An Expansion on Applied

By Spencer Ellsworth LAES 400

November 29, 2012

Abstract In the world of professional technology, many businesses utilize servers and Ap- ple products in their day-to-day work, relying upon these machines for the liveli- hood of their operations. However, the technology being used is limited by a single, ever-important factor: heat. The key to improved performance, increased computer longevity, and lower upkeep costs lies in managing machine temperatures. Previously, this topic was investigated for the world of PCs. In this paper, modifications, upgrades, and available components that improve cooling are discussed in regard to servers and Apple products. Through the use of these methodologies, the aformentioned improve- ments may be achieved. Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 Background 1

3 Servers 2 3.1 Freestanding ...... 3 3.2 Rack Mount ...... 3

4 Apple Products 5 4.1 Difficulties ...... 5 4.2 Mac Desktops ...... 5 4.2.1 iMac ...... 6 4.2.2 ...... 6 4.3 ...... 7 4.4 Apple TV ...... 7 4.5 MacBook ...... 8

5 Business Economics 8 5.1 Servers ...... 8 5.2 Apple ...... 9

6 Related Work 9

7 Conclusion 10 1 Introduction freestanding and rack mount servers, as their differences are significant. The topics of “Now this is not the end. It is not even this paper then make a transition to Ap- the beginning of the end. But it is, per- ple products, touching upon the difficulties haps, the end of the beginning.” -Sir Win- in improving cooling for Apple machines, as ston Churchill, 1942 well as individual investigations of the iMac, Six months ago, the author completed a Mac Pro, Mac Mini, Apple TV, and Mac- research, analysis, and experimentation pa- Book. Sections on business economics, re- per. Entitled “Applied Computer Cooling,” lated work, and the potential for future work the paper ended with the above quote from will help bring context to the technical re- Sir Winston Churchill. In this paper, meth- search and will explain the impact of the in- ods for managing temperatures in PCs were formation that was found. investigated. Over the months since that pa- per’s publishing, a number of feedback com- ments and results have pointed to a desire 2 Background for more information on cooling. Specifi- cally, a large number of people were inter- In many cases, businesses use servers as they ested in information pertaining to the cool- are sold, with no modification, following the ing of servers and Apple products. In the initial setup. Yet, the similarities between same way that the original paper was in- a great deal of architecture and that tended to serve as a guide for users with com- of PCs invite the possibility that cooling puter knowledge at all levels, this work will components for one may be able to be used follow a similar structure of clear and con- for the other, albeit with minor modifica- cise examples coupled with straight-forward tions [15]. To clarify this terminology, com- definitions. While this paper may be seen puter architecture is defined as “the struc- as a standalone work, some concepts will be ture, behaviour, and design of computers” more clear following the reading of “Applied [12]. This, in turn, includes all internal com- Computer Cooling” [16]. ponents, such as the , RAM, It is the hope of the author that this pa- harddrives, and cooling devices. It is on ac- per will provide the reader with a greater count of these points that the concept of im- depth of knowledge regarding the available proved cooling for servers is, more often than options for the cooling of servers and Ap- not, unrealized and unexplored. ple products. The following information is This same lack of realization may be ap- meant as a broad overview of the available plied to Apple products. An entirely dif- options and not as an exhaustive listing. Ed- ferent culture surrounds Apple and their ucation on these options will lead to better user base, as compared to that of PC users, decision making and increased returns. whether they be Windows gamers, Linux Background information will introduce power users, or simply computer owners, the reader to the topics at hand and the as- who had no desire to pay the typically-higher pects that are being examined. Next, servers cost for a machine based on Apple’s Mac will be covered, the research discussing both OS X operating system. This Apple culture

