On: HP Unveils Mini Workstation

[tcdent]

Liquid circulation doesn't actually cool, just transfers the energy to another interface for eventual dissipation into the air.

[AnimalMuppet → tcdent]

... which is a pretty good definition of "cooling". All cooling is "transferring the energy to another" something (interface, medium, location).

[dingo_bat → tcdent]

I mean that's exactly what every cooling system does.

[tcdent → dingo_bat]

Duh. OP suggests liquid cooling would give some benefit to acoustic performance.

Really, it just adds complexity and bulk; it's not some magic solution to efficiency or increased performance. Especially in a compact form factor.

If volume is not a constraint, sure the availability of added surface area to dissipate the heat collected from a smaller surface area is beneficial. Most high performance, low resonance liquid cooling systems take advantage of increased surface area using oversized radiators and multiple low-speed fans.

I have successfully designed and implemented my own custom water cooling loops to pull concentrated heat from multiple components, but there is most definitely no benefit to the volume occupied by the entire system.