Created or modified your very own cooler

[P4-630]

Is there anyone who modified there CPU or GPU cooler or perhaps someone has machined there own waterblocks if you have access to cnc machinery.
(with modified I don't mean attached/replaced a fan)

I'm interested to know if there are people who did this and ofcourse interested in the cooling performance results!

Just a crazy idea maybe, but you could replace the aluminium fins from a cooler and replace them with copper fins, ofcourse you need the time, the right tools and skills for that, but it is not impossible to do.

Is there anyone who tried such?
If you did, how did you do it and how does it perform after the modification?

For example:
Lets say you have a (spare) Xigmatex cpu cooler laying around

And you remove the aluminium fins which you would replace with 1mm thick copper fins..

http://www.whimsie.com/copper sheet.html#anchor35030

*If you don't have the right tools or skills, please don't try this!!

 

[P4-630]

No one?

 

[AddSub]

I never tried anything that complex. Replacing the fins that is. Cutting and modifying them? Sure. But I never tried adding/replacing any. Most of the mods I did had to do with machining various heatsinks or materials to fit onto platforms they were not made for. Examples: fitting a server heatsink onto a GPU, fitting a CPU heatsink onto a NB IC, fitting an older Intel-only heatsink onto a AMD CPU, and similar.

Anyways, I don't think the gains would be that great if the fins were copper. It is true that copper has certain benefits over aluminum, but I think you would gain better results by simply attaching a 120mm 130CFM fan onto that spare Xigmatek, or even two 130CFM fans. (push+pull) Also, adding more pipes and more fins would quite probably have a greater effect than just changing the material of the fins.

 

[erocker]

I haven't tried it, but soldering each individual fin to the heatpipes would probablly help it out. I would think the holes for the copper would need to be punched out and not drilled so that there is a gap between the fins.

 

[P4-630]

As there are some heatsinks around that have copper fins, the downside of a cooler with (too thick) copper fins is that they stay hot and they warm up your case unlike a cooler with aluminium fins cools down very quickly.

You would have a very good cooler if it would use very thin copper fins.

I would think the holes for the copper would need to be punched out and not drilled so that there is a gap between the fins.

Yes you need the right tools (or machinery) and skills for that, but it is not impossible to do, but you could use some spacers or create spacers from thin aluminium/copper pipe that would just be a little larger in diameter then the heatpipes.

 

[P4-630]

I never tried anything that complex. Replacing the fins that is. Cutting and modifying them? Sure. But I never tried adding/replacing any. Most of the mods I did had to do with machining various heatsinks or materials to fit onto platforms they were not made for. Examples: fitting a server heatsink onto a GPU, fitting a CPU heatsink onto a NB IC, fitting an older Intel-only heatsink onto a AMD CPU, and similar.

Anyways, I don't think the gains would be that great if the fins were copper. It is true that copper has certain benefits over aluminum, but I think you would gain better results by simply attaching a 120mm 130CFM fan onto that spare Xigmatek, or even two 130CFM fans. (push+pull) Also, adding more pipes and more fins would quite probably have a greater effect than just changing the material of the fins.

It's more the idea of that you would have created/modified your cooler which would make it an unique cooler which could perform even better then the original design.

 

[AddSub]

It's more the idea of that you would have created/modified your cooler which would make it an unique cooler which could perform even better then the original design.

Oh, definitely. There is a certain amount of pleasure to be had when working on such projects even when final results are sometimes not what was expected.

 

[Fitseries3]

i work part time at my friends machine shop. we have made some pretty nice stuff so far and i am currently working on a few waterblocks that i wont speak of. i do have my dtek acrylic tops for sale currently.

 

[P4-630]

i work part time at my friends machine shop. we have made some pretty nice stuff so far and i am currently working on a few waterblocks that i wont speak of. i do have my dtek acrylic tops for sale currently.

Custom designed and CNC machined waterblocks?

 

[Fitseries3]

yup. thats all i will say though.

 

[P4-630]

yup. thats all i will say though.

Thats pretty cool fitseries, maybe you could post some pics later on then?

 

[Fitseries3]

i will. i need to sell these dtek tops in order to finance the new projects.

you can see them here

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=61041

 

[P4-630]

i will. i need to sell these dtek tops in order to finance the new projects.

Thanks!
And did you design the blocks by yourself?
Designed/tested with cad software?

 

[Fitseries3]

the top was designed by me and my machinist friend. the dtek copper base is perfect already so no need to change it. if you look a few pages in you'll see the final verion that im selling.

 

[caveman_1990]

Replacing your aluminuim fin into copper fin will be very hard if you want to make a good contact on the heatpipe i.e you will have to soldier each individual fin onto each of the six heatpipe. Trust me you do not want to solder that many fins at that many places. Just look at my case mod, http://www.techpowerup.com/gallery/682.html. Look at the close up shot of the cooler after it has been soldered, considering that my cooling mod only has 6 joints, my one is like a piece of cake compare to what you have to go through. Just the soldering part took me hours and hours.

