Kickstarted - Calyos NSG S0 Fanless Chassis With Phase Change Cooling

[Raevenlord]

Kickstarted pieces of tech aren't usually covered here, but knowing the community, I'd say this is an interesting take on traditional cooling systems. I, for one, know how much I loathe the sound of spinning fans - but I think I'm in the majority here. And this case by Calyos promises to put an end to all of those, in a much cleaner, environmental-friendly way that doesn't involve dipping your thousands of dollars worth of hardware in something resembling cooking oil.





The production chassis is designed by France's modding duo WaterMod, which improved upon the original open-frame concept design both in terms of performance and aesthetics. The usage of Phase Change cooling through two cooling blocks - one for the GPU, another for the CPU) makes away with fans, pumps, water, and any other assorted cooling techniques that involve calling upon the decibel gods.



At time of writing, 124,490€ have already been pledged out of a 150,000€ goal. The entrance fee for this chassis is 549€ (at time of writing, only 94 out of a total of 200 units being sold at this "Early Bird" Special price are available; the "Super Early Bird" level at 479€ is all sold out already). For that pricing, you can shave from your investment any amount of fans, AIOs, or custom liquid-cooling loops that might be thinking of investing in - those are rendered obsolete by this chassis.

Whispers: and if you want to spend around 7,999€ for one of these babies so you can create your own design from scratch... they even give you the chance to do so.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[HM_Actua1]

this looks almost like a good idea. Except no passive air over the MB's and it's VRM's along with the VGA and its' VRM's ......that MB is going to cook.

 

[ZeppMan217]

So, it's a big ass radiator? It's open too - doubles as a dust collector and room heater?

 

[Claudio]

this looks almost like a good idea. Except no passive air over the MB's and it's VRM's along with the VGA and its' VRM's ......that MB is going to cook.

Exact!!!

 

[FPSPusher]

So, it's a big ass radiator? It's open too - doubles as a dust collector and room heater?

With all respect, most of our computers are already room heaters and dust collectors as they are. I like this design except it's kinda big and bulky.

 

[VSG]

I hate to be that guy but.. *phase

 

[Air]

I think that's very interesting. But i personally would prefer a version much smaller with slower spinning radiator fans.

 

[AsRock]

With all respect, most of our computers are already room heaters and dust collectors as they are. I like this design except it's kinda big and bulky.

Yeah but this would be a nightmare to clean, how ever looks kinda cool.

 

[Fx]

So, it's a big ass radiator? It's open too - doubles as a dust collector and room heater?

Yes, it will collect dust just as anything does, but it wouldn't be anywhere near the scale that your typical workstation gets. This is simply because there isn't intake fans drawing air in. Less air in is less dust deposited over time.

I actually kind of like this case. It has a nice look to it if I ever get back to caring about showcasing my gaming rig which I doubt will ever happen.

 

[PLAfiller]

Pure awesomeness right there.

 

[pat-roner]

So, it's a big ass radiator? It's open too - doubles as a dust collector and room heater?

Every single PC is a room-heater

 

[Franzen4Real]

I'm digging the slide out drink holders in image #5. They are even oriented on the correct sides of the case for my desk set up.

 

[Mescalamba]

Phase change?

And compressor is.. where?

Seems tad bit too small to be effective TBH. In case you wonder how these things work or how to build one, I suggest http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/ ..

This seems different to what I saw tho..

 

[NBH]

I don't understand why it has space for 5 fans when it is fanless?

 

[dorsetknob]

Sack the ....... where is the proof reader....where is the overseer with the Corrections whip

And oh my god look
Last edited by a moderator: Today at 4:51 PM
sorry must do better moderator (you know who you are )

 

[natr0n]

Hey it's spelled Phase.

 

[ironwolf]

Fase? Sounds like a hipster/snooty way of saying phase.

 

[Raevenlord]

Fase? Sounds like a hipster/snooty way of saying phase.

Not so hipster, though snooty is up for grabs: that's how we Portuguese do it

Thanks to everyone for the humorous corrections And thanks @TheLostSwede for being the first to bring it up

 

[Steven B]

I have one of these, so they are close to selling large scale beyond kickstarter. They also have teamed with vendors and the like, I wouldn't call them a Kick Starter project, that is probably a better source of investment capital for them than taking in private investors.

 

[ty_ger]

Phase change?

And compressor is.. where?

You don't need a compressor to make an chemical element change back and forth between liquid and gas states. All you need is an atmosphere (or other source of pressure), heat/energy, and the choice of the correct chemical element for your application.
You have heard of a vapor changer and/or heat pipe before, correct?

