As NVIDIA’s H200 GPU enters widespread deployment, data centers and AI labs are confronting significant heat‑dissipation challenges. These powerful accelerators generate more than 500 W of thermal output per card, exceeding the capability of standard air‑cooling systems and risking performance throttling under heavy workloads.
To address this, Lian Li has developed an integrated liquid‑cooling solution built around purpose‑designed GPU cold plates that enable reliable, efficient thermal control for H200 systems. This comprehensive approach supports higher rack densities, improved energy efficiency, and stable full‑power operation essential for demanding AI and HPC clusters.
Why Liquid Cooling Is Necessary for H200 Systems
Traditional air cooling struggles with the H200’s heat density; its inability to remove heat quickly enough results in reduced throughput and higher operating costs. Liquid cooling significantly improves heat transfer, enabling GPUs to run at full performance without throttling and allowing data centers to pack more compute into the same physical space.
Lian Li’s Full‑Stack Liquid‑Cooling Offering
Rather than supplying just a component, Lian Li provides a complete liquid‑cooling ecosystem tailored to H200 workloads, including:
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Custom GPU Cold Plates: Designed with high‑efficiency microchannels and all‑copper construction to optimize heat extraction directly from the GPU core, HBM memory, and VRM areas.
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Balanced Fluid Distribution: Manifolds and plumbing engineered to ensure even coolant flow across each GPU in a system.
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Cooling Distribution Units (CDUs): Redundant pump systems, filtration, and heat‑exchanger controls built for high availability.
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Racks and Enclosures: Systems designed for rapid installation and serviceability in high‑density server environments.
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Monitoring Tools: Integrated flow, temperature, and leak detection systems support operational reliability.
Performance and Operational Benefits
Liquid cooling enables:
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Stable Full‑Power Operation: Reliable cooling allows the H200 to sustain peak workloads without thermal throttling, improving uptime and throughput.
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Higher Compute Density: Liquid systems support greater power per rack than air cooling, increasing compute capacity per footprint.
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Energy Efficiency Gains: Properly engineered liquid‑cooled installations typically achieve lower Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) values than air‑cool systems, reducing operational costs at scale.
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Lifecycle Cost Improvements: While initial setup costs can be higher, the energy savings and higher usable density often translate into better long‑term economics.
Compatibility and Best Practices
Lian Li’s GPU cold plates are natively compatible with NVIDIA H200 and earlier models (H100, A100) and can be adapted for other major accelerators through modular interfaces.
To ensure optimal results, operators should undertake thermal modeling, right‑size CDUs and pump redundancy, balance fluid flow across all plates, and select suitable high‑performance dielectric fluids.