Very Coooool! I've only seen sterling motors in a theoretical setting before. This is the first time I've seen a practical use for it.

Bias against Nvidia aside, the idea is a novel, yet unproven design. However, how many of us are willing to put upon the alter of theoretical mental masturbation the $200 sacrafice required to test one of these little beasts under rigorous real world trials.

Mysef, I'll rely on tried and proven copper heatsink and fan tech. Worked this long for me without a silicon smear of char leaking out from under the silver thermopaste.

Wait, what's up with the Nvidia hate? I'm using an MSI P6N Platinum (Nvidia 650i) and I love it. It doesn't do an extreme overclock, but it gets the job done well enough. I love it.

Speaking of overclock, does this mean the fan can also "scale" with overclocked processors? I would imagine it does but not to the same degree that you overclock, so this is probably only ideal for stock speeds?

I guess I did not realize that our CPU fans took so much power. Is this even close to necessary?

I think it really needs some gear reduction and a PTO connection because those crops aren't going to harvest themselves.

Wow, me want, now. That has to be the coolest thing I have ever seen. I am always facinated by cooling fans (no really exspecially ones that light up!) and this is a dream come true.

So instead of an easy to tune out whirring sound we'll be subjected to the sounds of a reciprocating piston?

It's an interesting idea but doesn't sound practical.

After closer inspection, the fan and plastic on the cooler look really cheap. It looks like a bump could knock them off.

It's a very cute idea, but I doubt they can make it mechanically reliable. There are quite a lot of moving parts in a Sterling engine and so while this can certainly be made to work, I bet it fails within a month.

Z.

@Chumas:
the stirling engine design is almost 200 years old. it's simple and proven to work.

heck, even without that fan that heatpipe-fin assembly looks like it should be enough passively cool the chipset anyway.

Guys, this isn't for the CPU. Just for the north bridge. Everyone knows that NB fans are the most annoying things ever and on most mobos they are the first thing to break. The NB probably doesn't even need the fan but if it is quiet I'm all for it.

wtf are you guys talking about overclock? this isnt made do cool an onverclocked processor, possibly it inst even made do cool a normal processor... i bet this is for low wattage ones. as for the bias against nvidia, im new here and i dont know why is that, my mainboard and graphics card have nvidia chipsets and i dont have any complaint. o_O

This is mostly a marketing gimmick, since it's just cooling the Northbridge. Most motherboard makers have passive cooling on the northbridge anyways, so it's really not necessary.

i want to see someone hook this up to a magneto so we can convert heat energy back into electricity.

as a proud owner of a MSI K9N SLi Platinum AMD motherboard,
and a MSI KT6V AMD motherboard..I can't complain.They've always worked.
They have the features I want.Never had to return a motherboard yet..

I like the idea of a cooler of this design because if it could be worked into cheaper motherboards..you might be able to use a smaller powersupply..
There are some marketing gimmicks that actually turn out pretty good..

Side windows on your computer case were probably thought of as a gimmick at one point.

It may be a gimmick, but it's cute. They should throw in a fuel-cell for the BIOS backup instead of a battery too.

or just get an apple and you dont need a fan

@akmarksman: Side windows on your computer are always a gimmick.

What's going to happen to those gears when they get full of wooly-boogers and lint?

@Weirdguy: Ohhh.. okay now it makes sense.

@akmarksman: Yeah I love my MSI too!

@daversW: Right, the G5 didn't need a fan, it needed liquid cooling. As for the current stock of Macs: no that's OK, I'd rather not get a desktop running on a mobile processor (iMac) or Xeons using FB-DIMMs.

Let's get real here, every CPU needs cooling.

sounds like a good idea

@daversW:
lol apple fanboy with absolutely no knowledge of hardware.

@willyolio: so, just like all the others then?

@daversW: Wow. Just... Wow. You do realize the hardware is nearly identical between an Apple and a PC these days, right? Ever since Apple went Intel, the only difference is that an Apple PC is sold by the same guys who make the OS.

Apple is just for people who don't like Microsoft, but don't want to learn enough to use Linux.

Anyone else notice the fan in the video is spinning the wrong way? Not exactly building my confidence in them.

I didn't realize there was such a thing as Nvidia chipset hate. I better throw my mobo out to keep up with the cool crowd!

Wow i did this in physics (AS level) a few weeks ago. We used a larger version of this. It sounds like a good, cool (no pun intended) idea.

The future is nooooooow!

No wait... Now.
Hmm... Now?

Goddamnit. Where is my flying car?

@willyolio:
I've got a scale model of one on my desk back in the shop so I know they've been around a long time. However the application in lightweight plastics isn't exactly reassuring. The model I have is brass and steel and still requires regular maintanance to prevent breakdowns.

it will it could really look good as part of a steampunk design.

It kinda looks like a flea circus.

o.k. - let me get this straight. It uses the heat to power the fan, which cools down the thing which provides the heat.

