One of the most impressive products coming out of CES 2023 is AirJet, a new solid-state cooling system that can replace fans with cooling components using a fraction of the power and space. Seshu Madhavapeddy, founder and CEO of Frore Systems, was kind enough to give us a tour of the company’s offices and development labs in San Jose.
A quick refresher on AirJet: It’s a new cooling solution that uses a small, solid-state block with no separate moving parts to remove heat from components such as CPUs and GPUs. The AirJet uses tiny vibrating membranes on top of a copper head spreader to draw air in and out at up to 120 miles per hour, creating efficient cooling air in a space just 2.8mm thick. on. On a watt-per-watt basis, Frore claims the AirJet can more than double the cooling power of conventional fan-based systems, while working in a smaller space.
The vibrating material is waterproof and dustproof, and the AirJet already has working dust filters for the individual cooling units, down to one micron. Testing in windy, dusty rooms has shown that even in the most extreme conditions the AirJet’s performance is unaffected. Similar tests for heat, cold, humidity, and longevity show that the product is ready for long haul.
Madhavapeddy freely admits that the AirJet is more expensive than comparable fan-based solutions for laptops. “Is it priced [in a way] is that reasonable and acceptable to the manufacturers? The answer is an emphatic ‘yes.'”
AirJet is not currently installed in any consumer products, but Frore has modified several models today to replace their internal AirJet cooling systems, to demonstrate its effectiveness. In a base model without special engineering for AirJet, three solid-state coolers have been able to replace the main CPU heatsink and fan setup, increasing its core wattage from 12.5w to 15w without bad effects, and a general reduction of noise. . Madhavapeddy admits that under better design conditions, it is possible to use four AirJet Mini units and increase it to 21 watts.
Frore is working with “multiple device manufacturers,” and “multiple commercial projects” are slated to hit shelves before the end of the year. Currently the company is focusing on custom notebook designs. Handheld gaming devices, mini PCs, M.2 storage drives, and digital cameras are potential vectors for expansion. for more information on the future of PC technology, be sure to subscribe to PCWorld on YouTube!