New 3D CPU Water Cooling Method

captain igor writes "According to this story on Wired News, a new company launched by researchers from Stanford has come up with a way to layer a silicon network of tiny tubes on top of a microprocessor. The system then uses a solid-state motor (no moving parts!) to pipe cold water through the silicon network. According to the article, this system can handle 1000 watts (yes, a kilowatt) per square centimeter."

Comments

Re:Am I the only one?

[Aardpig]

I'm still wary about pumping water into my computer. What if one of those microthin pipes were to burst? Then you'd get a microsized stream of water shorting out your not-so-micro-priced processor. I'll stick to windtunnels and heatsinks... maybe a heatpipe or two.

If the solid-state pump failed, this could quite easily happen. The water around the CPU would boil pretty quickly, and the huge pressure increase as it turned to steam would cause the silicon tubes to explode. So, on top of the water sloshing around your computer, we have small explosions going on. Hmmmm...