Researchers from Tsinghua University in Beijing have developed FlexRAM, the first fully flexible resistive RAM memory built using liquid metal. The innovative approach suspends droplets of gallium-based liquid metal in a soft biopolymer material. Applying voltage pulses oxidizes or reduces the metal, mimicking neuron polarization. This allows the reversible switching between high and low resistance states corresponding to bit 1s and 0s for data storage. Even when powered off, data persists in the inert liquid for 43,200 seconds (or 12 hours). The current FlexRAM prototype consists of 8 independent 1-bit memory units, storing a total of 1 byte. It has demonstrated over 3,500 write cycles, though further endurance improvements are needed for practical use. Commercial RAM is rated for millions of read/write cycles. The millimeter-scale metal droplets could eventually reach nanometer sizes, dramatically increasing memory density.

FlexRAM represents a breakthrough in circuits and electronics that can freely bend and flex. The researchers envision applications from soft robotics, medical implants, and flexible wearable devices. Compatibility with stretchable substrates unlocks enormous potential for emerging technologies. While still in the early conceptual stages, FlexRAM proves that computing and memory innovations that were once thought impossible or fanciful can become real through relentless scientific creativity. It joins a wave of pioneering flexible electronics research attaining more flexibility than rigid silicon allows. There are still challenges to solve before FlexRAM and liquid electronics can transform computing. But by proving a fluid-state memory device possible, the technology flows toward a radically different future for electronics and computation. Below, you can see the liquid metal droplet that is the FlexRAM breakthrough.

The Ryzen 7040 Series processor in Framework Laptop 16 is capable of running at a sustained 45 W TDP (Thermal Design Power) and we put together an excellent thermal solution to ensure it can do that while keeping CPU temperature, touch temperatures, and fan noise to a minimum. That 45 watts of CPU power needs to be efficiently conducted into the vapor chamber, heatpipes, and fins to be carried away through airflow from the fans.

Since neither the CPU die nor the vapor chamber surface are perfectly flat, a thermal interface material is needed to fill in gaps to avoid comparatively insulative air taking up that space. Traditionally, most computers use a thermal grease that has thermally conductive particles suspended in silicone. This works reasonably well, but the silicone itself isn't especially thermally conductive, and the paste can pump out or dry out over time, making it less effective.

ASUS has been teasing their first-ever ROG-aligned liquid metal thermal compound-cooled solution since the start of summer, in the form of a truly flagship Matrix GeForce RTX 4090 24 GB graphics card. Their late May reveal boasted about the importance of bleeding edge technology and a continuation of their Matrix product line's "special" legacy. A third quarter 2023 launch window was outlined—today they have narrowed that timeline down to a specific date—September 19. The ASUS ROG North American branch posted on its socials: "The wait is almost over!😎 Count down to the official launch of our flagship graphics card - the ROG Matrix GeForce RTX 4090. 🔥" A live stream has been organized to coincide with the headliner's retail debut (Sept 19th, 9:00 AM | New York and Sept 19th, 9:00 PM | Taipei).

Exact pricing is likely to be announced during launch day proceedings, but industry experts are setting expectations at $2000+. The fancy Matrix trimmings and highly selective binning process of Ada Lovelace silicon will come at a steep premium. The ASUS marketing talk from May boasted: "No reason to beat around the bush: the ROG Matrix GeForce RTX 4090 has the highest boost clocks of any RTX 4090 on the planet. Featuring a custom-engineered coldplate that captures heat not only from the RTX 4090 GPU die, but also the VRMs and memory chips, this card has even more headroom to push its clocks higher, for longer, allowing us to bin only the absolute best dies for this showpiece graphics card. In addition, the ROG Matrix GeForce RTX 4090 features an ROG first: liquid metal thermal compound on a graphics card."

PlayStation 5-related rumors have been flowing over the past week—Zuby_Tech was reportedly the main source responsible for leaking out Project Q footage, but the tipster has turned to his attention to an alleged new version of the host system. Yesterday's tweet makes reference to a refreshed PlayStation 5 model—the "CFI-1300 series"—with a revised 5 nm APU. The late-2020 launch model (CFI-1200) sported a 7 nm chipset, while 2022's die shrink granted the CFI-1202 series with a 6 nm SoC.

The tipster thinks that Sony will be dropping the PS5's liquid metal cooling system for its next iteration, thanks to a central 5 nm part offering greater efficiency and reduced thermal output. Previous reports have predicted that this refreshed "modular model" is marked for a late 2023 release window. Sony has been running a summer price reduction campaign—could this marketing incentive be clearing the way—i.e selling off older stock—in anticipation of the refreshed model's arrival? "CFI-1300" should not be confused with the heavily rumored PlayStation 5 Pro variant—Insider Gaming's Tom Henderson has reiterated multiple times that this major hardware upgrade is still a long way off from launching.

Thermaltake today introduced the TG-60, a high-performance thermal interface material made of liquid-metal. The TG-60 offers an extreme thermal conductivity of 52 W/mK, but comes with all the downsides of any liquid-metal TIM—it's electrically conductive, and requires that your CPU cooler's contact surface have nickel-plating (without which it will corrode through any exposed-copper surfaces, including copper base-plates, vapor-chamber plates, or direct-contact heat-pipes. Luckily the selection of nickel-plated copper DIY water-blocks and air coolers are fairly broad. The TG-60 includes an applicator, a nozzle with the syringe, and a cleaning gauze. The company didn't reveal pricing.

