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Next Generation CPU Refrigerators
Iddo Genuth writes "Researchers at Purdue University are developing a miniature refrigeration system, small enough to fit inside laptop computers. According to the researchers, the implementation of miniature refrigeration systems in computers can dramatically increase the amount of heat removed from the microchips, therefore boosting performance while simultaneously shrinking the size of computers."
The implementation of miniature refrigeration systems in computers can dramatically increase the amount of heat removed from the microchips.
Of course, the next step will be to dramatically increase the heat output of high-end CPUs. Aren't arms races fun?
Yes, but heat flow != temperature.
...the future crusty old bastards are already drinking the Kool-Aid.
And how much electricity will this consume? It may not be that appealing to laptop users if it eats significantly into their battery life. And for servers many colo companies are finding themselves less constrained by space than by available electricity.
Loose lips lose spit.
the implementation of miniature refrigeration systems in computers can dramatically increase the amount of heat removed from the microchips, therefore boosting performance
Really? So my CPU will perform faster if I put it in a refigerator?
Don't air conditioning units tend to produce a bit of water condensation during cooling? I guess we'll have to start emptying the water out of our PCs....
Whenever I hear about new cooling solutions I remember a few years back someone had developed that liquid (or gel) that you could submerge computers and tvs into, but it wouldn't fry them. Everyone was talking about using this nonbonding liquid to cool computers and use to put out fires in places with paintings since it didn't ruin the paint. Does anyone know or remember what I'm talking about, or do I just sound like a crazy man,HAHAHAHAHAH! P.S. Bill Gates probably bought it to throw away.
Translation:
This is completely impractical hype so far. We are looking for grant and startup money.
...is to position the computer upside-down. Condensation does not form on the hot surfaces, only the cold surfaces. If the cold surfaces cause the water to drip away, there is no way for the water to interfere. Another option is to refrigerate the entire computer (which is done by overclockers), as the coldest point will then be far away, and you've the added bonus that the air will be very dry within a short timeframe.
A third option would be to run copper from each chip surface to the refrigerator. The heat gradient will prevent any chip running hot, you only need one refrigerator, and you can handle the case of the heavy workloads shifting from one part of the system to another.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
Yeah I don't get this, the heat need to leave the laptop somehow, and since the refrigerator will have to be within the laptop the heat remains inside it
The refrigerator's exterior heat exchanging pipes don't have to be inside the refrigerator itself. They didn't give any technical specs, so what are you worried about? Surely if they are working on this project, they'll have thought or experienced this problem if they were putting all items in the same location.
Also, consider that, to a point, the ambient heat inside a laptop can be higher, as long as the PUs are kept cool. Of course if this were the only consideration, eventually the ambient heat would screw all the components except for the processors, but, as I said, they've considered this already. I'm sure of it.
"Little is much when little you need."
Of course the cooling system will use power and generate heat, but that heat won't necessarily be as much as a fan. A fan uses power to dissipate heat and in the process generates heat. I don't know the proper thermodynamic way to state this, but it's possible to make a more or less efficient cooling system. For example, it would be exceedingly inefficient to use a V8 engine to cool a laptop. It would do a hell-of a job of cooling the thing, but it would generate a whole lot more heat and suck down a whole lot more energy than a small electric fan.
This thing might use less power and do a better job of moving power than a fan. I have no idea if this thing works better. If this device is more efficient than a fan (uses less energy and releases less heat), then it would be superior and would not make a lappy hotter. Otherwise, it's really only good for server applications where the heat can be pumped outside the box that holds the server.
This one's tricky. You have to use imaginary numbers, like eleventeen... --Hobbes
And make your own hotspot.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
You're right, liquid nitrogen does not cost anywhere near $300/gallon, but the GP wasn't talking about nitrogen, they were talking about 3M Fluorinert, which does indeed cost an arm and a leg.
The problem with these fluids is they can't keep up with today's processors. Immersing a PC in a vat of mineral oil won't magically cool the damned thing. You still need to extract the heat from that big pool of sludge; natural convection just doesn't cut it anymore. In fact, the fluid acts kind of like an insulator, because it moves so slowly that heat builds up right on your processor. You'd need propellers to move the flooz around, probably pump it through some sort of radiator.
On the plus side, I could use my overclocked PCs to cook me some french fries for my poutine :)
-Billco, Fnarg.com
No they are called phase change systems. Much more expensive than water cooling.
Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave.
they've considered this already. I'm sure of it.
More famous last words have ne'er been spoken.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."