We saw CapTherm last year with their CPU cooler that used phase change technology to draw heat efficiently from the CPU. Since then all news went quiet, with only posts of random builds and articles on their facebook page to let us know that someone somewhere was alive. It was obvious that something had gone wrong which was not a surprise given that they were a new startup pursuing a new type of cooling for this application, and with obviously complicated manufacturing issues.
They were at CES this year to primarily show that they were still here and not afraid to show their faces. I discussed with them the problems they had this year, and they were as expected. While I’m not allowed to tell you the details, nor was I given proof, as someone who has worked at similar startups I can tell you that if I were working there that I wouldn’t be considering leaving just yet. The reasons for the time slip sound reasonable and there is plenty of investment money left yet.
This time they were more cagey about showing the new stuff, and indeed we saw the same unit as last year without the design improvements that have been made this year. I think CapTherm have been burned by revealing so much so early last year.
The time-frame we were given for release is the summer for the 120 unit and the fall for the 240 based unit. The 240 unit (CapTherm 1240) was new this year and there was a box but again we did not see the 240 unit, but we are told that there are no compatability issues with ATX cases. As a cynical startup guy, I would expect those dates to still be a bit optimistic, but let’s hope they hit them. For more info on the cooler, check out our article from last year.