1 tends to settle (not necessarily in a negative completely unnecessary. However, despite manner) for that which is offered and pro- servers being much the same as computers, vided by Apple for their customers. Many for all intents and purposes of consideration, customers are entirely satisfied with their ex- the exception lies in their cooling, because perience and with the usage and function- the primary difference is in their architec- ality of their machines. However, for some tures in most cases. In order to be clear, in more advanced users, questions, regarding this section, the hardware side of a server is unadvertised and greater ranges of perfor- being discussed, as “server” can also refer to mance, have been raised. In addition, some the software running on such a machine or owners of Apple computers simply have the a remote service accessible via the Internet desire for their machines to work better than [11]. when they were first built. The differences between servers and com- In “Applied Computer Cooling,” the au- puters may still seem minuscule and irrele- thor discussed primarily air, liquid, and pas- vant; however, servers run for long periods sive cooling. involves utilizing of time without interruption, requiring re- fans to push cool air across hot components liable and efficient cooling to be used, es- and/or pull hot air away from components. pecially when it has such a huge impact Often, these components are mounted with on energy consumption. According to the heatsinks and other heat dissipation devices, president of the prominent microprocessor and it is from these devices that the air car- company, ARM, “...servers themselves ac- ries away heat. Liquid cooling combines a count for around 2.5 percet of the US energy passive , usually from the cen- bill, and cooling them accounts for as much tral processing unit (CPU) to a plate called again” [4]. Different servers perform differ- the “.” This water block con- ent tasks, but, rather than get into server nects to a via hoses that shuttle purposes, two main server hardware types, across the block, drawing away the the freestanding server and the rack mount heat. , then, is essentially server, will be addressed, along with meth- a non-electronic utilization of part of these ods of cooling for each. previous two methods. Heatsinks and other The front line of defense for many servers devices for dissipating heat are mounted to against high temperatures is climate con- computer components, and the ambient air trol. This typically takes the form of special carries away that heat, which has been pro- air conditioners for the room in which the duced in the operation of the computer [16]. server is located. As these rooms are typi- These topics will be discussed in the context cally enclosed and sequestered from sight, it of server and Apple computer architecture. is important that they are maintained at a safe temperature to decrease the likelihood of heat-related issues. Airflow throughout 3 Servers the server area and low humidity levels are also critical and can be maintained using The argument might be made by some special cooling equipment meant for use with that a section on the cooling of servers is servers [3]. For small business servers or

2 home servers, a full-sized, special cooling setup. A pump that is powerful enough unit may not be necessary. However, main- to cycle the liquid through the extra tub- taining low temperatures, low humidity, and ing distance added by the addition of one constant airflow should still be a priority, in or more additional CPUs will be necessary. much the same way that this plays an im- Additionally, most waterblocks are not sold portant role in the functionality of desktop with the mounting options for server moth- computers [15]. erboards, which are different than those of most desktop computers. Thus, mounts that 3.1 Freestanding match the server processor type must be pur- chased and used [13]. While this sounds like While a freestanding server may look a lot a complicated process, the returns of perfor- like a typical desktop, the architecture of mance increase and electricity consumption the motherboard itself, as well as much of decrease are worth the effort. the other components, differs in order to support multiple users, etc. Server moth- 3.2 Rack Mount erboards require much more RAM and pro- cessing power in order to handle multiple Rack mounted servers differ from freestand- sources of draw on their resources. Be- ing servers in their physical appearance and cause of this, freestanding servers need cool- how they are stored. Rather than being con- ing options that can handle these differ- tained in a single upright case, these servers ences. Some of the available desktop com- have their components arranged in shallow, puter modifications can be retrofitted to be tray-like cases, which are mounted in upright appropriate for use in a freestanding server. cabinet racks. These servers are especially These include heatsink lapping, heatsink up- utilized, when an organization has multiple grades, and fan upgrades [15]. servers, and space is at a premium [15]. As it was with desktop computers, one of Dell has implemented a number of ad- the best cooling upgrades that can be made vances that are meant to improve power and to a freestanding server is the addition of cooling efficiency in their latest PowerEdge liquid cooling. Unlike with desktop comput- servers. It may be possible to modify other ers, liquid cooling kits for servers are not as servers to include these advanced compo- prominent and popular. However, the com- nents. Power supplies with improved energy ponents to set up liquid cooling on a free- efficiency will also lower temperatures within standing server do exist. Most liquid cooling the server, as will better ventilation and air- kits can be modified to fit the different moth- flow. These PowerEdge servers also utilize erboard architecture [15]. The drawback lies low-flow fan technology to keep air moving with the necessity of using kits of individual will minimizing power consumption [14]. components, rather than being able to uti- Asetek is another company that has lize standalone, closed-loop systems, such as made great improvements in the area of were part of past experimets [16]. Custom- server cooling. They have implemented built liquid cooling systems allow users to a methodology of cooling rack-mounted incorporate numerous waterblocks into the servers that involves the use of liquid CPU

