Case and Cooling Spring 2004: Upcoming Products
by Kristopher Kubicki on April 3, 2004 10:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Over the last few months, Purav and I have been keeping an eye on new technology across the case and cooling industry. In the next few pages we will show off some of the newer cases, power supplies and heatsinks that have peaked our particular attention.
Zalman TNN-500A
Click to enlarge
We first saw the Totally No Noise case in September, around the same time as Computex. The case still has not quite penetrated the market and has undergone some changes, but it is making its way to the US and Europe; slowly but surely. The TNN-500A is unique because it contains no active cooling components. Heat from the CPU, video card and motherboard is dissipated solely via heat pipes.
Click to enlarge
As sort of an added bonus, the lack of fans on the TNN-500A also significantly lowers the power draw (particularly on the 12V rails). In fact, our TNN-500A sample runs a stable Athlon 64 with Radeon 9700 Pro on less than 200W (although the integrated power supply supports up to 300W).
Click to enlarge
A solid block of copper sits on the CPU, and is then sinked by 6 heatpipes anchored onto the 7mm aluminum chassis. Without moving components, the case is able to sink 150W!
We have a full review of the TNN-500A coming up in the near future, but we thought we would take a few pictures to gaze over before we release our very in depth analysis.
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ProphetCHRIS - Tuesday, August 10, 2004 - link
Kristopher, just to correct it, Fortron is an actual manufacturer. Fortron is the brandname of the FSP Group (www.fsp-group.com.tw) which is producing a lot of OEMs. OCZ is buying from Topower and so on...XRaider - Saturday, May 15, 2004 - link
#20 - NP. You will need to go to the forums and post that though to get any answers.ghoti - Monday, April 12, 2004 - link
I am new to AnandTech, but am already impressed with the quality of the reviews. Any roundup/ review of cases contemplated? I am going to assemble my first machine once the 939 mb's and socket 939 FX-53's come out. I plan to use two Raptor 74G 10K rpm HDs. I have no plans to overclock, and don't care whether the case has a side window or led fans, but would like a mid-tower case (preferably AL) with GOOD cooling (preferably 120 mm intake and exhaust fans with filters). Also, it'd be great to have a case that is reasonably quiet, reasonably easy to work with, and won't require a second mortgage. Any suggestions? If this is not the right place to post this, please excuse my error.KristopherKubicki - Friday, April 9, 2004 - link
17: It dissapates 150W from just the CPU.Kristopher
bobbozzo - Tuesday, April 6, 2004 - link
If GBT is going to give you a front-panel knob for the HSF, why don't they put a temperature display on it too??bobbozzo - Tuesday, April 6, 2004 - link
Ummm... if the computer draws 200W, and the case can only dissipate 150W, then you've got a big problem!quanta - Tuesday, April 6, 2004 - link
The CoolerMaster heatsink looked like the Aerocool HT-101 and Thermaltake CL-P0024 (TOWER112). However, the Thermaltake version can use 9cm fans. Hopefully CoolerMaster heatsink can support bolt-on mounting instead of just the unstable clip.Warder45 - Tuesday, April 6, 2004 - link
I really liked this article. I wish you guys would do more misc computer equipment reviews. Perhaps a sound related review of speakers or sound cards.Definatly looking forward to reviews of the Heatsinks and a battle between OCZ and PC Power and cooling. It would be nice to see some competition for PC P&C in the high end overclocking PS's, perhaps drive them to lower prices a bit. :)
Coherence - Tuesday, April 6, 2004 - link
OMG! I just did a Google on the TNN-500A. That Zalman noiseless case is $1200!?! Are they nucking futs?? Noiseless or not, heatpipes or not, NO PC case is worth that kind of money!KristopherKubicki - Tuesday, April 6, 2004 - link
Actually, fortron doesnt make em either. They have the same OEM though.Kristopher