An interesting read

[gone_fishin]

Pulse tube coolers

[HAL-9000]

Originally Posted by gone_fishin

Pulse tube coolers

This is interesting twist on Sterling cycle that I have never heard of before. Very cool (literally!). The one thing that looks like it could be this technology's downside is in their graph predicting CPU die temps for a 100W CPU vs. power input to their hypothetical PCT.

Namely, to keep said CPU "cool" at fifty degrees C, would require about 200 watts of input power from the wall into the PCT. Ouch! A pelt crushes that. But still a very interesting read, thanks for posting it.

[gone_fishin]

Originally Posted by HAL-9000

This is interesting twist on Sterling cycle that I have never heard of before. Very cool (literally!). The one thing that looks like it could be this technology's downside is in their graph predicting CPU die temps for a 100W CPU vs. power input to their hypothetical PCT.

Namely, to keep said CPU "cool" at fifty degrees C, would require about 200 watts of input power from the wall into the PCT. Ouch! A pelt crushes that. But still a very interesting read, thanks for posting it.

Interesting observation. At a mere 40 watts more, the graph shows 0C die temp. The interesting part is the packaging size. True a 240 watt pelt has the potential to keep a die the same temp, but only if the hot side is cooled sufficiently by a watercooling loop. IMO, the additional power and footprint of that loop must be considered along with the pelt for a more fair comparison. Also, a pelt is still considered a dangerous option, fire hazard etc, unless some very extensive failsafes were built into the system. Hard to imagine millions of dollars in servers with 200+ watt pelts on them.
Also, this seems to have been researched through Intel's IA64 department, which was a while ago. Nothing seems to have come of it but that could very well just be legal issues.

[Butcher]

Pelts are a fire hazard? Howso? They're made entirely on non-flammabile materials, and designed so that the connections melt and shut off the power if they severely overheat.

[kronchev]

I want a Stirling cooling system..hmm. I wonder if I can buy one of these on ebay

[HAL-9000]

Originally Posted by gone_fishin

Interesting observation. At a mere 40 watts more, the graph shows 0C die temp. The interesting part is the packaging size. True a 240 watt pelt has the potential to keep a die the same temp, but only if the hot side is cooled sufficiently by a watercooling loop. IMO, the additional power and footprint of that loop must be considered along with the pelt for a more fair comparison. Also, a pelt is still considered a dangerous option, fire hazard etc, unless some very extensive failsafes were built into the system. Hard to imagine millions of dollars in servers with 200+ watt pelts on them.
Also, this seems to have been researched through Intel's IA64 department, which was a while ago. Nothing seems to have come of it but that could very well just be legal issues.

Remember the heat source they speak of is only 100 watts, thats a lot of power to cool 100 watts to 50C or even zero. Also, there must be a way to remove the heat from ambient on the PCT just as with the peltier. still air can't radiate away all that heat from one small point.

All these systems share one trait: they somehow move heat across the device to the other side of the device using energy. Sterlings and this PCT do it mechanically, while a pelt does it using electricity. But its still the same principle for all three.

[gone_fishin]

Originally Posted by Butcher

Pelts are a fire hazard? Howso? They're made entirely on non-flammabile materials, and designed so that the connections melt and shut off the power if they severely overheat.

Did you ever see gobs of melted plastic and burnt up wiring when a waterpump fails? It's been posted a lot. A compact server case would be even worse.

[kronchev]

Originally Posted by Butcher

Pelts are a fire hazard? Howso? They're made entirely on non-flammabile materials, and designed so that the connections melt and shut off the power if they severely overheat.

by the time the solder melts, the heat from the uncooled side and the cpu combined has caused catastrophic failure