3 coolers much like those used in desktop com- heat is then carried out of the shelf via the puters. However, these systems allow for the coolant lines and dissipated in the same way cooling of numerous CPUs utilizing a sin- as the first variation, without the use of a gle coolant loop, thus reducing the need for radiator fan. By cooling the air around the multiple . Their company has de- components on this small scale, rather than veloped several different variations on this with an unit for the entire cooling modification [8]. server room, a great deal of energy is saved, The first variation is a system, by which thereby also saving large amounts of money all water blocks, on each CPU, in a single [10]. shelf are on the same coolant circuit. This What was once a cooling method at- circuit, along with those of the other shelves, tempted only by extreme computer cooling then feeds into a greater circuit, which is enthusiasts with their desktops, mineral oil built into the sides of the cabinet. Using only has seen a rise in popularity in the world ambient air and no radiator, the heat is bled of server cooling, thanks to the Intel cor- off the cooling system. Without the use of poration. In this setup, their server rack a radiator fan, the power savings are quite shelves are mounted horizontally, on their large [9]. Additionally, as has been previ- sides, in large tub-like, liquid-filled enclo- ously discussed and proven, the use of liquid sures. The design almost appears as though cooling will improve the performance of the someone tipped a rack mount server cabinet server itself [16]. onto its front. The standard server cables Asetek’s second variation on server rack are all that emerge from above the surface liquid cooling closely resembles a rack mount of the mineral oil, which completely covers server-version of the standard liquid CPU the servers themselves [19]. Intel is using cooler used in desktop computers. In fact, a setup developed by Green Revolution, a the components are the same, as the closed company claiming that the use of their min- loop is comprised of a waterblock; a radi- eral will lead to huge energy sav- ator fitted with fans, which are made for ings, because the oil has 1,200 times more rack-mounted servers; and tubes to carry the heat capacity than air [18]. While this is coolant through the system [7] certainly a strong supporting point and one The third liquid cooling setup from that would lower costs immensely, it does Asetek for rack mount servers is a bit more require a certain commitment to the setup, complicated than the other two. Utiliz- as space must be found for the purpose of ing a concept that Asetek calls the “sealed installing the immersion tanks. In general, server,” this setup endeavors to eliminate the these tanks will consume more floor space need for any air conditioning, or other cool- than a standard rack mount server cabinet, ing unit for the server room itself, by isolat- as the server shelves are rotated 90 degrees ing the server components from that ambi- from their typical orientation [19]. However, ent air. In this variation, the entire server for companies that can front the initial cost shelf is completely enclosed. Water blocks of setup, the reduced maintenance (relative cool the CPUs and a draws to other liquid cooling methods for servers) heat from the air within the case. All of this will be a huge bonus [18].

4 One final methodology for server cool- The architecture of Apple systems tends ing does not involve liquid cooling. Rather, toward being very tightly controlled. These this method attempts to use air condition- restrictions serve to make modifications and ing to the fullest possible extent of its effi- the use of third party components more dif- ciency. In-rack cooling, developed by 42U, ficult than it would be with a PC equivalent situates a special air conditioning unit be- [15]. Additionally, the use of BIOS with PCs tween two server rack cabinets. This unit allows for easier and more open changes to forces the cool air through the racks and the be made than the Extensible Firmware In- warm air into a heat exchanger. By only terface (EFI) used by Apple [24]. applying the air conditioning to the servers The high level of aesthetic design that themselves and creating a microclimate (un- dominates many of Apple’s computers also affected by and neutral to the rest of the reduces the options for increased cooling. room), the efficiency of the energy usage is One excellent example of this is the Mac increased [1]. Mini, a with a very small form. Several -style heatsinks and a single fan comprise the internal cooling setup 4 Apple Products for the generation of Mac Mini from mid- 2010 [20]. While the noise level of these com- Difficulties exist that dissuade many users ponents is very minimal and thus would not from modifying their Apple products. De- be worth attempting to improve, the pos- spite this, upgrades are possible on many sibility for increased cooling capability due Apple devices. These devices with poten- to changing the internal setup is very small tial include Mac desktops (the iMac and the [15]. Mac Pro), the Mac Mini, the Apple TV, and the MacBook. 4.2 Mac Desktops

