X-bit labs

Intel’s Cooler Partner Shows Off Liquid-Cooling Solution.

Category: Coolers

by Anton Shilov

[ 04/18/2006 | 12:36 PM ]

Intel Corp.’s new generation microprocessors that are based on the Intel Core micro-architecture are expected to dissipate much less heat and consume much less power that the currently used Netburst-based chips. It does not mean that eventually processors will not get to sub-100W thermal envelopes and in order to keep those chips cool, Intel and its partners are developing innovative cooling solutions.

Sunonwealth Electric Machine Industrial (Sunon), one of the main suppliers of coolers for Intel Corp.’s processors, has demonstrated at the recent Intel Developer Forum (IDF) Taipei its cooler that uses tiny liquid tank inside the radiator to cool-down central processing units (CPUs) efficiently amid maintaining quiet. This is at least the second time Intel or its close partners demonstrate cooling solutions that use liquid: at IDF Spring in the U.S. earlier this year Intel already introduced its advanced cooling technology that involves liquid pipes.

The project is called Sunon Waturbo and, according to a report by HKEPC web-site, managed to cool-down Intel Pentium 4 660 (3.60GHz, 2MB cache) processor under full-load to 54°C, down 6°C from a typical cooler supplied by Intel for the chip, while producing 25dB of noise, 8dB lower compared to the original cooler.

The Waturbo integrates a tiny liquid tank inside its radiator. The liquid tank is similar to already popular heat-pipes, but unlike the latter, it features a small electro-magnetic pump (that works when the fan rotates) that should ensure efficient water circulation, according to the manufacturer. The liquid tank is made of aluminum, but features copper heat-exchanger, and is connected to the radiator’s fins which are cooled-down by the fan’s airflow.

Sunon declares that since the Waturbo does not sport any tubes for liquid, it is more reliable compared to conventional liquid-cooling solutions. However, it remains to be seen whether its efficiency is as high as that of high-performance coolers from the professional makers of cooling products.

It is unclear when Sunon begins to sell the Waturbo and whether Intel plans to bundle its processors with the new liquid-cooling device.