Could this be the future of laptop cooling?
On Thursday, a San Jose-based company introduced a new cooling system for electronic products that not only runs quieter than traditional fans, but also promises to help laptops achieve even better performance.
The cooling system is called the “AirJet” chip, and it comes from Frore Systems, which has begun collaborating on the technology with Intel. The company is promising the cooling system can improve the performance of a laptop from 50% to as much as 100%, depending on the configuration.
The AirJet chip is designed to address how today’s laptops can throttle down the CPU’s processing speeds to prevent overheating. As a result, a notebook can only run at higher clock speeds for so long before the thermals force the system to dial down the performance.
“Heat has become the biggest bottleneck in computing. The latest processors promise higher performance, but only 50% or less is realized in actual devices,” Frore Systems said in a document explaining its own technology. “While processors continue to advance and generate more heat, thermal solutions have not kept pace.”
In response, Frore Systems developed the AirJet chip, a so-called “solid state thermal solution” that ditches traditional fans entirely. “Inside the AirJet are tiny membranes that vibrate at an ultrasonic frequency,” the company said. “These membranes generate a powerful flow of air that enters the AirJet through inlet vents in the top.”
The approach can produce a powerful jet force capable of removing heat and pushing it out from separate vents in the back of the laptop. Another vent acts as suction, pulling in cool ambient air to send to the AirJet chip. Depending on the laptop product, the cooling system promises to generate only about 24 to 29 decibels in sound, which is softer than a whisper. On top of all this, the AirJet chips are only about 2.8mm thick.
The technology is certainly tantalizing, and could pave the way for even thinner, quieter, but more powerful laptops. But the big question is whether the AirJet can perform as promised. For now, Frore Systems has only said the cooling system is set to debut in actual products sometime next year. However, the company plans on demoing the technology during the upcoming CES show in Las Vegas.
Frore Systems also told PCMag the AirJet is currently best suited for mobile computing, including laptops, gaming smartphones and tablets. Nevertheless, the company does have plans to expand in other markets in the future. So a desktop-based AirJet chip could be possible one day.
“We cannot discuss price at the moment, but the major OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) see the value in the device and consider the value proposition very competitive with the traditional fan based systems,” the company added.
The AirJet will arrive in two forms to PC makers. On Thursday, Frore Systems started shipments of the AirJet Mini, which is designed for fanless and thin laptop models. In Q1, the company then plans on launching the AirJet Pro chip, which is designed for larger notebooks that pack more processing power or even handheld gaming systems.
In a statement, Intel’s VP of Mobile Innovation Josh Newman added: “Frore Systems’ AirJet technology offers a new and novel approach to help achieve these design goals in new ways and Intel is excited about the engineering collaboration with Frore Systems to help prepare their technology for future Intel Evo laptops.”
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