4.1 Difficulties The aesthetic design also plays an important role in the cooling capabilities of Apple’s For years, one of the most prominent com- desktop computers, including the iMac and plaints the author has heard, regarding Ap- the Mac Pro. (The previously mentioned ple computers, centers around their ten- Mac Mini will be discussed in another sec- dency toward high temperatures and, occa- tion.) Designs for these desktops vary from sionally, overheating [15]. Users, who are one generation of computers to the next, in more familiar with PCs, may first consider most cases. For example, an advanced cool- upgrading the cooling systems on these Ap- ing solution that may apply to the most re- ple computers in order that some of those cent line of , from mid-2011, may or cooling issues may be addressed. However, may not also apply to those from the gen- two specific difficulties exist that make the erations released in mid-2010 and late-2009. effort of acquiring and installing improved All three of these generations maintained the cooling systems into a trial - changing archi- same external casing but varied in their in- tecture and case design. ternal configurations. The implications of

5 this will be discussed shortly [5]. Externally, fans could be added to the Unless otherwise specified, the discussion case of the iMac to achieve some increases will focus on available (and theoretical, to a in cooling efficiency. Inward-pointing fans degree) solutions for the most current gen- mounted on the air intake vents would in- eration. Yet, with the great similarities that crease the flow of air through the iMac case; often exist from one product version to the however, this methodology could also cause next, there is little doubt that similar modifi- turbulence within the computer, leading to cations could be extrapolated for older com- increased fan noise and potential problems puters [5]. Indeed, these may have already with the original computer fans. Another been developed. option would be mounting outward-pointing fans on the exhaust ports. This modifica- tion serves to draw heat away from the iMac 4.2.1 iMac at a faster rate than could be accomplished The iMac all-in-one computer presents an otherwise [15]. interesting challenge for cooling upgrades, as the thin design with all components lo- 4.2.2 Mac Pro cated behind the screen limits the amount of space available for modification of the ex- Back in 2004, the then-named “Power Mac isting cooling system. Without physically G5” utilized a liquid cooling system that was changing any part of the machine, the pro- incredibly prone to leaking. While it was up- gram smcFanControl allows users to manu- dated in the generation of Power Mac G5s ally raise the speed of the fan in their com- that were released the next year, the rise of puter [27]. While this will certainly increase processors with better heat management led cooling, it should be noted that doing so will to Apple’s discontinuation of including liq- also raise power consumption by the iMac. uid cooling systems in their line of full-sized The heatsink on the CPU cooler should, desktops, now known as “Mac Pro” [23]. in theory, be lappable. Lapping is a pro- Liquid cooling in the Mac Pro remains pos- cess by which better surface contact between sible, along with nearly every desktop cool- the processor and the heatsink is achieved ing modification discussed in “Applied Com- through the smoothing of these contact sur- puter Cooling.” This includes such modifica- faces [16]. tions as upgraded fans, liquid CPU cooling, Component upgrades are another option, and heatsink lapping [16]. to a degree. Some websites, such as Newegg, The difficulty in implementing some of do sell third-party CPU coolers and fans for these modifications lies in the lack of avail- machines like the iMac [29]. However, these able parts. Third party fans for Mac Pros third-party components for Apple comput- are difficult to obtain because very few ers are typically very rare in comparison to are actually produced. Currently, no liq- their PC counterparts. If they can be ac- uid CPU coolers exist for Apple products; quired, these parts may provide such up- however, these can be made custom [15]. grades as increased cooling efficiency, quieter Asetek, a company specializing in the liq- fans, or less power consumption. uid cooling of data centers, modified the

6 mount for the water block of a liquid cooler lous idea, consider that most desktops do, in in order that it might properly be affixed fact, have grating, of some sort, somewhere upon the motherboard of a dual-processor on the case for this very reason. Another Mac Pro, which also involved making some method for increasing the cooling capabili- motherboard modifications and combining ties of the Mac Mini is a software-based so- parts of two separate liquid cooling kits [6]. lution, such as smcFanControl. However, it This successful modification allowed for in- should again be noted that setting the fans creased system functionality (through both to higher speeds will raise the computer’s liquid cooling and an overclock) and much power consumption. Finally, heatsink lap- less noise being produced by the computer. ping could be utilized, though it is unclear However, this custom job involved a great as to whether this might have detrimental ef- deal of time spent by professional technicians fects on the laptop-style heatsink employed and an estimated minimum cost of around in the Mac Mini. $200 for the parts [28]. (See the Related Work section for more details.) 4.4 Apple TV

