MSI's newest mobo innovation

[twin_savage]

Check this out:
http://www.tweaktown.com/news/9051/msi_employees_stirling_engine_theory/index.html

this looks to be pretty much useless, saves maybe a watt at most.

[Metroid]

lol

The video is amazing.

It is a nice move. I hope it gives fruits. :)

Metroid.

[NickS]

LOL. That is pretty FREAKIN Sweet IMO! It is nothing but a gimmick but it's an awesome one.

[DFI pit bull]

Can I have the v8 version for my cpu:D

[Slay0r]

Aha ! the idea is brilliant, it just looks like it's not very pratical .

[Morais]

lol....nice, but I dont think it will rotate faster enough to generate a decent CFM

[Empty_Quarter]

Isn't the fan on the video spinning the wrong way?

[Yakyb]

I read about this a while ago didnt realise it would be this quick to come around
this will of course be beneficial when the processs is applied to a few components (GPU,CPU)

progress at least

[loutsos]

I hope they don't try that on an nvidia chipset.

They get so hot, could cause the fan to spin at 20000rpm.
But then the chipset would not get hot at all.
But then the fan would not spin at all.

Vicious circle for nvidia there.

[eric66]

thats what i call innovation :)

[n00b 0f l337]

Bout time, well known and smart move on their part. Low cost too.
Could easily make a case completely powered by these as long as the inner case temp is even a tiny bit higher then the case wall our outside. And this might not be anywhere near a slow moving fan; it'll speed up as chipset gets hotter. I think however the heatpipes might proove a little counterproductive vs a normal heatsink.

[Johnny Bravo]

Having had a little experience with Stirling engines I have two worries about this:

in order to maintain a good delta between the temperatures the chipset will have to run reasonably hot so the cooling is only there to maintain that temperature

The fan mechanism better be pretty robust and low friction as the initial startup motion can be difficult if it has to be self starting. Any gumming of the mechanism is seriously hamper the motion (not alot of power at this scale I'm thinking) so it would have to be kept pretty clean.

Apart from that I'm really excited that something active is being done with that waste heat :) Kudos for MSI trying this :up:

[MarlboroMan]

don`t know why, but this reminds me some old helicopter... lol
http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/104_spring2004.web.dir/Tim_Chrisman/Web%20project%20TimChrisman/Spring%20Web%20Project/sik-vs300.jpg

[n00b 0f l337]

Actually stirlings can run on fractions of a degree in delta ;)
Better would have been a cryocooler. I'd like to see heat from the NB or power requirements powering a cryocooler ;)

[Chewbenator]

MSI commented that they would probably end up adding the world’s first powerless air cooler to an Nvidia motherboard, which everyone found rather amusing.

Bwahhaha!

[Kasparz]

I love fried northbridges! This isn't exception, just wait a month or two, this sh1t gets dusty and fan can't start spinning.

[Brian MP5T]

4523535345 345234v5234c52345x WIERD

[VulgarHandle]

wow, pulling out some very old tech for new tech.... personally, i like it

regardless of the delta, it's a self-adjusting cooler, the hotter it gets the faster the fan gets, no buggy software to worry about

very smart indeed

only problem i can forsee has been stated, in that stirling motors usually need to be manually started (especially depending on starting position), that and the dust gumming up the works makes it worse

would love to see exactly how they work through this

[hollo]

haha
cool factor: 9000.001
practicality: 0.001

[[XC] gomeler]

I want a larger one for my own energy saving use with larger devices. Very cool tech though, I want to review it :D

[ZoLKoRn]

hehehe... looking so good ideal and very nice toy :D

A Stirling engine to cool the chipset by MSI

MSI offers a small prototype fun to cool a chipset based on an excellent Stirling engine (especially cycle), which has the peculiarity to operate without the use of electricity. This type of engine is driven through a hot spring here, and it's simply the higher temperature the chipset compared to the ambient air, which allows the free movement of the primary piston expansion of the air. This is obviously not very powerful, but it may be sufficient for certain things.

http://www.cooling-masters.com/images/news/200802/msi_stirling.jpg http://www.cooling-masters.com/images/news/200802/msi_stirling2.jpg

However, it must be understood that this sort of system is limited because it is a loop system is like a snake biting its own tail, to make one smile thermodynamics. Indeed, the system is designed to cool the hot spring that gives life! More chipset sees its temperature drop, the less the engine running, and therefore less ventilera it, so we arrive at a certain temperature equilibrium at a given time (self), not necessarily beneficial following its effectiveness (no data supplied) . This is not done for pure performance, it's just an exercise in style here. It can surely be sufficient to maintain a proper temperature, turning chipsets already more or less passive ...

source & Translate : Cooling-Masters (http://www.cooling-masters.com/news-744-un-moteur-stirling-pour-refroidir-le-chipset-par-msi.html)

[LuckyNV]

repost http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=178826

[SparkyJJO]

oh wooo we are saving that 0.5W used for a fan!

