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Originally Posted by billybobsky
think of liquid cooling this way: the limit of heat transfer is based solely on the fundamental properties of the solids/liquids/gases involved. If you get a liquid that pulls less heat than metal does gram for gram but move that liquid at a higher rate to another location, the local temperature (let's say the processor) will be a lot lower. Couple this with a more efficient radiator (something that effectively doesn't distribute heat linearly like a heat sink does), and less fan speed would be necessary and the box would be quieter. Doing this in principle seems easy but you really have to tune the system to accommodate changes in heat generation by the processor.
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I agree -- liquid cooling is more efficient than just plain convection/air cooling. But in your post you are still saying that all things being equal, the new 2.5 Gz chips would require a lot more cooling.
You are suggesting that the 2.5 Ghz machines would require more forced air to cool them thus generating more noise. So, although Apple probably could cool them via heatsink/fan solution, the noise would probably be too much, and customers would complain. Consequently, Apple probably went with water cooling to keep the noise down to about the same level as the lower two models. In my opinion, all this still suggests that the two chips are running way too hot.
Water cooling is a PC enthusiast's prerogative: it's used by the overclockers world-wide to bring their systems' performance to the bleedig edge. Often times improperly implemented peltier cooling systems and water cooling systems lead to condensation inside computers and to eventual parts damage. I really don't think that a manufacturer such as Apple, who has always prided itself on the stability of its machines, should be "modding" them in this way.
I am sure the liquid cooling phase will go away as soon as they get heat/stability issues under control. Just something they needed to do, I guess.