Electronics > Projects, Designs, and Technical Stuff

DC load using a CPU cooler

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NiHaoMike:
Those packaged water cooling kits don't perform that much better than good heatsinks, certainly not enough to offset their cost. They're really designed for those who want water cooling for the "cool" factor and compact machines that don't have the space for a big heatsink.

Something that really works in our favor is that power MOSFETs withstand higher temperatures than CPUs, and power resistors and SiC FETs even higher. Just beware that for the heatpipe coolers, beyond a certain temperature (somewhere above 100C, well above what most CPUs are rated for), the vapor pressure will get very high and could cause the tubing to burst.

Mr.B:
@SeanB - Yip, aware of that. Thats why I would maintain electrical isolation for the radiator.

@NiHaoMike - Thanks and yes, I would not want the waterblock exceeding about 90 degrees C.
The main reason for using a watercooler is to reduce the size of the enclosure that is required as you mentioned. The A30 is huge.

It would be nice if TiN noticed this thread. He appears to have loads of experience with cooling... being a (somewhat) professional overclocker.
(I am not rude enough to PM him)

Jeroen3:
Those water coolers don't perform much better. Instead, they excel in a transporting the generated heat over a distance.
Where air heatsinks transport the energy a few centimeters away before convection to air. Watercoolers can do tens of centimeters.
Very useful when you're putting your project in a desktop case.

Unfortunately electrical isolation pads directly on the fets severely reduce thermal performance. Especially short peak performance or impulse load changes.

Mr.B:
Yes, i have seen the performance specs on various 'review' sites.
I am not expecting the watercoolers to be much better than a good quality standard fan cooled unit.

My DC Load will be in a desktop case and the water cooler is slightly more compact than something like an A30.
The thermal efficiency between FET case and cooler should be better as I intend to solder the FETS directly to the cooler. (As I said above)
The cooler face is flat copper. Fairly easy reflow job.

NiHaoMike:
If you're looking for great cooling in a small heatsink, look at rack server heatsinks.

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