The Tool Desk
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1. Establish the IT load and its operating envelope
Collect the exact make, model and configuration of the equipment proposed for each rack. Request the vendor’s requirements for both normal and peak operating conditions, including minimum and maximum coolant inlet temperatures, required flow, allowable pressure drop, fluid chemistry and filtration, and component temperature limits. Confirm which components are liquid cooled and which still depend on air.
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Build the load estimate around the intended workloads. Record rack-level and component-level heat loads, expected utilization, peak and sustained operating behavior, and the portion of heat expected to be captured by liquid. Identify the remaining air-side load and how it will affect room cooling. A single generic rack-density threshold cannot replace these equipment- and workload-specific inputs.
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ASHRAE’s Handbook, Chapter 20, emphasizes that the water-temperature requirements apply to the IT equipment and that the facility designer must account for the CDU’s approach temperature. In practice, a facility supply temperature that looks adequate by itself does not prove the server will receive coolant within its permitted range.
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2. Map the two cooling loops and their interface
Document the facility water system (FWS), the CDU or other heat exchanger, and the technology cooling system (TCS) serving the IT. The TCS delivers coolant to the equipment; the FWS carries heat away from the CDU toward the facility’s heat-rejection plant. The CDU is an engineered interface between them, not a reason to treat their temperatures, fluids or operating limits as interchangeable.
For the proposed IT and CDU combination, verify capacity, pump operating range, heat-exchanger approach, controls and redundancy against the equipment documentation and expected load. Define the boundary of responsibility for water quality, filtration, leak detection, isolation, sensors, alarms, fill and drain, and maintenance. Document how the system responds to loss of flow, a leak, a pump fault or an out-of-range temperature.
Rank #2
- CONTACT FRAME FOR INTEL LGA1851 | LGA1700: Optimized contact pressure distribution for longer CPU life and better heat dissipation
- ARCTIC's P12 PRO FAN: More power at any speed - more powerful and quieter than the P12, especially at low speeds. Higher maximum speed for optimal cooling performance under high load
- NATIVE OFFSET MOUNTING FOR INTEL AND AMD: Shifting the cold plate center towards the CPU hotspot ensures more efficient heat transfer
- INTEGRATED VRM FAN: PWM-controlled fan that lowers the temperature of the voltage converters and thus ensures reliable performance
- INTEGRATED CABLE MANAGEMENT: The PWM cables of the radiator fans are integrated in the sheathing of the hoses so that only a single visible cable is connected to the motherboard
There is no universal flow, pressure, chemistry, CDU capacity or redundancy value that can be applied without knowing the server, coolant, CDU and design conditions. Obtain the actual limits from the relevant equipment documentation and have the project engineer validate the interface.
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Architecture selection is a fit question: supported hardware, heat capture, residual room load, service workflow and site constraints matter more than the technology label. ASHRAE’s AI Data Center Energy Performance Framework discusses these options as parts of integrated facility design.
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| Architecture | What to evaluate |
|---|---|
| Direct-to-chip cold plates | Confirm which components receive liquid cooling and which remain air cooled. Assess residual room heat, manifolds and hose routing, leak management, serviceability, CDU interfaces and compatibility with the exact server configuration. ASHRAE describes direct-to-chip as a mature option for high-density AI and HPC design. |
| Rear-door heat exchangers | Assess how much rack exhaust heat the doors capture, required water temperatures, rack airflow, door and service access, and the cooling still required for heat that escapes capture. |
| Immersion | Verify server and component compatibility, dielectric-fluid requirements, tank layout, maintenance procedures and the arrangement of heat exchangers and secondary loops. |
| Hybrid air and liquid | Consider using liquid cooling for dense AI equipment while retaining room-air cooling for other equipment and residual heat. Check whether existing room systems and legacy plant can handle the remaining load. |
4. Check heat rejection against the site
Assess how the FWS will reject heat under the site’s design weather and operating conditions. Options may include a chilled-water plant, waterside economization, dry coolers or evaporative or adiabatic assistance where appropriate. Model capacity at design extremes, redundancy, footprint, noise, water access and restrictions, and the space and connections needed for future expansion.