If I were you I would measure and drill six individual holes on each of the copper fin, push the fins in and use a tool to use for the gaping distance (I would use a toothpick) and then heat and feed the solder it and continoue the process. I can gurantee that the after product will not be as nice as what you tihnk you will get lots of running soldering, you will be just sitting there heating that cooler for a long time. That is what happen to mine one. Unless you are doing a very extreme moding like mine heatsink into a water block than you will not get a huge temp differnce.

It has been a long long time since I last post on this forum and since then I have done a few more cooling mods. I got myself 2 aluminium block from two TEC cooling mini fridge and I drill out the water path in a S shape pattern. The end result is that I made myself custom water blocks for CPU and GPU works like a charm cooler then even the expensive water block.

 

[P4-630]

@ Fitseries3, perhaps a tip:

http://www.3d-cam.com/materials/polycarbonate.asp
http://www.dynalabcorp.com/technical_info_polycarbonate.asp

Polycarbonate

 

[Fitseries3]

a tip would be for someone who doesnt already have one

 

[P4-630]

Replacing your aluminuim fin into copper fin will be very hard if you want to make a good contact on the heatpipe i.e you will have to soldier each individual fin onto each of the six heatpipe. Trust me you do not want to solder that many fins at that many places. Just look at my case mod, http://www.techpowerup.com/gallery/682.html. Look at the close up shot of the cooler after it has been soldered, considering that my cooling mod only has 6 joints, my one is like a piece of cake compare to what you have to go through. Just the soldering part took me hours and hours.

If I were you I would measure and drill six individual holes on each of the copper fin, push the fins in and use a tool to use for the gaping distance (I would use a toothpick) and then heat and feed the solder it and continoue the process. I can gurantee that the after product will not be as nice as what you tihnk you will get lots of running soldering, you will be just sitting there heating that cooler for a long time. That is what happen to mine one. Unless you are doing a very extreme moding like mine heatsink into a water block than you will not get a huge temp differnce.

It has been a long long time since I last post on this forum and since then I have done a few more cooling mods. I got myself 2 aluminium block from two TEC cooling mini fridge and I drill out the water path in a S shape pattern. The end result is that I made myself custom water blocks for CPU and GPU works like a charm cooler then even the expensive water block.

Pretty impressive work you did with this Zalman cooler!

 

[Fitseries3]

yeah.. caveman is sick! i remember when he first did that. it was all over the different sites.

 

[P4-630]

the top was designed by me and my machinist friend. the dtek copper base is perfect already so no need to change it. if you look a few pages in you'll see the final verion that im selling.

Did you design this within any specific dimension tolerances?

 

[Konceptz]

I've lapped my ultra 120 extreme as well as my quad core. The lapping on the chip dropped my temps on all 4 cores by 12 degrees under 100% load. After i lapped my chip i then lapped my 120, after that temps dropped another 3-4 degrees. Also the lapping on the chip made all cores heat/cool evenly, instead of the 5-6 degree difference most quad cores have from factory.

 

[P4-630]

I've lapped my ultra 120 extreme as well as my quad core. The lapping on the chip dropped my temps on all 4 cores by 12 degrees under 100% load. After i lapped my chip i then lapped my 120, after that temps dropped another 3-4 degrees. Also the lapping on the chip made all cores heat/cool evenly, instead of the 5-6 degree difference most quad cores have from factory.

Thanks for the info Konceptz but actually I don't consider a lapped heatsink a modified cooler for in this thread

 

[Fitseries3]

Did you design this within any specific dimension tolerances?

that was actually the first version. it only works well with dual cores. the second version has a little more restriction but cools both quads and duals very well while having more flow and better temps than both the v1 and v2 dtek

 

[yogurt_21]

made a few aluminum water blocks, haven't really worked with copper. used them for north bridge on mobo's and linking up my phase change cooler to my waterloop to make a waterchiller. haven't worked with fins on air coolers though, never really thought about it. it would be nice however to figure out how to replace the ones on my radiators.

 

[1freedude]

go over to ghetto mods, and you can see some of my (shitty, did it on a whim, didn't care about looks) work. the bit with the clear hose was soldered onto a piece of copper that is now the base for the "tree." the tree is a piece of copper tubing welded to a 3/16" thick copper plate. the "branches" are 10 gauge pieces soldered into slits. i used this solder in a tube shit. don't like it.

the chill block worked well, i used a pond pump with a cooler (rubbermaid) as the res. just wasn't finished enough to put into everyday use. I have some crazy ass shit going on. i have chill blocks to get water to 0 c with just ice (dry ice will freeze the water). i have too many things going on. really.

i haven't really tested the tree yet, maybe tonight?