A significant problem facing the computer industry is heat. The higher the temperature a component operates at, the more likely it is to fail. Electronics that are operating under high temperature conditions have a shorter life expectancy than components maintained at lower operating temperatures. Generally, it holds true that the higher the temperature of operation, the shorter the component life expectancy. Also, high temperatures, while not causing catastrophic failures, can create data processing errors. Operation at high temperatures can cause power fluctuations that lead to these errors within a central processing unit (CPU) or on the logic board anywhere that data management is handled. Despite efforts at reducing waste heat while increasing processing power, each new CPU and graphics processing unit (GPU) released on the market runs hotter than the last. Power supply and logic board components required to provide power and handle signal processing also are producing more and more heat with every new generation.
The use of liquids in cooling systems to cool computer systems is known. One known method of cooling computer components employs a closed-loop, 2-phase system. The vapor travels through a tube to a cooling chamber, the vapor turns back into liquid, and the liquid is returned by tube to the chips for further cooling. In another known liquid cooling system, internal pumps move liquid past a hot plate on a CPU and then the heated liquid is pumped into a finned tower that passively cools the liquid and returns it to the plate.
In the case of large-scale, fixed-installation supercomputers, it is known to submerge the active processing components of the supercomputer in inert, dielectric fluid. The fluid is typically allowed to flow through the active components and then it is pumped to external heat exchangers where the fluid is cooled before being returned to the main chamber.
Despite prior attempts to cool computer components, further improvements to cooling systems are necessary.