FAQs

How does liquid cooling allow for higher clock speeds?

Liquid cooling allows for higher clock speeds in three ways:

1. Greater thermal efficiency, with less heat soak from other components.
2. Maximizes the frequency attainable with overclocking.
3. Increases the consistency of system performance.

To learn more please read this detailed article.

Is special rack equipment required for a liquid-cooled system?

None whatsoever; our systems are standard 19-inch IEC rack compliant and can be racked amongst other equipment with ease.

Which data centers are Blackcore servers permitted in?

In short, all of them. Our liquid cooling is data center compliant, with the liquid permanently contained within the chassis, and featuring no customer-serviceable parts. Our Blackcore liquid cooled servers are deployed in 28+ co location trading venues, globally.

Can you overclock any CPU?

No, not all CPUs are equal; some are more equal than others. Not every CPU that enters Blackcore HQ leaves as a Blackcore appliance. We test and bin each and every CPU to ensure the highest quality, and only 1 in 3 CPUs actually makes it as a Blackcore overclocking capable CPU for use in our production machines at the frequencies we specify.

Can we add FPGA to my overclocked server?

Our Blackcore servers can host a wide range of PCIe devices in standard half-height / full-height, half-length / full-length options. We have a range of chassis options to also incorporate double-width FPGAs and GPUs from Xilinx, Bittware, NVIDIA and more.

We've heard that overclocking CPUs will reduce the life of my server, what is the typical life span?

Whilst it is true, overclocking can reduce the life of the CPU; we warrant our systems for 2 years with our Blackcore box-swap warranty. CPU life is prolonged with adequate and efficient cooling, that which is provided in every single Blackcore system. In the unlikely event of a failure that cannot be rectified remotely, we will dispatch an advance replacement unit to swap-in place of the failed unit.

Can I use AVX instructions along with an overclocked CPU?

AVX, AVX2, and AVX512 are incredibly taxing on a CPU. They generate much more heat and utilize a great deal more power than standard SSE instructions. In order to preserve the performance and reliability of our products we reduce clock speed when AVX instructions are detected. This temporary reduction ensures CPU longevity. Reductions are subjective depending on the AVX instruction and the CPU installed.

Will I get all of the enterprise features that I'm used to with regular servers when using Blackcore servers? (IPMI, dual PSU etc).

Our Blackcore servers are built with the enterprise in mind. You will find many of the features you are accustomed to with larger ‘Tier one' vendors. Our Blackcore servers are supplied with hot-swap redundant power supplies, hot-swap drive bays, a fully IPMI 2.0 compliant BMC with remote kvm & media functionality, and of course a comprehensive support offering.

 

If you have any further questions for the team, you can reach out to us on LinkedIn or email us at [email protected]