7 ms·

GE develops ultra-thin, almost-silent cooler for next-gen laptops and tablets

60 points by Selfcommit 14y ago

yock 14y ago
I assume though that this doesn't help with the issue of exchanging the air inside the chassis. For that you still would need fans, else these new component coolers would just suck back in the hot air they expelled.
- andyjsong 14y ago
  Maybe they need to install multiple coolers in a sequence to the entry of the exhaust and intake? So its like you have a guided air flow with these coolers as boosters to push air in 4 possible directions to the exhaust port. Manufacturers will probably have to make sure the chassis of the gadget is air tight to increase efficiency.
ilyasimenko 14y ago
Looks cool, but how does it differ from this - http://www.murata.com/products/micromechatronics/index.html http://www.murata.com/products/micromechatronics/index.html ?
- nameless_noob 14y ago
  The inlet and outlet direction, and it's size. The GE ones are roughly 6cm x 6 cm. These murata ones are 2cm by 2cm. http://www.digikey.ca/product-search/en?FV=fff40012,fff80051,fffc01ea&chp=0 http://www.digikey.ca/product-search/en?FV=fff40012,fff80051... Damn, I think I found myself a christmas present. Pity it's so small though. I'll have to look at some numbers and see if it's good enough to cool a desktop's cpu heat sink.
lazyjones 14y ago
I'm (still) hoping that next-gen laptops and tablets won't need any fans (or "almost silent" coolers). My tablet is already completely fanless and quiet, and so is my Dell Mini 9 ...
- wtallis 14y ago
  Laptops should still have fans for when they're plugged in and have the power available to ramp up clock speeds.
  - slurgfest 14y ago
    Then why shouldn't tablets, or phones?
    - mieubrisse 14y ago
      I feel adding fans to a tablet or phone would somewhat defeat the goal of a small, portable computing device as fans need space. We'll always have the tradeoff between computing power and size, and tablets and phones favor the size side.
    - wtallis 14y ago
      Well, for starters, tablets and phones aren't generally equipped with connectors and cables that can supply enough power. Charging over USB limits you to 25W at most, but laptops generally come with power bricks to supply two or three times that, and desktop-replacement notebooks go much higher than that.
- mtgx 14y ago
  Exactly. We already have silent and fanless tablets so I'm not sure why GE would be so troubled to get "almost silent" coolers. How can the Dell Mini 9 be fanless, though? I don't think any Atom processor besides the smartphone-only Medfield is fanless. My old EeePC is also quite noisy when loading stuff, and it gets quite hot, too.
  - SkyMarshal 14y ago
    Some of us want the highest performance CPU and GPU possible in our laptop, but that requires a fan, but a silent fan would be a real value add over the current ones. Personally I'm happy to hear this, hope it makes it way into production laptops soon.
csours 14y ago
I wonder how the vibration will work out. I'm sure they have it figured out on new installations, but what happens after a crumb or dust bunny gets wedged up against one side of this thing; or after it gets a bit off-balance.
BuddhaSource 14y ago
Thank you GE, wait for the Chinese version to come out, who knows they would be already shipping them on mainstream products.
wlesieutre 14y ago
Does this still work when it has a few pieces of dust stuck inside? They take up space and make noise, but fans seem like they'd be a lot safer unless you're filtering air on the way in.

60 points by Selfcommit 14y ago

yock 14y ago

I assume though that this doesn't help with the issue of exchanging the air inside the chassis. For that you still would need fans, else these new component coolers would just suck back in the hot air they expelled.

andyjsong 14y ago
Maybe they need to install multiple coolers in a sequence to the entry of the exhaust and intake? So its like you have a guided air flow with these coolers as boosters to push air in 4 possible directions to the exhaust port. Manufacturers will probably have to make sure the chassis of the gadget is air tight to increase efficiency.

ilyasimenko 14y ago

Looks cool, but how does it differ from this - http://www.murata.com/products/micromechatronics/index.html http://www.murata.com/products/micromechatronics/index.html ?

nameless_noob 14y ago
The inlet and outlet direction, and it's size. The GE ones are roughly 6cm x 6 cm. These murata ones are 2cm by 2cm. http://www.digikey.ca/product-search/en?FV=fff40012,fff80051,fffc01ea&chp=0 http://www.digikey.ca/product-search/en?FV=fff40012,fff80051... Damn, I think I found myself a christmas present. Pity it's so small though. I'll have to look at some numbers and see if it's good enough to cool a desktop's cpu heat sink.

lazyjones 14y ago

I'm (still) hoping that next-gen laptops and tablets won't need any fans (or "almost silent" coolers). My tablet is already completely fanless and quiet, and so is my Dell Mini 9 ...

wtallis 14y ago
Laptops should still have fans for when they're plugged in and have the power available to ramp up clock speeds.
- slurgfest 14y ago
  Then why shouldn't tablets, or phones?
  - mieubrisse 14y ago
    I feel adding fans to a tablet or phone would somewhat defeat the goal of a small, portable computing device as fans need space. We'll always have the tradeoff between computing power and size, and tablets and phones favor the size side.
  - wtallis 14y ago
    Well, for starters, tablets and phones aren't generally equipped with connectors and cables that can supply enough power. Charging over USB limits you to 25W at most, but laptops generally come with power bricks to supply two or three times that, and desktop-replacement notebooks go much higher than that.
mtgx 14y ago
Exactly. We already have silent and fanless tablets so I'm not sure why GE would be so troubled to get "almost silent" coolers. How can the Dell Mini 9 be fanless, though? I don't think any Atom processor besides the smartphone-only Medfield is fanless. My old EeePC is also quite noisy when loading stuff, and it gets quite hot, too.
- SkyMarshal 14y ago
  Some of us want the highest performance CPU and GPU possible in our laptop, but that requires a fan, but a silent fan would be a real value add over the current ones. Personally I'm happy to hear this, hope it makes it way into production laptops soon.

csours 14y ago

I wonder how the vibration will work out. I'm sure they have it figured out on new installations, but what happens after a crumb or dust bunny gets wedged up against one side of this thing; or after it gets a bit off-balance.

BuddhaSource 14y ago

Thank you GE, wait for the Chinese version to come out, who knows they would be already shipping them on mainstream products.

wlesieutre 14y ago

Does this still work when it has a few pieces of dust stuck inside? They take up space and make noise, but fans seem like they'd be a lot safer unless you're filtering air on the way in.