TR Forums

Looks like cooler master made another gem with the new 812.
And for 69$ here is a review with its performance vs other coolers on IB.
http://www.hitechlegion.com/reviews/coo ... ler-review

Looks like a good cooler, but that review layout is awful. 3 videos all on separate pages. One with NOTHING but the embedded video.

vargis14 wrote:

Looks like cooler master made another gem with the new 812.
And for 69$ here is a review with its performance vs other coolers on IB.
http://www.hitechlegion.com/reviews/coo ... ler-review

The price is obscene.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a heatpipe a vertical vapor chamber? I'm not sure I understand what they're getting at with "vertical vapor chamber" technology paired with heatpipes.

I have a feeling the fan will get quite loud, if you're pushing the Ivy towards 4.9 GHz and above. Besides, any cooler will do if you're not pushing the processor too much..

DPete27 wrote:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a heatpipe a vertical vapor chamber? I'm not sure I understand what they're getting at with "vertical vapor chamber" technology paired with heatpipes.

If I'm interpreting the description and pictures correctly, it's essentially a ribbon-shaped (instead of the usual round cross section) heatpipe. It is supposed to improve cooling performance because it has a larger contact area with the aluminum fins. At least, that's the theory.

Too bad it costs about 2x what I'm willing to spend on a CPU cooler.

Edit: Gotta love the Performance section of the Conclusion. The entire section reads:

Hitech Legion wrote:

The Cooler Master TPC 812 CPU Cooler performed

And WTF does "upper mainstream/budget enthusiast market" mean, anyway? (I suppose taken in context it must mean "around 70 bucks for a CPU cooler"!)

Makes sense, its hard to call something a "pipe" when its not round. It baffles me how heatpipes work. They're ideally supposed to be operating vertically so that the liquid can run down to the base and the vapor rises to the top, away from the cpu. However, most tower-style coolers spend most of their lives with their heatpipes horizontal to the ground (and probably a bit inverted due to flexure of the mobo and such) yet they still work.

DPete27 wrote:

Makes sense, its hard to call something a "pipe" when its not round. It baffles me how heatpipes work. They're ideally supposed to be operating vertically so that the liquid can run down to the base and the vapor rises to the top, away from the cpu. However, most tower-style coolers spend most of their lives with their heatpipes horizontal to the ground (and probably a bit inverted due to flexure of the mobo and such) yet they still work.

Heatpipes intended for PC use contain a wick material which draws the liquid back to the base of the HSF regardless of orientation. I imagine they are more efficient if mounted base side down (since you've then got gravity working in your favor), and less efficient if you have a really weird PC case that mounts the motherboard upside-down.

FYI if anyone is interested in the different types of heatpipe wicks.

So yeah I bought it when I realized "DOH!" It's sitting on its side! How the hell does that work?!

Can you please enlighten me on how the wick would draw the vapor back?

chengsta wrote:

So yeah I bought it when I realized "DOH!" It's sitting on its side! How the hell does that work?!

Can you please enlighten me on how the wick would draw the vapor back?

The heated vapor is condensed back to liquid when it gets far enough from the heat source. The wick then draws the liquid back. See "capillary action" for an explanation on how the wick works. Although gravity is not needed, its still helpful. I believe tower-style heatpipes do become much less effective when arranged straight upside-down (I've never seen any enclosure where this would be possible), but they're okay on their side.

DPete27 wrote:

FYI if anyone is interested in the different types of heatpipe wicks.

Thank you for the link.
Ziyad.

Doesnt seem to have any surprises from Cooler master lately.

Zombie thread resurrection I know.
Introduction:
I was just reading about vapor chamber heat spreaders on line and then came across the Cooler master TPC-812 review over at FrostyTech. So, after reading that review I had also found this link reviewing how vapor chambers work, here...
http://celsiainc.com/blog-heat-pipes-an ... ifference/
and examples here...
http://celsiainc.com/blog-integrating-v ... heatsinks/

Conclusion:
It seems to me that Cooler Master did not have much faith in this vapor chamber technology because they put it above the heatpipes instead of between the heatpiles and the CPU. I wonder, if its possible to put a vapor chamber heat spreader beneath a regular heat pipe heatsink and get a benefit.
There are lots of cheap vapor chamber heatspreaders for server CPUs that are bonded to copper fins. But if you could remove the fins, you would have this...
http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.c ... cleID=2424
... to possibly insert between a CPU and heatsink to spread the heat more evenly across more of the heatpipes.