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The Register: AMD uses liquid helium to cool a FX chip, reaches 8.429GHz

Seems to me like this is even more complex (and likely more expensive) than just buying a mainframe to get the same results, but what do I know?
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

Aren't modern mainframes still required to be in specially air-conditioned rooms?

Depends on how much mainframe you have, and how small a room you want to store it in.

I know that Google, Facebook, and almost any other very large data processor are looking at running servers "hot" (as in 100°+ F) because the cost of cooling begins to outweigh the cost of hardware at large scales.
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy

This certainly has relevance - if nothing else, 'extreme' cooling can provide, in some cases, a performance boost that cannot be as economically accomplished with additional silicon...

For example, my planned PC buildout for this year's Permanent Fund Dividend is going to be fairly aggressively cooled - and ran at 4ghz, vs the 3.2ghz stock clock
"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger."
From NGE: Nobody Dies, by Gregg Landsman
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE_Nobody_Dies

One thing I've always thought was funny was pencil mods. On some boards, if you trace certain circuits with a graphite pencil it will yield appreciable overclocks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w..._Athlon_Pencil_Trick.jpg

The only pencil trick I've heard of.

The bonkers thing is that water cooling is getting mainstream...

http://www.newegg.com/Pro...spx?Item=N82E16835181017

supposed to be sealed loop, maintenance free.. just amazing.

I'm probably going to be putting something like this in my new build.
"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger."
From NGE: Nobody Dies, by Gregg Landsman
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE_Nobody_Dies

I don't see what's so bonkers about liquid cooling being mainstream. It always seemed perfectly logical to me. The only downside being a little bit complex, and the possibility of leaks. And it's quieter than a fan setup.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

Liquid cooling is close to mainstream, certainly. Liquid-helium cooling (the coldest liquid on Earth), not so much...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

It is the leaks concern, at least for those of us old school farts who can recall when needing a heatsink and a fan on your cpu was a NEW development.

Water on a live MB is not a good thing to us. leads to letting the smoke out, etc.
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

http://www.pugetsystems.com/submerged.php

O_O
"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger."
From NGE: Nobody Dies, by Gregg Landsman
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE_Nobody_Dies

Submerging the Motherboard/CPU, RAM, and all the rest (excepting anything with physical moving parts like drives) in a MINERAL OIL AQUARIUM??

Wow.

I wouldn't have thought that would work. But apparently it does! 

First thing that comes to mind? If I ever get a system like that, I know exactly what I'll call it - 

(puts on shades) 

The Reiquarium. ^_^

(eeEEAYYEEAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!)

*GROAN* And I will be forced to track you down and add orange food coloring to it. Then beat you bout the head and shoulders.
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

+


=
ULTIMATE WIN
"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger."
From NGE: Nobody Dies, by Gregg Landsman
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE_Nobody_Dies

they are cooling the computer with non-thermaly conductive fluid? or with tang?
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy

I think they're just filling the case with mineral oil (less the HDD), sealing it up and calling it good. No system for venting heat, it seems, so once it heats up it's gonna stay hot for quite some time. They claim that you'd never "realistically" have it under load for long enough, though.

They have an update at the bottom where they've hooked up a pump and radiator into the oil and gotten a 40C drop in temperature.
---

The Master said: "It is all in vain! I have never yet seen a man who can perceive his own faults and bring the charge home against himself."

>Analects: Book V, Chaper XXVI

Well for that system posted, I think it shouldn't have it's power supply inside the same oil-filled tank. Let alone exposing mains power to oil just doesn't seem right to me. Then there's the fluid flow those possibly still operating fans produce. Yes I typed 'fans' there's one on the video card, one in the PS and possibly one still attached to the CPU heatsink.

Watercooling's been slowly going mainstream for the past couple of years, with a number of home performance computing enthusiast gear supply companies producing complete watercooling kits. Now proper refrigerative pc cooling, not many of them (kits or systems) are around. The lower operating temps of the current gen CPU's no doubt a factor.

--Rod.H

The oil is supposed to be non-conductive, which is why you can submerge the electronics in it. Sticking mains power in it should not be a concern unless you have really high voltage mains.

They do the same with data-center grade mineraloil cooling, as can be seen in this video;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q0sTFX1DFM
E: "Did they... did they just endorse the combination of the JSDF and US Army by showing them as two lesbian lolicons moving in together and holding hands and talking about how 'intimate' they were?"
B: "Have you forgotten so soon? They're phasing out Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

Hmm.
Mineral oil has a specific heat 2-3 lower than water, but it also has much less thermal conductivity.
The aquariam example appears to be compensating for that by using a comparatively large volume. I don't think most water cooling setups for PCs use near a 5-6 gallon tank, do they?

ah but mineral oil can be placed in contact with the electronics. this makes for a better heat exchange rate. Also if can cover all of it, not just the usual parts.
E: "Did they... did they just endorse the combination of the JSDF and US Army by showing them as two lesbian lolicons moving in together and holding hands and talking about how 'intimate' they were?"
B: "Have you forgotten so soon? They're phasing out Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

They've also said that they'd love to add some chillers to the tank, but commonly available aquarium chillers are designed to work with water (go fig) and not mineral oil.
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll

Later on they did add a radiator setup that drastically improved the cooling factor.