4.3 Mac Mini The Apple TV may not be considered a com- puter by some. However, once the technical Much of the popularity of the Mac Mini, specifications are examined, it becomes obvi- since its first inception, has been derived ous that the Apple TV is nothing more than from its small form factor. This allows a micro-computer. The most current version owners to utilize the Mac Mini in locations utilizes a processor and graphics chip that where normal desktops would not fit, even are almost identical to those present in cer- those utilizing one of the famously-compact tain versions of the Apple iPhone and iPad MicroATX-size , as is the case [5]. While this may raise questions regarding of the primary experimentation computer in cooling possibilities, users have developed “Applied Computer Cooling” [22]. How- various modifications that allow for better ever, as previously mentioned, the compo- performance through increased cooling. The nents used internally for cooling the Mac first cooling modification is not truly a mod- Mini are essentially of the same design, as ification so much as it is an addition. The would be found in a large laptop. This con- Apple TV has a single USB port, which was tinues to be true in the most recent Mac intended for use in diagnostic work. How- Mini release [21]. This extremely limits the ever, any USB accessories may be plugged options for upgrading these components and into this port with success, including cool- thus improving the cooling capabilities of the ing pads that are typically meant for use machine. with . This may increase the cooling Despite these limitations, a few modifi- of the Apple TV immensely, as some users cations could still be made that do not in- have found [31]. Because of the shape and volve replacing components. First, this case size of the Apple TV, a cooling pad with a might be modified to increase the ambient single large fan set in the middle would be airflow. While this may sound like a ridicu- more effective than those designed with two,

7 or more, smaller fans arranged in a symmet- 4.5 MacBook rical (or other) pattern [15]. The available options for cooling a Mac- Book, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air are In addition to the cooling pad, another much the same as those for cooling any lap- laptop cooling technique may be applied to top - virtually nonexistent. The best option the Apple TV. Raising it off the surface on for decreasing temperatures and increasing which it rests, by a greater height than what performance is a laptop cooling pad. There the built-in feet would typically lift it, will are many options, yet any of them will dissi- serve to allow a greater airflow below the pate heat from the case and improve cool- device, facilitating increased cooling. This ing [15]. The previously mentioned soft- technique may be used in conjunction with ware, smcFanControl, could be used on any the fan in the pad for a more effective so- of these Apple laptops. However, changing lution [15]. Modifying the device to include settings on laptop fans can have a negative a fan on top may also be helpful, especially effect on more than the power consumption, with earlier generations of Apple TVs, which and doing so is not recommended. had a greater surface area on the top and bottom (providing more surface for cooling). When one user combined this with lifting the 5 Business Economics machine, the Apple TV showed a drastic de- crease in temperature [2]. Severs and Apple machines maintain a large presence in many businesses around the world. To this end, the financial impact of On the extreme end of modifying the Ap- cooling modifications is an important point ple TV for better temperatures lies a method that must be included in professional techno- that involves directly addressing the Ap- logical decisions. While changes to the cool- ple TV’s small case. As the heat radiat- ing of servers will have a greater impact on ing from the components gathers inside the costs for business, Apple products are still case, it will cause the internal temperature important for companies’ IT specialists to to rise, thus further increasing the temper- take into consideration. atures of those components. An Apple TV owner from the MacRumors forum modified 5.1 Servers the storage mechanism of his device in or- der to bring the harddrive outside of the “Servers” refers machines used for a wide va- case [26]. This, in turn, removes one of riety of operations, typically hosting a body the major sources of heat generation from of information, which can then be remotely within the Apple TV enclosure and will, sub- accessed via a local network or the Internet. sequently, lower internal temperatures and This information includes email, files, web- their effect on the other components. Lo- sites, and video games [11]. The uses are cating the storage medium outside the case varied and numerous, and it is for these rea- also allows for greater ambient cooling of this sons, and more, that a large number of busi- component[15]. nesses employ servers in their technological

