NVIDIA data center hardware is being cooled with water 'hotter than a hot tub'
For decades, the data center industry has worked on the assumption that cold equals safe. The cooler the room, the better. But silicone chips run
For decades, the data center industry has worked on the assumption that cold equals safe. The cooler the room, the better. But silicone chips run hot by nature. NVIDIA's data shows that coolant entering a fully liquid-cooled processor at 45-degrees Celsius exits at around 55 degrees after absorbing the chip's heat load. The chip keeps running at full performance because liquid-cooled cold plates keep everything within safe operating limits.
This also allows outdoor dry coolers to reject heat efficiently for most of the year, without the need of mechanical chillers. Of course, geography plays an important role here too, because you can't have the same temperature management expectations in the desert as you do in the mountains. That will also translate into more silent data centers. Normally, you need ear protection inside data centers to keep down the loud noises produced by cooling fans, backup generators and cooling systems.
NVIDIA's Rubin architecture drops all that. NVIDIA's Rubin gear doesn't just cut down costs on energy and water consumption and reduce noise levels. The servers are also more space efficient. Thanks to their design, a system that used to take up six rack units now fits in two. Ultimately, NVIDIA's new server architecture has the potential to solve some of the most annoying problems about data centers, such as their high energy consumption, massive water usage, noise pollution and land use.
This doesn't fix problems with existing data centers, but hopefully will lead to improved ones in the future.
The BriefWire