So, if it does it's job really well, the fan will stop, because there is no heat to power it...

right?

@usamaah: It's because this is a gadget site, not a "building computers" site, and they just don't know what they are talking about. Nvidia chipsets are some of the very best you can get, and MSI boards have always been very solid and reliable.

@Chumas: Do you really believe a company would put out a product that doesn't work as advertised? Oh, wait...

@tidybowl: Right. And when the proc heats up enough again, the fan will restart. And then, when the proc cools down the fan will stop. And then, when the proc heats up... It is a vicious cycle, really.

If its working to pump heat away from its heat source it won't work continuously. At best it seems like it will start and stop over and over.

@Soulxside: Nope, it's going the correct way. You always pull air away (or through) a radiator, not blow into it. Go look at the way the fan on your car works. It does look strange at first, but it is the way it should work.

@willyolio: Well, you know. daversW can't build his own Apple. And since the warranty is void when you crack one open, he'll probably remain ignorant until he's willing to take the plunge and see what's inside. Too bad Apples don't have those gimmicky side windows.

@daversW: apple machines don't have fans? ha, of course they do. remember the cube? product of brilliant apple engineering that had to be pulled because it overheated without a fan? yeah. guess what, apple machines have to obey the laws of physics too.

@Charles: Thanks Charles, I was a little confused. This was actually my first build and I thought for a second that maybe I got lucky w/ my board and chipset, but still I did some research into it. Anyway what you said makes sense.

the fan is not likely to stop as the cpu produces heat when it runs!

it will run faster underheavy load as heat increases and slowdown when load decreases!automatically wihtout any control from the mobo!

a cpu fan might only consume 1-2Watts now but in the future when cpus start using lesser and lesser power,small innovations like these can help make greener pc's!

@willyolio: Why did nobody make a silly fanboy joke yet?

@nidinp: when CPUs use less power they will produce less heat, and less heat means less need for active cooling.

And when I read daversW I assumed he was being sarcastic....

@hanswurst0815: Brilliant

@djdare: Hm, I guess that's possible but I thought daversW was serious. If it was a joke, I'm sorry daversW!

@daversW: Yeah, what Usama said right there.

It looks like a little tiny toilet sitting by your processor... Do you think it's an omen of quality? And what happens when it generates 1.41 giggawatts? Will a vortex open and suck up your MB?

Definitely a gimmick. ALL the fans in the average system use less than 5W, and the itty bitty one on the chipset probably uses less than 1/2W. Sterling enginine are fun to play with, but using a sterling engine's power to cool off its own radiator is counterproductive.

Stirling engines work using a temperature differential. You have one "hot" plate, and one "cool" (top) one. This engine is cooling its own hot plate.

Hold on.
I'm still getting my head around the whole "plastic window in the side ISN'T a gimmick" thing. -wow.

This is cute for the plastic side window crowd, but personally I don't want to hear the box or see it, let alone maintain a freaking Stirling engine that won't help the crops come in on time!

Call me old fashioned.

@I completely disagree with the freaking Its a gimmick crowd on the side window. maybe if it was windows. or crazy tinted with sapphire dust. I used my window to check the condition of my computer. its moved around a lot, often by idiots, who failed to realize that some parts are delicate. They screwed up the cpu cooler and my technologically challenged mother almost used the computer which back then had massive thermal problems with even momentary interruptions. And she noticed it was toasted. Now thats longwinded but now I use it to check my liquid cooling system, its neat and tidy but the case precludes me from seeing what I need to unless I look through the window. I can also see when I need to clean the computer, or if my younger brother filled it full of ants etc... so yeah, mine isnt a gimmick, to put it in a long winded fashion. AND I can see the POST code on my nifty nixie equipped mobo! somewhat gimmicky but I'm an IT tech so I can actually use it. Anyways sterling engines are like basic science fair fare if you get it, because little kids certainly can. It isn't difficult to get results if the task is reasonable. Do you expect the fan to have its blade tips breaking the sound barrier? Bugger off, its a NB

@strider_mt2k: this fan will only catch on if they load it up with multicolored LEDs which light up different colors based upon the temperature of the NB. Thus using way more power than a tiny regular fan.

Gimmick's FTW.

They should've made a fan powered by a hamster or a lab-rat. That would be the greenest cooler ever made!!

This looks like its based on the simple principle that heat rises... what if this is in a tower where the processor is perpedicular to the ground?

the sheer brilliance mixed with the utmost stoooopidity i'm reading here has me confused. IDK if to laugh or cry...

Why not invent a room temperature operating chip instead.

I like my side-windowed dual-SLI box in all of its internal red LED goodness.

Remember kids, if you stick to one color you're golden... unless of course you choose not to be golden and go with say... periwinkle, sage, or chartreuse. As long as you stay faithful to your sage or periwinkle you are solid, and pinstripes and polka-dots are expressly forbidden by punishment of someone boarding up your side-window.

I *KNEW* I should have patented this!