1U thermal nightmare...

[Airbozo]

OK, I have been asked to investigate putting an AMD FX9590 into a 1U Chassis. My initial thought is that it is not possible due to the heat of that processor. It is running at 220 watts at stock clocks and we want it to run at 5ghz.

I've found a 1U liquid cooling solution, but it is only rated for up to 160 watts. I suppose I could use 2 of them and see what happens. I am also not sure I can even stuff a supporting motherboard into a 1U chassis.

The only other thing I need to add is a dual 10GB NIC which also puts off some significant heat.

Thoughts?

[TheMainMan]

I assume you're prepared to basically build this system from the ground up. I don't really see a way to do it with off the shelf components but I think you could pull it off if you used a M-ATX board (or even better an M-ITX board, with a 16x PCI-e slot for the 10G card) which you install off to one side of the case and then use the other part of the case to essentially build a wind tunnel where your rad lives. It would probably be one of the loudest liquid cooled single computer on the planet but I think it's feasible. If you want, I can throw together a quick sketch of how I see the layout.

[Airbozo]

Yes this would be a scratch build if necessary. I can do the chassis design and have it fabbed in about 2 weeks (or less). I was hoping to use an off the shelf case, but probably not a good option.

Part of my concern is the motherboard itself. A lot of desktop boards don't hold up well in a 1U chassis unless there is really good airflow. The noise is not an issue since it will be installed in a data center.

Oh, and I also need redundant PSU's (yet another reason to use a 2U chassis). Just found this bit out.

[blueonblack]

If you're doing this professionally... you might have the coolest job in the world.

Just saying...

:)

[Airbozo]

If you're doing this professionally... you might have the coolest job in the world.

Just saying...

:)

Part of it is cool. This is one of those parts. I may get to design a chassis from scratch for this project. Unfortunately this customer has a habit of asking for things they don't end up producing. A couple of one off systems for test would be cool though.

[Twigsoffury]

you might be highly interested in this.

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-03/new-polymer-conducts-better-metals-only-one-direction

I'd also wager to say a closed system of R-134a (or R-14 or 12 if it's still legal to use in your area) would be a way better cooling system then water, if you can confabulate a device to use such a system.

Theres also TEC cooling, but the wattages involved in those systems are ridiculous, there is always a solution to your problem, sometimes it just involves thinking outside of the box.

[Airbozo]

you might be highly interested in this.

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-03/new-polymer-conducts-better-metals-only-one-direction

I'd also wager to say a closed system of R-134a (or R-14 or 12 if it's still legal to use in your area) would be a way better cooling system then water, if you can confabulate a device to use such a system.

Theres also TEC cooling, but the wattages involved in those systems are ridiculous, there is always a solution to your problem, sometimes it just involves thinking outside of the box.

Thanks for the link. I've read about that system, but have not seen any production information.

I've got the customer to rethink the 1U option and instead we are shooting for a 2U systems. I have my doubts about the desktop board fitting in a 1U anyway and since they want a dual port 10gb interface, using a 2U chassis means I don't have to use a riser card. I have been in talks with Asetek, but they have a minimum order quantity of 50 units. I only need for for these prototypes right now.

I am still looking for the best motherboard option. The best one for overclocking does not have onboard video. I would prefer not to use an add in GPU.

Thanks again for the ideas guys...

[Konrad]

2U is still pretty tight for thermal management if you intend to do heavy processing.

The coolest-running 1U/2U racks I've ever seen all utilized some sort of stacked chimney-airflow sort of arrangement, typically with top- and/or bottom-units dedicated purely towards fans, radiators, pumps/reservoirs, and the rest.

I think you could still manage a cool high-end 1U if you opted for as much mobo-integrated stuff as possible instead of plug-in cards, then filled the space up with excessive fan/heatpipe components. It kinda doesn't seem worth the effort, unless physical space and computing density has a much higher priority than time and cost (initial and in the long-term, if you imagine the hardware servicing, maintenance, and upgrade hassles).