6mm Round Copper Heat Pipe – Sintered Wick Straight Tube for CPU GPU Heatsink DIY Cooling

Measure the straight-line distance the pipe needs to travel from the heat source (CPU, GPU, or chipset) to the heatsink fin array. Available lengths run from 60mm (≈2.4") to 460mm (≈18.1") in 10mm increments. When routing around components, account for any bends — a bent section is effectively shorter than its straight length. If in doubt, choose the next size up.

Yes. To bend the pipe without kinking, heat the bend area to approximately 60°C or above — for example by submerging it briefly in hot water or using a heat gun — then bend slowly and carefully. Always take appropriate burn-prevention precautions when handling heated metal. Overbending or sharp-angle bends may crack the tube wall and compromise thermal performance.

A 6mm diameter sintered copper heat pipe typically handles 20–50W of continuous heat flux depending on length, orientation, and operating temperature. The working fluid activates at approximately 38°C, so the pipe begins transferring heat passively once the heat source reaches that threshold. For higher TDP applications, multiple pipes in parallel are generally recommended.

Copper is naturally resistant to corrosion in typical indoor electronics environments. These pipes are not designed for prolonged outdoor exposure, salt spray, or high-humidity industrial conditions. For such environments, additional protective coatings or sealed enclosures are generally recommended.

These 6mm round copper heat pipes are commonly used in CPU tower heatsinks, GPU cooling mods, power supply thermal upgrades, northbridge and southbridge chipset coolers, MOS transistor heatsink assemblies, and custom DIY cooling builds for compact electronics. They are compatible with any heatsink design that accepts a 6mm round heat pipe.

The most common attachment methods are soldering the pipe into a machined groove on the heatsink base, or press-fitting it into a tight-tolerance channel and securing with thermal epoxy or solder. Apply thermal paste between the pipe and any contact surface to minimize interface resistance. This is generally an intermediate-to-advanced DIY task requiring soldering skills or access to a press-fit jig.

Each pipe is factory-sealed with a liquid working fluid (typically deionized water or a similar low-boiling-point fluid) and requires no maintenance. The sintered copper wick returns condensed fluid to the evaporator end via capillary action, enabling continuous passive heat transport without any pump or external power.