I don't know the ins and outs of this type of thing, but somehow using heat from a source to run a fan to cool the source down seems like circular thinking to me.

[RaZz!]

I hope they don't try that on an nvidia chipset.

They get so hot, could cause the fan to spin at 20000rpm.
But then the chipset would not get hot at all.
But then the fan would not spin at all.

Vicious circle for nvidia there.

lol, had a good laugh :D - you'll have a stop'n'go fan then! :p:

[n00b 0f l337]

Actually low friction stirlings like this won't have a problem starting, will be silent, and won't really have to worry about dust so much I don't think.

[SaiNRuB]

they should add it to their roller-coaster heatsink to power lil toy rail cars.

Its cool though, very bioshock. :)

[[XC] MarioMaster]

the idea here is not that it's this brand new power saving device - it's a gimmick and a damn good one at that, i find it very interesting myself

[iddqd]

They should make it drive a compressor, then I'd be impressed.

[VulgarHandle]

i don't think this is a case of the snake biting it's own tail... as it were

the chipset(bottom side) will still be hotter than the top side, and regardless of how cool the heatpipes get it the base will still be warmer than the top

[Shift]

like they say, a watt saved is a watt earned...

[Kasparz]

They should make it drive a compressor, then I'd be impressed.
From the heat of nVidia chipset you could drive a compressor or two :D

[vitaminc]

stupid gimmick; from a design standpoint it will not work efficiently, and given its mechanical nature, probably will fail within couple weeks.

[n00b 0f l337]

stupid gimmick; from a design standpoint it will not work efficiently, and given its mechanical nature, probably will fail within couple weeks.
From that, and not backing it up, it seems you have no idea how this works. Do some research. It doesn't matter if its .1C over ambient, that fan will spin.

[MpG]

Ha, I think I'll do a little research on this. I've seen such a setup using a TEC, but you need a fairly significant temperature differential before things can happen. If this thing can work on such a low delta... neat.

[op1e]

Dont let the Libs get ahold of this info, they'll make it mandatory. Buy up all the incandescent lite bulbs you can, and rev your engine at stoplights to increase your carbon footprint. Low tech is all nice and good, till the hampster falls off the wheel.

[apt403]

This would be pretty sweet in the server space...

Watt a fan, ~5 fans a server, like 20 servers a rack, couple hundred racks in a big data center... Pretty big energy savings in that situation.

They would have to get the fans spinning a whole lot faster for them to effectively replace the current fans though.

[saaya]

haha
cool factor: 9000.001
practicality: 0.001

yeah...

[Zytek_Fan]

But alas, the mobo will still overclock like garbage.

[g1raffe]

Seems pretty pointless to me.

[GAR]

what the hell???? lol

[3NZ0]

But alas, the mobo will still overclock like garbage.+1 :(

Great idea though, really cool. :D

[mcoffey]

Nice gimmick, neat little toy, not on my board.

andyc

[celerity]

Completely unnecessary. This is only marketing. My guess is you wont even see any temperature difference.

[[XC] gomeler]

But alas, the mobo will still overclock like garbage.

I'd say that is a very broad blanket statement. The P35 Platinum and Neo2-FR are fantastic overclockers. My Neo2-FR stomps my X38 boards in everything but Crossfire benching.

[[XC] Lead Head]

From that, and not backing it up, it seems you have no idea how this works. Do some research. It doesn't matter if its .1C over ambient, that fan will spin.

Sure it will spin, but not fast enough do anything at all, or to keep chipset temperatures sane. Good expensive steerling engines require a VERY hot flame to get any kind of power, and even then its really low amount, and I doubt this is a low friction steerling by any means, cheap plastic components, cheap nasty un-lubricated plastic gears. The bearings even look plastic! I bet this fan will work for 4 months tops before dust and its un-lubricated nature cause it to sieze.

I'd much rather have a big huge non-heatpipe passive sink, or a smaller sink with a slow spinning fan. This is just a way for MSI to markup boards another $10-15 because they are "Energy Effecient"

[hollo]

they should sell them seperately... i'd put one on a southbridge for the lulz. it'd be even cooler if it had a little piston that pumped up and down
edit: oh wait, it does...

[sjohnson]

Rube Goldberg would have been proud.

[Gen]

nice idea, too bad we are still in the who has the biggest rollercoaster marketing phase.

[awdrifter]

Why make something so complicated to just cool a chipset? What's wrong with using 1-2w to power a fan? This is pretty pointless imo.

[Leeghoofd]

At least someone want's to innovate and gets rid of those damn heatpipes... I want some tests on that nifty fan device thingy

[dinos22]

ahahaha did anyone notice the fan spin the wrong way

look at the fins on one and other side of the heatsink >> my logic tells me air is supposed to blow over the tall horizontal fins where the heatpipes are attached

LOL
MSI has some seriously useless technologies but this one tops it in many respects