What is direct liquid-to-chip cooling?

Direct liquid-to-chip cooling is also called direct-to-chip cooling. It is a process whereby the system pumps coolant through cold plates mounted on the hottest components, such as CPUs and GPUs. A coolant distribution unit (CDU) circulates the coolant and passes the heat to the facility water system. Because it removes most heat directly at the source (IT servers), it is used for high-density AI and HPC racks. The remaining heat from other components still needs some air cooling.