IBM Creates a Cooler Supercomputer

Chilled water reduces energy needs for a more powerful machine
By Laila Weir,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 8, 2008 1:10 PM CDT
IBM Creates a Cooler Supercomputer
The IBM logo at the main campus in Research Triangle Park, N.C. is seen in this July 31, 2007 file photo.   (AP Photo/Karen Tam, file)

IBM has found a way to squeeze five times the performance out of a supercomputer at just 40% of the power. The newest version of the Power 575 draws chilled water into the computer and runs it through copper plates above processors to cool them, before expelling the heated water, reports CNet. This method reduces the need for air conditioning.

The system draws heat out of the computer, making it more efficient than previous systems that left warm water inside the machine. "Water is about 4,000 times as efficient as air to cool a system," says IBM’s general manager of power systems.The new Power 575 has 448 processing cores. (More IBM stories.)

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