Warm-water operation can create opportunities to use dry coolers and reduce mechanical refrigeration in suitable designs. It is not a guarantee of chiller-free operation: feasibility depends on the IT equipment’s permitted temperatures, CDU approach, local ambient conditions, workload and design margins. ASHRAE’s integrated-design guidance discusses higher-temperature secondary loops and dry-cooler heat rejection in the context of site-specific design, not as a universal outcome.
Rank #4
- CONTACT FRAME FOR INTEL LGA1851 | LGA1700: Optimized contact pressure distribution for longer CPU life and better heat dissipation
- ARCTIC's P12 PRO FAN: More power at any speed - more powerful and quieter than the P12, especially at low speeds. Higher maximum speed for optimal cooling performance under high load
- NATIVE OFFSET MOUNTING FOR INTEL AND AMD: Shifting the cold plate center towards the CPU hotspot ensures more efficient heat transfer
- INTEGRATED VRM FAN: PWM-controlled fan that lowers the temperature of the voltage converters and thus ensures reliable performance
- INTEGRATED CABLE MANAGEMENT: The PWM cables of the radiator fans are integrated in the sheathing of the hoses so that only a single visible cable is connected to the motherboard
5. Compare proposals on the same basis
For at least two designs, use the same IT workload, ambient conditions, uptime assumptions and energy-and-water accounting boundaries. Ask vendors and engineers to document the following values and assumptions for each proposal:
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| Comparison area | What to record |
|---|---|
| Equipment fit and heat capture | Supported IT configurations, the fraction of heat captured by liquid, and equipment or components left air cooled. |
| Temperature margin | Supply and return temperatures, equipment limits, CDU approach and the resulting margin at the IT inlet. |
| Hydraulics | Required flow and pressure, pump operating range and expected pump energy. |
| Room impact | Residual air-side load and the implications for room cooling and airflow. |
| Heat rejection | Capacity and performance under local design weather, along with the proposed plant and any economization assumptions. |
| Resource use | Energy and water use, with the boundaries and operating assumptions used in each estimate. |
| Capacity and expansion | Available capacity, footprint, space for additional equipment and the assumptions behind future growth. |
| Resilience and service | Redundancy, isolation, maintenance access, failure response and the effect of service work on IT availability. |
| Operations | Controls, commissioning scope, monitoring, alarm limits and operator skills required. |
| Heat reuse | Potential heat-reuse opportunities and the site conditions or additional equipment they require. |
Evaluate thermal compliance and resilience alongside energy, water, maintainability, space and heat reuse. A single efficiency metric cannot describe all of these site trade-offs.
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6. Define monitoring, commissioning and operating limits
Specify how the system will be observed and maintained after installation. Define alarm and operating limits for coolant temperature, flow, pressure, leak detection and water quality; identify the sensors and controls used to detect excursions and the actions operators should take. The ASHRAE framework calls for monitoring and continuous commissioning, and treats energy, water, carbon and heat-reuse performance as related measures.
Commission both the TCS and FWS under realistic load conditions and test relevant failure scenarios, including loss of flow and faults in pumps or controls. Confirm that alarms, isolation and recovery procedures work as designed. Trend performance as workloads and rack density change, and reassess capacity and residual room heat when equipment is added or reconfigured.
Quick Recap
References for design review
- ASHRAE AI Data Center Energy Performance Framework: “Integrated Design Principles,” “Energy and Thermal Efficiency,” and “Retrofit & Modernization Strategies.”
- ASHRAE Handbook, Chapter 20, “Data Centers and Telecommunication Facilities.”
- U.S. Department of Energy, Best Practices Guide for Energy-Efficient Data Center Design (2024).
- ASHRAE Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments, 5th edition, as a technical reference alongside current equipment specifications.
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