One of the main issues with running a stable computer is heat management. Heat has been an issue with electronics even before the semiconductor, and has remained a constant even with new technology. Nearly every component in today’s computers contains a specialized processor or fast moving parts – all of which add to the heat buildup inside one’s system. Several solutions have been invented to manage the system’s heat buildup, from traditional air cooling to water cooling, and even liquid nitrogen!
A Chinese company called Waffer has thought of a new way to control this heat, in the form of a small air conditioner. This unit cools outside air and forces it into the computer, benefiting the entire system. This principle is the same used in electric drink coolers for automobiles. These coolers work decently to refrigerate food because they also are completely insulated like a thermos. They also contain items that do not generate their own heat. So this idea may not work as well for a PC, as a PC case by nature should not be insulated and also generates additional heat.
The box
The box was shipped in a standard corrugated cardboard box with white packing peanuts. The product’s box is an interesting design, to show off the unusual look of the air cooler. The product is actually in two boxes; a standard oblong box with a window cut out of it, and a partial envelope box which gives the package its unique shape. Because of this packing method, it is difficult to remove the unit without ripping the outer box. Printed on the back of the outer box is a general summary of the features and specifications. Opening the box reveals the air conditioner in custom-shaped plastic and more cardboard. Lifting the cardboard reveals the drive cage mount, manual and screws.
Technology
I decided to take the unit apart to see how it really works. The cooler is held together by two plastic pieces sandwiched together and fastened to each other by screws. The screws were easily removed and we could see how simple the design really is. The unit has a small power supply which powers both fans, peltier and LCD display. The LCD gets its temperature information from a thermal probe held in position where the cooled air is forced into the system.
A peltier is essentially an electric heat pump, the details of which can be read here. One side of a metal plate gets very cold, but the other side gets very hot. An aluminum heatsink is attached to the hot side of the peltier plate to dissipate the heat buildup. The heatsink is actively cooled by a high speed fan that is mounted with metal clips. The air on the underside of the peltier is cooled when passing through the heatsink attached to the lower peltier plate.
We removed the heatsink fan so that we could look at the actual cooling system. The heatsink is mounted to the peltier by four spring-loaded screws. After removing these we could see the peltier, which is completely covered with generic thermal paste to transfer heat to the heatsink.
This unit is basically a peltier cooler with an air intake fan and a thermometer. The unit has three modes: off, on, and snow. The lower fan turns on when switched on, only blowing in outside air without air conditioning and displaying the incoming air temperature. The peltier only kicks in when set to the snow mode, which also turns on the top heatsink fan, which has some neat blue LEDs. The fans are extremely loud especially in snow mode, which you can hear for yourself in this MP3 file.
The Waffer AirCon was designed to be hot-swappable, so the only part actually mounted to the PC chassis is the plastic drive cage. The cage’s plastic mounting holes have no threading and are completely smooth, so you must mount the cage using the supplied screws, which have a rough threading to grab the plastic. Once fastened to the chassis, a molex connector is attached to the back of the unit. Waffer recommends using a dedicated power line, since this air conditioner can draw 50 watts or more.
It is recommended to choose a drive bay that does not have any devices above or below it, as the AirCon device itself will block those devices. Once the drive cage is installed, simply slide the main unit into place, much like any hot-swappable hard drive. The power is automatically coupled and is ready for use (just make sure the power switch is set to “off” before connecting). It even has a locking lever to prevent accidental removal.
Testing
We tested the Waffer AirCon in a modest system that could still benefit from additional cooling. Our Athlon XP 2000+ system was attached to an all-copper Thermalright SLK-800U and had one 80mm exhaust fan.
| Test System | |
|---|---|
| Case | Mid tower case |
| Processor | AMD Athlon XP 2000+ |
| Heatsink | Thermalright SLK-800U copper heatsink |
| Memory | 512MB DDR333 |
| Video card | Albatron GeForce FX 5200 Ultra |
| Hard drive | IBM 80GB HDD |
| DVD drive | Liteon 4X DVD drive |
| Sound card | Soundblaster Live! Audio card |
| Power supply | 400 watt generic power supply |
On the front of the system is a blue LCD that shows the temperature of the air coming out AirCon. The fan used on the heatsink also illuminates with blue LEDs to give it some life.
The system is not overly loaded with heat-producing components, as there is only one hard drive, a modest processor and consumer-level video card. The case is a mid-tower case, so it is not excessively large, and we followed Waffer’s recommendation and installed the product in the lowest 5¼” drive bay. We left the air conditioner on snow mode for 1 hour before taking any measurements to give the unit a chance to do its job. When snow mode was turned on, the 12V and 5V power lines all took a a small hit. The dip in the monitoring graphs occurs when snow mode was turned on.
The peltier would sometimes draw so much power that the hard drive would shut off, and would require a reboot for the system to work properly. Waffer recommends at least a 350 watt power supply.
Conclusion
The Waffer AirCon revealed virtually no change in system temperature, even after one hour. The air coming from the AirCon’s exhaust was measurably cooler, but makes little impact when mixed into the case. The air conditioner uses too much power, makes too much noise and takes up three drive bays when installed. The engineers at Waffer have done an excellent job and the product is well-thought. It is a very original idea, and is well implemented, but this type of technology is just not successful in its intended use. It can be hard to rate such a product that is executed well but does not perform, so a more objective final score will be derived using different aspects of the unit:
| Innovation | 8 |
| Performance | 2 |
| Implementation | 9 |
| Price | 5 |
| average | 6 |
These individual scores earn an average 6 out of 10. The engineers at Waffer have put a lot of thought into the product, but cooling air in this way is ineffectual. Perhaps this technology would be of use at the radiator section of a water cooled system, as water is a more efficient heat transfer medium than air. Cooling could be further enhanced with the implementation of copper heatsinks, rather than aluminum. In its current state, the Waffer PC AirCon 400 is not very effective.
Pros
- Hot-dockable
Cons
- Does not cool very well
- Celsius-only display
- Extremely loud
- Pricey at ~$70
- Draws too much power (~50 watts or more)