14 DAY TRIAL // Phononic isn't your average Asian cooling solution manufacturer start-up company. In fact, it isn't a start-up company at all, since it builds medical fridges and has recently planned to move to the enthusiast computing market.
However, this isn't done easily, and not only that, in order to build a CPU cooler featuring integrated Peltier thermoelectric Hex heat-pump it takes quite some funds to actually pull it off and mass produce it. That's why Phononic is crowdfunding its project on Indiegogo.
While Phononic works on a slow pace developing its intelligent medical fridges, it does, however, invest a lot of time and effort developing its enthusiast cooling solutions inspired by its own Phononic Hex 1.0, which borrows the SilverCore thermoelectric cooling technology used to build the company's fridges, scaling it down to more computer-friendly environments.
Branding it as "the silent refrigerator for your CPU," the company plans a tower-style heatsink with an integrated fan, which in lower temperatures works as any other fan, but when the thermal load increases, a Peltier-style thermoelectric heat pump kicks in, creating a hot surface on one side of the tower, and a colder one on the other side.
Big promises and big plans aren't always respected on Indiegogo
This way the temperature is transferred much, much easier from one side to the other, creating what the company calls a Variable Assist Cooling (VAC).
Apparently, the company believes this compact heatsink and its integrated 80mm fan have been tested under loads of 175W and radically outperform other available heatsinks, and even some liquid coolers. Unfortunately, Phononic's Indiegogo page raises some concerns.
First of all, none of its medical refrigerators have sold a single screw or bolt, all the while Phononic is crowdfunding the new cooling solution. This is a serious warning sign on how serious the whole business is. Another major issue is Indiegogo's "flexible funding" system that gives Phononic money before they reach their target goal, something that encouraged scammers in the past. Let's hope, however, this thing is as serious as it gets, and nobody ends up disappointed.