8 infrastructure [15]. many businesses to choose Apple for their Maintaining a server involves a large fi- workstations. Sometimes, these companies nancial cost on account of the standard cool- might use Macs and PCs together, but they ing measures that are typically employed - will still expect a high level of performance specialized air conditioning units that are from their machines. The cost of Apple ma- up-sized variations on those used to cool chines is notoriously high, which may cause homes and businesses around the world [3]. businesses to question the need for addi- This cost increases exponentially with the tional costs when the reason for them is the size of the company, as this almost assuredly improvement of something that Apple adver- brings an increase in server size. With tises as being top-of-the-line [5]. However, large companies often running their servers the truth is twofold. Increases in technol- at their maximum capability, regardless of ogy will bring about components that run at the necessity, or lack thereof, the use (and higher temperatures than those of their pre- waste of electricity) can be staggering - and cursors. This being said, increases in tech- these numbers compound to enormous elec- nology will also give rise to increased cool- tricity bills. Actually imparting the size of ing technology within the components. The the numbers is difficult, but one example catch is that the improvements in integrated is the use of electricity by the servers at cooling technology are not increasing at the data centers (whose entire business revolves same rate as the temperature levels of more around them) in 2010. Two percent of the powerful components [15]. entire electricity usage in the United States While Apple has reportedly been work- for all of that year went to data centers [17]. ing on the development of a liquid cooling With these massive draws of electricity, system since 2006, such a setup has yet to the reduction of those numbers can only be be made available for retail purchase [30]. beneficial to those, who lessen their costs. With reported temperatures for new proces- The foremost, and most effective, method of sors, such as Intel’s i7, reaching very high doing so would be to improve the cooling levels, it is logical that cooling these com- methodologies used with servers. Many of ponents would result in higher performance the modifications mentioned in the section [25]. This is not to say that, without up- on server cooling may be scaled to a data graded cooling, these computers will experi- center of any size. Upgrades can only pay for ence detrimental effects (though it is a pos- themselves in savings, time and time again. sibility), rather that the full extent of their capabilities may not be realized with a stock 5.2 Apple setup. A number of professions, such as graphic de- signers, publishers, video editors, and mu- 6 Related Work sicians, use Apple computers almost exclu- sively in their work on account of compatibil- The engineers at Asetek specialize in liquid ity, usability, program necessity, and other cooling solutions for servers, desktops, and reasons. Personal preference also drives laptops [8]. In a project moderately related

9 to the research of the author of this paper, Pro. They both maintained the same level Asetek delved into the possibilities of us- of performance and temperatures through- ing a liquid cooling solution for a Mac Pro. out the testing [6]. While their intentions were intially to quiet While the results of the testing may seem the relatively loud computer (and thus im- to be inconclusive, the difference reveals it- prove productivity within the work environ- self in a cost comparison. The primary spec- ment in which it was located), their results ification difference between the machines is were even more spectacular [6]. the processor. One machine contained two The machine being modified was an 8- quad-core Intel processors, originally core, 2.8GHz Mac Pro. A 120mm radia- running at 2.8GHz. The other computer tor was fitted with two low-noise fans. This (the stock, air-cooled machine) contained apparatus was then connected to two wa- two quad-core Intel Xeon processors, run- terblocks, situated on the two CPUs. The ning at 3.2GHz. According to Asetek, the whole system was connected by tubing to cost of the first computer, including the liq- form a single cooling loop. It should be uid cooling upgrade, was less than that of noted that most of the parts were taken from the second machine [6]. While these proces- multiple liquid cooling kits in order to be sors are no longer being sold in Apple ma- combined for this single, custom system [6]. chines, an inspection of the current gener- After the cooling modification had been ation of the current generation of Mac Pro installed, the engineers ran performance machines shows that similar processor per- tests, comparing the modified machine to a formance increase would cost approximately stock, air-cooled 8-core, 3.2GHz Mac Pro. $1,200 for the additional 0.4GHz [5]. This second machine had a much higher cost (for the increased stock performance). Another modification that had been per- 7 Conclusion formed on the 2.8GHz Mac Pro was over- clocking, which is the process of electron- Many people do not have a familiarity with ically increasing performance by changing the cooling of servers and Apple products, component settings. typically nor do they realize the importance of this causes greater heat generation by the com- topic. This paper has provided a broad puter. Thus, it is typically necessary for overview of the methodologies and reason- upgraded cooling to be used in conjunction ing behind the use of advanced cooling with an overclocked computer. After the with these technologies. Upgrades are avail- overclocking, the 2.8GHz Mac Pro was run- able for both freestanding and rack mount ning at 3.16GHz, just short of the stock servers. From minor modifications, such as Mac Pro’s 3.2GHz. The results were conclu- heatsink lapping, better heatsinks, and im- sive: the addition of liquid cooling absolutely proved fans; to major component additions, improved performance. After running the including custom liquid-cooling systems for same performance tests on both machines, freestanding servers and the immersion/full- it was found that the overclocked Mac Pro integration rack-mount systems; a num- ran quieter than the stock, air-cooled Mac ber of both established and experimental

