Initial Hands-On With The Passively-Cooled Airtop PC Boasting A Core i7 & GTX 950

[Bjotn]

- the amount of clearance that must be left around it before it starts overheating
- ambient temperature and humidity effective ranges of operation

Judging by the picture where it stands on top of a server rack i'd say these aren't optimal conditions. Ambient temperature over that thing has to be something like 50.

[Compulab]

Judging by the picture where it stands on top of a server rack i'd say these aren't optimal conditions. Ambient temperature over that thing has to be something like 50.

Indeed. Our thermal design expert pointed that out right away
I believe Michael will run some more tests in a more conventional desk-top scenario.
It is worth noting that Airtop behaves very gracefully in high ambient temperature. CPU and GPU gradually adjust their frequency when approaching thermal limit.

[estan]

Looks really neat and I would love to have one. But of course it's quite pricey, so we'll see... Laptop is next on my list.

Mikael: Would it be possible to snap some closeups of how they managed to thermally couple the CPU/GPU to the heatsinks/"chimney packs" on the outside? I would love to see how that connection is built. Is the CPU mounted "in reverse" on the other side of the custom motherboard..? Or are they coupling to the CPU from "underneath"..? I did some reading of their patent, but I don't think that details is covered there, at least I couldn't find much info.

Thanks!

[estan]

(Hm, seems my reply was lost.. but apologize in advance if this shows up twice...)

This looks really neat, I would love to have one. It's pricey of course, but that's understandable due to the custom nature of it and the research.

Michael: Would it be possible to snap some close-ups that shows how they managed to thermally couple the CPU/GPU to the exterior heatsinks/"chimney packs"? Is the CPU mounted "in reverse", with its up side facing the back of the motherboard? Or are they coupling the heat sink to the CPU from behind somehow? I would love to see how that problem is solved mechanically. I read some of their patent on this design, but I don't think it really covers this aspect (at least I couldn't find it).

Thanks!

[Compulab]

Michael: Would it be possible to snap some close-ups that shows how they managed to thermally couple the CPU/GPU to the exterior heatsinks/"chimney packs"? Is the CPU mounted "in reverse", with its up side facing the back of the motherboard? Or are they coupling the heat sink to the CPU from behind somehow? I would love to see how that problem is solved mechanically.

Actually the video on page 1 of the article is accurate, based on the real 3D model of Airtop.

1. CPU is on component side (RAM and connectors are on print side, similar to NUC not to a standard MB - but Compulab did that long before Intel)

2. CPU is thermally coupled through the "virtual vapor chamber" to the airtubes panel.

3. GPU is stripped off fan and heatsink and coupled in a similar fashion on the opposite side.

Best regards,
Irad Stavi, Compulab

[alelinuxbsd]

Interesting.
Is possible know something more about the option with:
Extended temp -20°C to 70°C [TE] ?
Remain fanless?
Is just bigger?
Some image about this type of case is if different?

[Compulab]

Interesting.
Is possible know something more about the option with:
Extended temp -20°C to 70°C [TE] ?
Remain fanless?
Is just bigger?
Some image about this type of case is if different?

Airtop is exactly the same. Just tested to verify it works at the stated range.
-20C is hardly ever an issue - get the PC to boot and it will warm itself up. Note what kind of storage you are using.

70C - Airtop works stable. Note storage and RTC battery. Bear in mind that the thermal threshold is closer so if you put Airtop under full load at 70C it will throttle after a while, but won't shut down.

[talky]

Airtop is exactly the same. Just tested to verify it works at the stated range.
-20C is hardly ever an issue - get the PC to boot and it will warm itself up. Note what kind of storage you are using.

70C - Airtop works stable. Note storage and RTC battery. Bear in mind that the thermal threshold is closer so if you put Airtop under full load at 70C it will throttle after a while, but won't shut down.

Under full load, will it eventually throttle regardless of room temperature, or will it be able to stabilize at a certain temperature (if the room temperature is say 20C)?

Also for the reviewer, please kindly test if there are any coil whining for the AirTop pc (especially from the graphics card or power supply).

[Compulab]

Under full load, will it eventually throttle regardless of room temperature, or will it be able to stabilize at a certain temperature (if the room temperature is say 20C)?

Not according to our tests.

[Gideon Yampolsky]

Under full load, will it eventually throttle regardless of room temperature, or will it be able to stabilize at a certain temperature (if the room temperature is say 20C)?

As the rule of thumb, there is about 45 deg C temperature increase between ambient air and CPU/GPU silicon, at power dissipation of 200W.
In system running at full performance and at room temperature of 20 deg, CPU and GPU will reach 65 deg C and will stabilize there. Case walls temperature will be significantly lower. Sometimes CPU and GPU are bursting over their maximum rating. We observed 240W. In such case Airtop will throttle down to 200W. It would not happen immediately, Airtop will tolerate 240W burst for 10-20 minutes before throttling activation.