GIGABYTE Direct Liquid Cooling Solution

GIGABYTE has independently developed a Direct Liquid Cooling (DLC) solution designed for high-density computing in data centers. The advanced cooling system operates by allowing direct contact between heat-generating components, such as CPUs or GPUs, and a cold plate connected to tubes with coolant inside, effectively removing heat from the server via a more efficient and rapid means. Compared to traditional air-cooled systems, DLC transfers heat at a much higher rate, ensuring overall system performance and stability.

GIGABYTE's Direct Liquid Cooling system can be easily integrated with both liquid-to-air and liquid-to-liquid cooling systems, requiring minimal modifications to existing cooling hardware in data centers. It effectively assists customers in addressing the continuously increasing demands for greater heat dissipation at a resonable cost and with the ease of deployment.

One node with coldplate loop

Cooling Challenges for AI, HPC, and Cloud Computing

Following the booming numbers in cloud computing services, artificial Intelligence (AI) has also started to become mainstream in every part of our daily lives. Combining the high-performance computing (HPC) needed in the field of scientific research, data centers worldwide continue to grow in number and scale. As the demand for computing power rapidly expands with limited space to be utilized, data centers are forced to come up with a much higher density solution, bringing unprecedented loads to the traditional air-cooling system design. Furthermore, the vibration generated by cooling fans in a server may result in damage to server components such as HDDs, and the noise could potentially damage the hearing of workers that routinely maintain IT hardware.

It is estimated that data centers now consume approximately 1% of the world's electricity, with the average power usage effectiveness (PUE) being in the range of 1.4 to 1.6. This number indicates that around 33% of the facility power is spent not on powering the IT hardware itself but on facility costs, including a majority part on air conditioning. Direct liquid cooling is a much more efficient way of transferring heat away from electrical components than air, requiring far less energy infrastructure for cooling. In addition, since air cooling equipment within a server, such as large fans and heat sinks, is no longer required, liquid cooling systems can fit into a more compact design, potentially supporting a much greater density of CPUs and GPUs in limited space.

Overall, the popular and standardized direct liquid cooling technology has been proven effective throughout the past few years, and it is now a mature technology suitable for all scale of applications from small-sized data centers and smaller HPC cluster deployments to exascale computing facilities.

Why GIGABYTE DLC Solution

All-in-one & fully optimized

With all components, from servers and cold plates to racks and CDUs, made by GIGABYTE and verified partners, GIGABYTE DLC solution offers an all-in-one rack solution suitable for customers seeking a complete setup with optimal performance.
Flexible & reliable

GIGABYTE uses connectors from Stäubli, a reliable and experienced industry leader, to build the DLC solution. And the solution has been tested with various brands, allowing customers to customize configurations with products from verified partners.
Faster delivery at a lower cost

By moving components manufacturing to GIGABYTE, the solution can be delivered within a much shorter lead time and at a good price, reducing the total cost while ensuring the same high-quality performance and services provided by GIGABYTE and its partners.

GIGABYTE DLC Solution Composition

Passive Cold Plate Loops

GIGABYTE's and Motivair's cold plates are designed to support high TDP CPUs and GPUs, maximizing their heat dissipation efficiency while handling intense applications such as generative AI. Warm coolant exits the cold plate as cooler coolant enters, all possible by the CDU, where heat exchange and pumps are. Pumps in a reliable CDU help minimize the potential for failure at the cold plate.

Rack Manifolds

The rack manifold connects liquid-cooled server nodes to a rack-based CDU, featuring a reliable stainless steel design and 100% dry-break quick disconnects for safe, quick maintenance of any server node. The connectors are highlighted in red (outlet) and blue (inlet) and the manifold using a parallel cooling design. And the rack manifold is easy to install, occupying a small space as a single power distribution unit (PDU). We provide manifolds from either GIGABYTE or Motivair to meet the needs of enterprises.

Coolant Distribution Unit (CDU)

GIGABYTE partnered with Motivair, global leaders and innovators in cooling IT hardware, and configured their coolant distribution units (CDU) into the GIGABYTE DLC solution to ensure a cost-effective and compelling performance. The most common form factor for the CDU is 4U, and one CDU can support cooling for a full rack. The CDU features redundant circulating pumps and is capable of installation at the top or the bottom of any standard 19” rack. A 4U CDU has a cooling capacity greater than 100kW, making it suitable for all kinds of server configurations. Warranty and maintenance services are provided by Motivair worldwide

Applications

AI and HPC

Ensuring exceptional performance when handling demanding compute and GPU workloads is crucial for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and High-Performance Computing (HPC) heavy, complex workloads. GIGABYTE servers not only deliver outstanding performance but also effectively address the heat dissipation requirements that accompany the most powerful GPUs available today. Coupled with GIGABYTE's DLC technology, systems achieve peak performance in a dense configuration.
Cloud Computing

Cloud computing services are known for their higher capacity, incredible processing performance and resource allocation, and density driven data centers, demanding more powerful cooling methods within a limited space. GIGABYTE‘s DLC technology optimizes space and decreases component failure rates. This achieves sustainable and performance objectives.
Scientific Computing and Data Analytics

Big data analytics and scientific simulations are common workloads for engineers and data scientists. With the demands of high-performance parallel computing and low latency with high bandwidth, computational power generates a significant amount of heat. Adopting GIGABYTE's DLC technology effectively dissipates heat from servers, contributing to the stability and enhancement of scientific simulations and research work.

Another Step Toward Green Computing with GIGABYTE DLC Solution

GIGABYTE DLC technology further demonstrates our commitment to sustainability. Compared to air cooling solutions, the direct liquid cooling solution is more energy-efficient as seen in its low PUE value. It eliminates the need for additional server fans, and the passive cold plates and CDUs enable precise control of the system's operating temperature. This results in a significant decrease in lost energy and noise. At the same time, the lower and stable component temperature extends the hardware lifespan.

The GIGABYTE DLC solution not only provides innovative technical solutions but also reflects GIGABYTE’s leadership in advancing technology, tackling heat dissipation challenges, and pursuing sustainable development. It enables clients to achieve environmental sustainability aligned objectives and usher in green computing. Additionally, it facilitates rapid deployment for businesses, streamlines client verification and evaluation processes, saves time, and reduces operational costs.

GIGABYTE Direct Liquid Cooling Solution