10 server cooling methodologies could be imple- Apple product, in a number of ways. Asetek mented. may have a great amount of resources avail- Advanced cooling for Apple products able for projects, such as these, but their does not fall under the one-size-fits-all men- work is sure to inspire future enthusiasts to tality. With the iMac, Mac Pro, Mac Mini, homebrew their own advanced setups. Apple TV, and MacBook all maintaining dif- The importance of this advanced cool- ferent architectures, cooling components and ing cannot be stressed enough, especially in their availability are just as different. Many the world of business. Every new computer, non-basic cooling solutions for Apple ma- every new server, and every successive data chines are custom-built and/or rare. center places a greater drain on the resources However, the subject of cooling Apple of the business, and the power resources, computers has risen in popularity. As shown than ever before. Upgrading the cooling sys- in the section on related work, Asetek has tems can only help, as it will improve per- taken it upon themselves to devise this same formance, extend computer longevity, and type of custom system. They demonstrated lower upkeep costs. The choice will never how it was, in fact, superior to the stock be clearer.

“Information technology and business are becoming inextricably interwoven. I don’t think anybody can talk meaningfully about one without the talking about the other.” -Bill Gates, Chairman of Microsoft

Licensed under: Creative Commons, November of 2012.

11 References

[1] 42U, “In-Rack Cooling in Server Rooms & Data Centers,” http://www.42u.com/ cooling/in-rack-cooling/in-rack-cooling.htm, 2012.

Information regarding 42U’s in-rack cooling setups.

[2] Administrator Robert, “Apple TV 1st gen cooling fan ”mod” thread,” http://www. rdhworld.myzen.co.uk/smfcu/index.php?topic=16118.0, February 2011.

Forum posts describing the addition of a fan to the top of an Apple TV.

[3] air & water, “Server room air conditioners,” http://www.air-n-water.com/ server-room-ac.htm, October 2012.

Information regarding air conditioning units and cooling in server rooms.

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Article on power consumption in computer components, mentioning US power consumption by servers.

[5] Apple, “Apple,” http://www.apple.com, October 2012.

A great deal of information regarding Apple’s products, including their com- puters.

[6] Asetek, “Asetek Liquid Cooled & Overclocked Apple Mac Pro,” http://www.asetek. com/blog/163-asetek-liquid-cooled-a-overclocked-apple-mac-pro.html, August 2010.

Article on Asetek’s custom liquid-cooled Apple Mac Pro.

[7] ——, “Internal Loop Liquid Cooling,” http://www.asetek.com/server/ internal-loop-liquid-cooling.html, October 2012.

Article on Asetek’s Internal Loop Liquid Cooling.

[8] ——, “Liquid Cooling & for CPU and GPU,” http://www.asetek.com, October 2012.

Asetek’s homepage.

[9] ——, “RackCDU Liquid Cooling,” http://www.asetek.com/server/rackcdu.html, Oc- tober 2012.

Article on Asetek’s RackCDU Liquid Cooling.

12 [10] ——, “Sealed Server Liquid Cooling,” http://www.asetek.com/server/sealed-server. html, October 2012.

Article on Asetek’s Sealed Server Liquid Cooling.

[11] V. Beal, “What Is a Server?” http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Hardware Software/2005/servers.asp, June 2010.

Article on the basics of servers.

[12] Collins English Dictionary, “computer architecture,” 2009.

The definition of “computer architecture” from the Collins English Dictio- nary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition.

[13] CrazyPC, “Water Cooling Kit,” http://www.crazypc.com/products/cooling/ watercooling.htm, October 2012.

CrazyPC’s full line of liquid cooling equipment, including modifications for cooling freestanding servers.

