees to melt copper. Thanks for sharing your background about this, etc!

I would have used something like this for the base Link

It is a bit thicker but you could drill a hole in the middle for the copper pipe to fit in. Then you won't have to weld copper... all you need to do is solder it together. Then you have a nice flat solid surface.

Oh and as5... mx-1 performs better by a bit, so you actually went with better thermal paste. Well it performs better under cooler temps like wc for ex.

Yeah, that's exactly what I was looking for. But its so much more fun to deface US currency! :P But seriously, the usage of blow torches that go up to 1,500 degrees (2 I might add) and seeing zinc be shot across the room, come on, who can beat that fun!

In future modifications, I'll probably pick it up at my local Hobby Lobby.

Interesting setup bro. Not doggin ya but I think you need to re-think some of your ideas. But that's a good thing cause it means consistent improvement.

First, on the heatpipe, basic thermodynamics should be applied. That being said, heat rises. I would imagine you could easily shave a couple of degrees by making the cooler sit HIGHER than the CPU. Also, I would experiment with insulating the whole pipe.

Finally, I would DEFINITELY go for the large block of copper. I have a mid-level Thermaltake on an Athlon 64 4000+ that I don't ever turn off...I restart it from time to time but it stays on 24/7 otherwise and right now it's running at 89*F. When I run a processor intense program (we're talking 100%) it will stay below 113*F....quite cool.

EDIT: sorry, forgot to say that my rig is simply air cooled with two case fans and the CPU fan. END EDIT

Keep workin on it though! I have often dreamt of doing something like yer doing...there's gotta be a practical way of making it effective.

Good luck!