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IBM Pushing Water-Cooled Servers, Meeting Resistance

Posted by kdawson on from the let's-compromise-on-water-vapor dept.

judgecorp writes "IBM has said that water-cooled servers could become the norm in ten years. The company has lately been promoting wider user of the forty-year-old mainframe technology (e.g., here's a piece from April 2008), which allows faster clock speeds and higher processing power. But IBM now says water cooling is greener and more efficient, because it delivers waste heat in a form that's easier to re-use. They estimate that water can be up to 4,000 times more effective in cooling computer systems than air. However, most new data center designs tend to take the opposite approach, running warmer, and using free-air cooling to expend less energy in the first place. For instance, Dutch engineer Imtech sees no need for water cooling in its new multi-story approach which reduces piping and saves waste."

7 of 159 comments (clear)

  1. Frosty Piss by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    I like to water-cool my balls.

    1. Re:Frosty Piss by Tablizer · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      I like to water-cool my balls.

      I had a Japanese car that used to blow A/C down there. It was great; balls are on the outside of the body because they don't like body heat. Maybe Japan sells special water-cooled underwear. After all, they specialize in high-tech toiletries. (Just hope it doesn't spring a leak during a presentation.)

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
  2. In my day... by Cryacin · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Kids used to polish the radiator's on their cars...

    Now get off my damn lawn!

    --
    Science advances one funeral at a time- Max Planck
  3. Re:What a waste of water! by MrMista_B · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    These days, Greenpeace is no better than PETA.

  4. Re:Any prediction over ten years is null and void by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Only on slashdot could a topical second post (preceding a frosty piss troll) be marked as redundant...

  5. Re:What a waste of water! by TheTurtlesMoves · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    I meet a guy the other day that asked if I wanted to join Greenpeace, I declined and he then asked if I would join PETA!

    I presume that makes him a sleazy-nut-cultist.

    --
    The Grey Goo disaster happened 3 billion years ago. This rock is covered in self replicating machines!
  6. Re:What a waste of water! by Sparky+McGruff · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Greenpeace is sleazy, but PETA is a nut-cult.

    Are those nuts water cooled?