Does anyone here have a cpu cooler with heatpipes or have tested or seen one in action.
something like this
http://www.tuniq.com.tw/Cooler%20Info/Tower-120.htm
my northbridge is cooled by heatpipes, seems a good idea in theory, they must be good as most high end coolers use them now.
im using an all copper zalman flower atm on my Intel Duo which is overclocked from 1.8 to 3.2 and it doesnt go above 35degrees and is near silent
http://www.tekheads.co.uk/s/product?product=603912
ive got http://www.tekheads.co.uk/s/product?product=604123
Not had a problem with it, wouldnt trust it without the 120mm fan though
Im looking at something of this ilk for my next build as I want to try and go silent.
I think in order for the cooler to remain passive you have to have a good airflow through your case already, or no hotspots to gather around the CPU.
I would go with a silent fan together with the heatpipe to begin with :)
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/tuniq-tower120.html
(http://www.xbitlabs.com/images/coolers/tuniq-tower120/image005.png)
ive got Heatpipes in my 6000+ reference cooler, as do both of my notebooks. They increase heat dissipation without the need for masses of surface area. The theory also says that they take the heat away from the CPU faster.