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Systems & Data Center · Advanced

Direct-to-Chip Liquid Cooling

Cooling that circulates liquid through cold plates mounted on CPUs and GPUs to remove heat at the source.

Definition

Direct liquid cooling (DLC) supports rack densities far beyond air cooling, which is necessary for modern AI GPU servers drawing more than 100 kW per rack. Coolant distribution units (CDUs) exchange heat with facility water. Immersion cooling, an alternative, submerges hardware in dielectric fluid.

Example

A GPU cluster uses cold plates and in-row CDUs to cool 120 kW racks.

Exam tip

AI-era rack densities push designs from air to liquid cooling; know DLC versus immersion.

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