[14] Dell, “Capacity Gains Through Technology,” http://content.dell.com/us/en/ enterprise/power-and-cooling-technologies-components-high-efficiency-servers, Octo- ber 2012.

Article detailing advancements in Dell’s PowerEdge servers.

[15] S. Ellsworth, “Senior Project Findings,” 2012.

Various findings from the experimental portion of my senior project.

[16] Ellsworth, Spencer, “Applied Computer Cooling,” June 2012.

The completed written portion of my senior project.

[17] Glanz, James, “Power, Pollution and the Inter- net,” http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/23/technology/ data-centers-waste-vast-amounts-of-energy-belying-industry-image.html? pagewanted=all& r=0, September 2012.

Article detailing the power consumption by data centers in the United States.

[18] Green Revolution Cooling, “Introduction to Fluid Submersion,” http://www. grcooling.com/technology/introduction-to-fluid-submersion/, October 2012.

Article about Green Revolution’s mineral oil server cooling.

13 [19] D. Harris, “Intel immerses its servers in oil - and they like it!” http://gigaom.com/ cloud/intel-immerses-its-servers-in-oil-and-they-like-it/, August 2012.

Article about Intel’s mineral oil-immersed servers.

[20] iFixit, “Mac Mini Mid 2010 Teardown - iFixit,” http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/ Mac+Mini+Mid+2010+Teardown/3094/1, June 2012.

A pictorial teardown guide of a Mac Mini from mid-2010.

[21] ——, “Mac Mini Mid 2010 Teardown - iFixit,” http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/ Mac+Mini+Mid+2011+Teardown/6131/1, June 2012.

A pictorial teardown guide of a Mac Mini from mid-2011.

[22] Intel, “Support for Desktop Boards,” http://www.intel.com/p/en US/support/ dsktpboardsl, 2012.

Website listing numerous Intel motherboards with size information.

[23] Kyle, Brock, “Which models use liquid cooling? Which Power Mac G5 models have been reported to have problems with the liq- uid cooling system?” http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac g5/faq/ powermac-g5-liquid-cooling-info-leaks-issues.html, August 2008.

An article describing the liquid cooling system in old Power Mac G5s.

[24] Logic Technology, “Traditional BIOS versus UEFI/EFI Framework - an overview,” http://www.logic.nl/Products/Technology/BIOS-and-EFI.aspx, January 2008.

An article detailing the differences between BIOS and EFI.

[25] Mac Forums, “ Is my new mbp boiling? ,” http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/ apple-notebooks/238726-my-new-mbp-boiling.html, May 2011.

Forum post describing the high temperatures in his Apple computer.

[26] MacRumors Forums, “Apple TV Hardware Mods - MacRumors Forums,” http:// forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=568645, September 2008.

Forum post describing the relocation of the storage medium of an Apple TV from the inside of the case to the outside.

[27] My Digital Life, “Modify, Adjust and Control Fan Speed (and Temperature) of Apple MacBook, MacBook Pro and Mac mini,” http://www.mydigitallife.info/ modify-adjust-and-control-fan-speed-and-temperature-of-apple--macbook-pro-and-mac-mini/, October 2006.

14 Blog post describing the capabilities of smcFanControl.

[28] Newegg, “Corsair Water, Liquid Cooling,” http://www.newegg.com/ Store/BrandSubCategory.aspx?Brand=1459&SubCategory=575&name= Corsair-Water-Liquid-Cooling, 2012.

Product page for Corsair brand liquid coolers.

[29] ——, “CPU Cooler Cooling Fan for Apple iMac G5, Fan Part Number B1206PHV1-A ( 12V 2.6W ),” http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx? Item=9SIA0U008R0071, 2012.

Product page for a third-party iMac CPU cooler.

[30] Purcher, Jack, “Will Liquid Cooling be Coming to the iMac? ,” http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2010/02/ will-liquid-cooling-be-coming-to-the-.html, February 2010.

Blog post discussing the possibilities of liquid cooling developed by Apple.

[31] P. Software, “Apple TV Overheating Problems: Manhattan Cooling Pad (Part 2 of 2),” http://playcontrol.net/ewing/jibberjabber/apple-tv-overheating-proble-2. html, October 2010.

Blog post describing a user’s experience, utilizing a laptop cooling pad with his Apple TV.

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