timg528 t1_iykjjmz wrote
I can't imagine that this kind of cooling solution would be anywhere near cost effective.
Didn't LTT do a video on a hand sized one that cost over $1k? Imagine trying to miniaturize that and the associated cost increase.
Andreiy31 t1_iyklkjv wrote
Pretty sure it only cost like that because of very low supply and low demand. Over time the cost will go down if they mass manufacture it.
timg528 t1_iykmmsy wrote
Yes, the problem is getting to that point. You might have a few, very expensive laptops that are early adopters, but I see it being an uphill battle to get them the capital to build out the facilities necessary to produce these in large enough quantities to precipitate affordability.
Dash_Lambda t1_iymdmxv wrote
I mean, any new product has that hurdle. The big thing right now isn't how much they have in place, it's how big their potential market is. Those fans LTT covered are made for highly specialized applications with near-nonexistent markets, but these are targeting a wide variety of consumer electronics.
On top of that, if I remember correctly, the article has quotes from Intel reps saying they're very excited to work with them to use these new coolers. If they have the attention of Intel they should be able to expect a certain level of initial adoption right off the bat.
It happens with lots of things, when there's almost no market for it it's insanely expensive and you have very few choices but the moment that market opens up the choices grow and the cost plummets. They usually get a lot better too just due to sheer R&D investment.
timg528 t1_iymo48t wrote
We'll see.
Personally, I don't think the demand for solid-state fans is enough to overcome the engineering, manufacturing, and marketing challenges.
It certainly wasn't when Purdue tried in 2002, or Thorrn in 2008, or GE in 2012.
Dash_Lambda t1_iymrszk wrote
Huh, I didn't know about those previous attempts.
A decade is a lot of time for the consumer electronics industry, so I don't think attempts from 10-20 years ago mean all that much for a project today, not to mention the importance of marketing, timing, and industry relationships in stuff like this. "Past performance is not a predictor of future results."
That said, I won't claim to have any idea how this particular product will turn out. So yeah, we'll see.
On a side note, I like the more technical information in those sources. I read through the GE one and the idea of alternating intake/exhaust through one hole makes more sense to me than somehow puling the air in one direction through a plate, but an arrangement like that seems like it would lose some performance to heat building up at the intake... I'd be very interested to see how a fully developed commercial version works in a laptop.
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