The powered (compressor, electrical, or combustion) phase change coolers are for creating cooling below ambient temperature. This phase change cooler acts more like your traditional water cooler to create cooling above ambient temperature. The phase change is used to create efficiency and a natural flow.

When I grew up, my parents had a refrigerator which was powered by nothing more than a burning kerosene flame. The flame caused a phase change with a strong enough upward flow of vapor in the tube, that it had a enough high-side and low-side pressure to cool items in the refrigerator to sub-ambient temperature. Google refrigeration if you don't understand "evaporator", "condenser", "expansion valve", and how any source with enough energy can make a specially designed refrigerator of enough size work.

For what it is worth, I have owned 2 sub-zero cooling phase change coolers of the type you originally referred to. I am aware of them and understand your question.

 

[Steven B]

Phase change?

And compressor is.. where?

Seems tad bit too small to be effective TBH. In case you wonder how these things work or how to build one, I suggest http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/ ..

This seems different to what I saw tho..

A lot of GPUs use a vapor chamber and heat pipes, and they way they transfer heat is technically phase change, but yea i know what you mean in regards to the phase change units we are used too which are basically re-purposed ACs with their evaporators changed into blocks.

 

[Blueberries]

First, let me apologize, I have an immature understanding of what this technology is because the article doesn't say much...

There is no zero-fan solution.

It does not exist. The most important part of any closed system is airflow. There are high-pressure and low-pressure systems, but there has to be efficient airflow or the case will build heat. The temperatures of the GPU and CPU are important, they should have thermal sensors, and they should be monitored and cooled effectively, but they are not the end-all when it comes to cooling. At the very least, there will be a fan that exhausts hot air from the case (as would be the most efficient option in a single-fan solution).

That being said, fan-less chassis are not a new concept, Streacom is a great example. Two heatsinks does not make something "phase-changing," new, or unique. There are still very inaudible solutions that are vastly superior to such a product.

 

[Sasqui]

I'm just interested in the multiple drink holders

 

[yogurt_21]

so...they want to get into the market that asetek abandoned because there was no money in it... ok there.

I still have a vapochill. While able to hit cub zero temps I kept having to mod it to fit newer sockets, then as time has gone on the gains for phase change have evaporated. Leaving it a hair better for overclocking than air cooling. At the maintenance, setup, and initial investment, that just doesn't cut it.

I personally will never understand the push for complete rig silence. I value performance and silence just isn't where that is.

Slap an ssd into a Shuttle DS67U and it's completely silent... with low end performance on cpu and lowend onboard gpu performance...

same like a prius under 5 mph its silent...and slow...


trying to make highend components silent is only going to reward you with heat...and high amounts of it.

 

[ty_ger]

There is no zero-fan solution.

It does not exist. The most important part of any closed system is airflow. There are high-pressure and low-pressure systems, but there has to be efficient airflow or the case will build heat. The temperatures of the GPU and CPU are important, they should have thermal sensors, and they should be monitored and cooled effectively, but they are not the end-all when it comes to cooling. At the very least, there will be a fan that exhausts hot air from the case (as would be the most efficient option in a single-fan solution).

You are wrong. It does exist. It is right in front of you. It has been created, has been tested by them, and it has been tested by third parties. Additionally, this is not the first fanless computer to be created and used. The only notable thing here is how well it works and that it can be a powerful computer and still can be fanless. Other fanless computers in the past tended to be low-performance or have their performance reduced below stock.

To make it easier for your understanding: does your phone have a fan? No. It is a computer. How can it work without a fan?

Heat is transferred by more than one method. But, regarding airflow alone, hot air rises. You will see the way they arranged the heatsinks allows the hot air to rise upward and naturally draw cooler air in and up from the bottom. It works on its own without a fan. It has been tested for days on end using high performance components, works well, and often cools better than the stock air coolers.

The other components on the motherboard and GPU PCB, on the other hand, I wonder how long they will last without a low-speed fan blowing up from the bottom. It has been proven to work; that is not the question. The question is: I wonder how hot the VRM gets and whether it will contribute significantly to reduced life.

There are fanless PSUs which you can buy as well, in case you were wondering how to make a whole computer fanless.

trying to make highend components silent is only going to reward you with heat...and high amounts of it.

Well, they did it and it cools the cores better than the stock air cooler. So, what's your point now? The rest of the PCB and VRM of the motherboard and GPU, on the other hand, I wonder about.