Computers are becoming more powerful. And they have been used for a long time not only for office tasks and primitive computer games. From the task grow every day, only yesterday there were the first reports on crypto-currencies, and already there are those who are called “crypto-interferers” in the world, computer games have reached such a level that graphics create the illusion of being in real worlds.
As you know, the more load on the processor, the faster and stronger it heats up. For this PC and equipped with a cooling system. Everything, always.
Cooling computers is very different, but it’s all arranged on two simple principles – air and liquid. And, until recently it was generally the same type with a lot of variations – air.
1. The radiator. It is a heat exchanger that takes heat from a working computer and “gives up” to its environment. Raising thus the temperature of the surrounding space. There are two necessary conditions that increase the efficiency of the radiator: first, its area should be as large as possible, so that more heat can be given. Secondly, the room should be cool. But still, the disadvantages of the radiator are more than enough. And the main one is – it’s impossible to control the mode of the radiator. It works only in “constant” mode.
2. Cooler.The same heat exchanger, only complicated by a fan assembly. This is an attempt to increase the efficiency of the radiator by adding air to it. Yes, it makes him a little better. But also adds minuses to the device – the increased power consumption of the system. And cryptofermers around the world, who are grounded in the creation of monetary units of the future – crypto currency, are trying to solve the equation with the main unknown – how to come up with the ideal cooling that will solve this task completely without requiring additional resources.
3. Liquid cooling.This is a completely different kind of system designed to remove the temperature of the working processor. As it does not sound paradoxical, but in order for it to work, the computer needs to be immersed in liquid. In the literal sense of the word. Do not rush to give up reading the article, all the fun is ahead.
Naturally, the “liquid” means not water at all. Any computer would “die.” We are talking about so-called dielectrics with low boiling temperatures – some types of mineral oils, refrigerants, fluoroketones, which are also called “dry water”.
How it works?
Any liquid accumulates heat until it boils. Then the active evaporation begins. The same happens with the listed liquids, their colossal plus is a low boiling temperature. Those. Taking away from the processor such harmful heat for it, it begins to boil, evaporates, condenses on special surfaces, and again returns to the container already in a cold state. The container in which the refrigerant or fluoroketone is located is arranged according to the principle of a so-called semi-open bath. It has been used for a long time in engineering, also for cooling, not for IT-gadgets, but for working under high-load mechanisms. But you can search the network for information, this strange at first glance cooling method is already picked up by many of the world’s manufacturers of super-power computers and data centers.
Advantages of immersion (immersion) cooling mass:
- it does not require additional resources for work: you will not need expensive electricity at all
- The noise from the system will not be perfect. This is another big problem of air cooling, especially if you are trying to upgrade the cooling systems of a home gaming computer
- dust, which not only increases the heating of components, but also increases the risk of PC failure, will go back to the distant past. But the work of a fan without dust does not happen well, never.
- universality for any machine.
If you are an amateur tinkering with your own hands, you can find technical specifications for drawings on the Internet. At numerous forums dedicated to the upgrade of the cooling system, the immersion cooling system is already being discussed. Or, if you do not like to invent a bicycle, you can buy a ready-made, industrial model. They already are also on sale.
In any case, this is an interesting trend. And the attention of world leaders in the production of PCs to this type of processor cooling deserves attention and respect.