Intel treats servers to mineral oil bath in year-long cooling test

If putting liquid cooling pumps, hoses and water inside a highly electrified computer case doesn't seem crazy enough, how about just dunking the whole kit and kaboodle into oil? That's what Intel did with a rack full of servers, and if the oil in question is of the non-conducting mineral kind, it's actually a very chill idea. After a year of testing with Green Revolution Cooling, the chip giant saw some of the best power usage efficiency ratings it's seen, with the oil-cooled PCs easily besting identical, air-cooled units. The company believes more adapted heat sinks could push the gains even further, and affirmed that the technology was safe and didn't affect hardware reliability. Cost savings could be enormous, as server rooms wouldn't need raised floors, air conditioning units or chillers -- if you don't consider oil spills and ruined clothing, of course.

[Image credit: Green Revolution]

Filed under: Desktops

Intel treats servers to mineral oil bath in year-long cooling test originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 07:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.