Vapor chamber
Sealed thermal-transfer device: a flat-large heat-pipe with a wicking structure + working fluid. Effect: distribute heat evenly over a larger area than conventional heat-pipes. Standard in premium GPUs + flagship laptops + PS5.
Function: hot-spot (CPU/GPU die) vaporizes fluid → vapor moves to cooler area → condenses → wicks back via capillary action. No moving parts. Performance: 2-5x better than aluminum heat-spreader for spreading. Nvidia Founders Edition + AMD reference GPUs use vapor chambers. Premium laptops (MacBook Pro 16, ROG Strix) include them. Cost: $20-100 extra over heat-pipe design. Failure mode: rare but dramatic (chamber leak → near-total cooling loss). Modern phones: vapor chamber in high-end Galaxy + Pixel for sustained performance under gaming.