Purdue developing tiny PC cooling system

Computerworld - This version of the story originally appeared in Computerworld's print edition.

Researchers at Purdue University last week said they have developed a tiny refrigeration system that could be used to cool laptop and desktop computers within two years.

The technology should enable PC manufacturers to improve the cooling systems in traditional laptops and build much smaller computers, said Suresh Garimella, a professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue.

"Traditionally, you use a fan to blow air on a chip -- room temperature air," said Garimella. "If I could push chilled air onto the chip, then I get a lot more cooling." The devices are designed to dramatically increase the amount of heat that can be removed from a computer, he added.

The system pumps refrigerants through tiny compressors and tubing. The technology could be integrated into a microprocessor, or it could replace a computer's traditional air-cooled heat sink.

Suresh Garimella and colleague Eckhard Groll work on their minature cooling system

The new cooling technique will probably be used first in gaming systems and then in high-end laptops, Garimella projected.

Dan Olds, an analyst at Gabriel Consulting Group Inc., noted that "keeping the heat down is crucially important in chips. It's a big deal, and something that manufacturers are dealing with from supercomputers on down."

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