Heatpipes on coolers

[lrlcr]

Are the heatpipes on cpu coolers actually proper heatpipes or are they usually solid?

I've looked on a few websites and cant seem to find if they're just solid metal or a proper liquid-vapour heatpipes.

The reason I ask is that I'd like to try and make a passively cooled pc with passive rads with the entire system being run on solid metal or heatpipes.

 

[Woden]

I always assumed they were actual heatpipes. Would solid copper even work?

 

[lrlcr]

It would, but the speed of conduction would be slower, and you never really have that big a temperature gradient which is a pain.

Obviously proper heatpipes would be much better, but they're far harder to manufacture in my shed!

 

[Woden]

How much would it cost to get them machined profesionally?

 

[lrlcr]

A fortune in comparison, but the metal isn't the hard part, the internal wick coupled with evacuating the internals and adding a coolant would be the hard part.

Admittedly the evacuating and the coolant would be easy, but the wick is beyond my abilities.

 

[bremen1874]

A wick is only necessary if you're fighting mavity.

You can buy ready made heat pipes off the shelf.

 

[lrlcr]

I probably would be for part of the system, essentially I'd like to cool my current system completely passively with no pump...

Everything would be heatpiped with a couple of custom side panel heatsinks...

 

[bremen1874]

You used to be able to buy cases that cooled as you describe. Horribly expensive and not that effective from memory.

 

[lrlcr]

Yeah, I need to run the numbers to figure out sizes and required wattage to dissipate.

I'm not entirely sure how well it would all work, but the visual effect would be amazing!

 

[shadowscotland]

you can buy heat pipes separatly for a few places inc OcUK

The Mcubed Borg is also worth a look if your planning diy heatpipe array