H2Ceramic cooling

Lore & Background

The H2C system was delivered as a single unit designed to last a minimum of five years without service or liquid refilling. The first versions, found in the XPS 710 H2C and Dell XPS 720 H2C, mounted all components in a single plastic chassis that only cooled the CPU and matched motherboards with a very specific CPU socket location. A later, more flexible design introduced a separate pump unit, making it easier to fit a broader range of motherboards and allowing the unit to cool the motherboard chipset as well.

The front of the unit houses a 120 mm radiator as the primary heat exchanger, cooled by a fan. After passing the radiator, the cooling liquid moves through a thermoelectric fluid chiller consisting of a liquid cooling block with two Peltier plates. The pump includes an integrated reservoir and a spring-loaded floor to keep the unit pressurized while allowing small amounts of liquid to bleed out over time. Later versions used automotive rubber tubing for greater flexibility in cooling plate placement.

Rather than integrating control into the H2C unit, the pump, fans, and TEC are controlled separately by a Dell daughterboard called the Master Control Board (MCB). The MCB uses Enthusiast System Architecture (ESA) to monitor and control these components, as well as the XPS LED lights, other fans, and sensors. To avoid condensation, the MCB firmware limits TEC use, turning them on only when the CPU is under heavy load and off when the CPU is idle or at ambient temperature. The H2C system cannot be reused in another computer case without the MCB or custom-made control circuits.

Reader's Guide

The H2C system was notable for combining liquid cooling with thermoelectric chilling in a single sealed unit, aiming to achieve CPU temperatures below what traditional forced-air or water cooling could provide while staying above ambient to avoid condensation. Dell advertised that this extended CPU life and allowed quieter operation in normal mode, as well as cooler operation when overclocked. The system was discontinued after the XPS 730X, the last model to use it. Dell continues to offer liquid cooling in their Alienware gaming computers, but those systems are not equipped with TECs and do not require a daughterboard for the cooling system. The H2C's reliance on a proprietary control board and specific motherboard socket placement limited its flexibility and reusability, though later revisions improved compatibility. Its legacy lies in being an early attempt at integrating thermoelectric cooling into a consumer desktop, balancing performance gains with the engineering challenges of condensation control and system integration.

Did You Know?

• H2C stands for Hot-to-Cold and is also called H2Ceramic cooling.
• The Master Control Board (MCB) uses Enthusiast System Architecture (ESA) to control the pump, fans, and TEC.
• The TECs are turned off when the CPU is idle or when the CPU temperature matches the ambient temperature.