DIY Enthusiast Goes Passive-Cooling With 1KG Copper Block Slapped On An AMD Ryzen 9 7950X CPU
Enthusiast AromaticImpress7778 on the r/Fanless subreddit found a unique way of cooling his AMD Ryzen 9 7950X CPU in a passive-cooled setup. Instead of standard cooling options from stores, this user cooled the AMD CPU with one-kilogram copper bars modded explicitly for this build, allowing the system to remain fanless.
Massive Copper blocks help this fanless PC build enthusiast keep their PC with an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X CPU cool!
The Reddit user and "fan" of fanless system builds notes that he did not need to utilize the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X CPU at all times when he codes & created this system to passively cool the system, which transfers the heat from the 1kg copper blocks throughout the Streacom DB4 fanless Mini-ITX case, which supports processors with a peak TDP of 65W.
In addition to the case, the internal hardware used for the project is the MSI MPG Edge B650I motherboard, the HDPlex GaN 250W all-in-one ATX power supply, and 64 GB of DDR5 memory (unknown brand).
Image Credits: r/u/AromaticImpress7778
The Streacom DB4 has a module to increase the processor's cooling power from 65 W to 105 W. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X has a TDP of 170 W, meaning the system would still need an additional 65W. This is where the idea of copper plates comes in, as it offers the extra cooling required for this fanless build.
The copper bars come from ESG Feinkupfer, weighing 1 kg or 2.2 lbs, and can be purchased for an estimated $100 each. In addition to these plates, the user repurposed the copper plate supplied with the Streacom DB4 and added a modified 9.17-inch copper bar so that the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X CPU could remain passively cool on the MSI MPG Edge B650I motherboard. In total, the system's weight is now weighing 28.66 lbs. Splitting up the parts, the copper weighs 9.7 lbs, the components are 8.5 lbs, and the case makes up the additional 16.53 lbs.
Instead of soldering the copper plates to the copper parts in the Streacom DB4 chassis, AromaticImpress7778 used Thermal Grizzly Coductonaut liquid thermal compound to adhere the copper with an additional thermal compound, Arctic MX-6, which is a carbon filler-based compound.
Image Credits: r/u/AromaticImpress7778
The Reddit DIY enthusiast stressed the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X processor for around two hours, and during that time, the dual cores maintained a 90º and 95º C temperature, respectively. The MSI MPG Edge B650I motherboard maintained a temperature of 77º C, and the Streacom DB4 chassis remained between 50º and 60º C. If the system had been soldered instead of liquid-cooled with a thermal cooler, the system might have cooled better.
Since the user does not require a high processing system, along with loving fanless systems, this project was an enjoyable build and a neat way to keep a system passively cooled in a smaller space with only copper as the primary heat-dissipating source.
News Sources: Tom's Hardware, Reddit
Source: Wccftech
