Testing a prototype pump-less AIO cooling solution

[Shawn Knight]

Quiet cooling: Hardware enthusiast der8auer recently tested a prototype liquid cooling solution from a German company called Wieland. What's unique about this AIO-style cooler is the fact that it doesn't utilize a mechanical pump to circulate liquid through the system, and instead appears to leverage thermosyphon technology.

Eliminating the mechanical pump from the AIO cooling equation does have some benefits. It removes a potential failure point from the system, will lower the amount of maintenance required long-term, and reduces overall power consumption. It also gets rid of a noise source, which could be highly attractive for those that value a quiet PC.

The benefits of a pump-less AIO would be overshadowed if it's not effective at actually cooling your CPU, however, so der8auer put it to the test.

der8auer compared the Wieland prototype to the closest comparable AIO system he had on hand – a Corsair 360mm AIO. The Wieland system utilizes a 240mm radiator, however, so he removed one of the three 120mm fans from the Corsair kit and taped off a section of the rad to simulate a 240mm radiator. It's not a perfect apples to apples comparison, but it'll have to do for now.

An AMD Ryzen 9 7950X CPU was used for testing, and to try and level the playing field as much as possible, the same fans were used on both setups. In summary, the Wieland prototype cooler was about eight degrees Celsius worse than the modified Corsair cooler, putting it in line with an average air cooler.

der8auer identified multiple points where the Wieland cooler could be improved. The cold plate is made entirely of aluminum, but a hybrid design that also utilizes copper might boost performance. Conversely, a mix of copper and aluminum would no doubt complicate manufacturing and drive up cost. A larger radiator might also boost cooling performance, as would remedying a sizable gap between the current radiator and fan mounting bracket.

It's just a prototype for now but we'd like to see what Wieland could do with a future revision to further improve cooling performance.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/102123-testing-prototype-pump-less-aio-cooling-solution.html

 

[toooooot]

It looks tougher than a typical AIO.
I think it is because the pressure is
higher due to heat.

 

[godrilla]

It looks tougher than a typical AIO.
I think it is because the pressure is
higher due to heat.

According to Derbauer it might be a 1 phase (only liquid) or 2 phase system( liquid that turns to gas via evaporation/condensation ). He also stated that the design has room for improvement at the radiator side( Closing sides or controlling the air flow) and The plate from aluminum to copper.
Now Astek patent troll can rest easy that someone recreated the wheele of aio cooling.

 

[Disiw]

I don't see the point, when using newer quality pumps like asetek gen 6 or newer/equal. Running in quiet mode is pretty much inaudible and performance stays the same as Balanced or High. Maybe 1C difference for me between Quiet and High. Which is margin of error.

 

[kira setsu]

He doesnt have a 240mm to compare it against so he taped off a part of the 360,

this seems to be a terrible test honestly.

 

[ZedRM]

He doesnt have a 240mm to compare it against so he taped off a part of the 360,

this seems to be a terrible test honestly.

It only seems that way. The test was valid.

 

[Endymio]

He doesnt have a 240mm to compare it against so he taped off a part of the 360,

this seems to be a terrible test honestly.

Correct; you can't simply put tape over a portion of a radiator and believe that it isn't still going to ... well, radiate.

I don't see why he didn't simply perform the far-more valid test of comparing it directly against air cooling, since that appears to be its primary competitor anyway.