It is possible to cool an Intel Core i9 passively… With 4 kg of copper

High performance PC and low noise rarely go together, especially if you add an Intel Core i9 processor to the equation. In the past we have seen many solutions, and even manufacturers who sell all-aluminum chassis as the system heatsink itself. These also have some heat pipes that go directly to the CPU and GPU, and all with the desire of having a system that does not generate any sound.

While it is not stated exactly which processor was used, any Intel Core i9 demands a lot of energy. This also translates into emanating large amounts of heat, to the point that mid-range air or water cooling systems They can suffer to offer good temperatures.

A huge block of copper to passively cool an Intel Core i9

This is the curious way to cool the Core i9 found by Reddit user ‘That Desktop User’. Specifically, it is a huge cylinder entirely made of copper weighing 8 pounds, which in exchange are about 3.62 kilograms. It is obviously not a heat sink, but a piece of copper that is used as raw raw material. This metal is quite malleable and ductile, which is why it is shipped in the form of cylinders. Curiously, despite arriving in its raw form, it is very good at the level of heat dissipation.

As stated, the Intel Core i9 was capable of running at a temperature of 35ºC with the system at rest. After subjecting the CPU to a 15-minute stress test, the processor reached a maximum temperature of 80ºC. The block is so dense that the CPU is constantly trying to heat it, indicating that it allows the peak temperature to be kept stable at 80ºC.

“With the computer at rest, the CPU hovered around 35ºC. When a stress test was done, it reached a maximum temperature of around 80ºC.

It is already threaded and ready for liquid cooling. I got it from a multi-thousand dollar medical machine that is used to simulate a person’s vital signs. I’m not sure what its purpose is exactly, but it does have a brass filter inside.

Yes, it can be improved.”

There is a market focused on extreme passive cooling

Without going any further, in December we saw a prototype of a heatsink made entirely of copper. This offered a very logical design, which is to form a radiator full of perforated copper discs and joined together by means of five copper heat pipes. Specific, 18 fairly thick fins together with some thick heat pipes. All of this added up to a weight of 3 kilograms and its price would be 250 dollars when it hits the market.

Among mass-produced and well-known products, the Noctua NH-P1. Of course, this is made of aluminum with copper heat pipes and went on sale for 110 euro. This promises to cool a Core i9-13900K passively. To do this, 13 thick aluminum fins and six copper heat pipes 6mm thick.