ASUS has switched to a new liquid metal thermal compound for its entire 2020 ROG gaming laptop range, liquid metal has long been used in the enthusiast overclocking scene but this is the first time we've seen its widespread use in a mainstream laptop. ASUS had to develop new machinery to facilitate the application of the liquid metal thermal compound as traditionally it had only been applied manually which was not feasible in this case.

ASUS is utilizing the highly respected Conductonaut from Thermal Grizzly for the job to ensure the 10th Gen Intel Core processors powering the lineup stay cool, laptops featuring this new combination will be available from Q2. This press release from ASUS details their process in bringing liquid metal thermal compound to the gaming laptop market.

In our own testing of the Radeon VII, we found that adding washers to the GPU retention bracket to increase mounting pressure reduces temperatures by up to 10°C. You can learn more about what we did in the Overclocking section of our Radeon VII review. Replacing the thermal pad between the Radeon VII GPU and its cooler with liquid metal TIM was found to lower the GPU's maximum junction temperature by 5 °C, and a 24 MHz gain in minimum sustained engine clock speed was observed, by German professional overclocker Roman "der8auer" Hartung. AMD uses a strip of highly conductive Hitachi Chemical TC-HM03 thermal pad as the interface material between its reference Radeon VII cooling solution and the "Vega 20" MCM. Based on vertically-oriented graphite strands, the TC-HM03 is rated to offer 25-45 W/m·K of thermal conductivity, which beats most aftermarket fluid TIMs on paper, including those based on diamond. The conductivity and longer lifespan compared to fluid TIMs is probably why AMD chose it.

Liquid metal is the best possible DIY thermal interface material currently available in the retail market, however it requires careful application because it is electrically conductive and can short open vias or SMDs. der8auer used nail polish to insulate the SMD electrical components surrounding the GPU die on the fiberglass substrate. After drying it, a generous amount of liquid-metal was spread over the uniform MCM cluster. To prevent any air-gaps between the cooler and the TIM layer that's bound to be thinner than the thermal pad, a layer of liquid metal was also coated on the base of the cooler. The retention module was fastened a little on the tighter side. The maximum junction temperature of the GPU lowered from 106 °C to 101 °C, and the minimum GPU clock sustained increased from 1709 MHz to 1733 MHz. The boost frequency, however, remained around 1780 MHz. You can watch the full video presentation by der8auer here.

We kept seeing hints regarding Intel's 9000-series processors running hot, including from their own board partners. As it turned out, the actual results are a mixed bag with some running very hot and most others ending up being power-limited more so than temperature-limited. Our own review sample showed overall better load temperatures relative to the predecessor 8000-series processors thanks to the soldered TIM (sTIM) used here, to give you some context. But that did not stop overclocker extraordinaire Roman "Der8auer" Hartung from de-lidding the processor to see why they were not generally better as expected.

As it turns out, there are a few things involved here. For one, replacing sTIM with Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut (Der8auer has a financial interest in the company, but he does disclose it publicly) alone improves p95 average load temperatures across all eight cores by ~9 °C. This is to be expected given that the liquid metal has a vastly higher thermal conductivity than the various sTIM compositions used in the industry. Of more interest, however, is that both the PCB and the die are thicker with the Core i9-9900K compared to the Core i7-8700K, and lapping the die to reduce thickness by a few microns also does a lot to lower the CPU temperatures relatively. Overall, Intel have still done a good job using sTIM- especially compared to how it was before- but the current state of things means that we have a slightly better stock product with little scope for improvement within easy means to the consumer.

Close to an year after Danamics released its so-perceived revolutionary LM10 liquid-metal CPU cooler, which was shelved a mere two months after its launch, the company is back with its successor. The new Danamics LMX looks bigger, meaner, and more compatible. The principle involves circulating liquid metal through heatpipes in an aluminum fin array. The liquid metal is circulated using an electromagnetic pump, though the unit has a shielded magnetic field that does not interfere with components outside it. The flowing liquid metal disperses heat to parts of the cooler better, resulting in higher cooling performance compared to other forms of air-cooling.

The unit measures 158.2×170.5×90 mm, weighing 1180 g. The heatsink fins are made of nickel-plated aluminum. Two 120 mm fans strapped on to either sides, are made by SilenX. This completely monolithic cooler has snap-on assembly, meaning it's as easy to install as almost any other air-cooler. It supports Intel sockets LGA-1366, LGA-775, and AMD AM3/AM2(+). It is priced at 159 EUR, significantly lower than its predecessor which went for 280 EUR. A flash animation of how the cooler works, among other details, can be accessed here.

Exactly as promised, Danamics today announced the limited availability of what's claimed to be the first cooler to use liquid metal based technology to cool processors. The Danamics LM10 has generated much excitement since its first appearance, but the limited availability and the enormous price are going to kill the interest in such a product, at least that's what I think. European sites are now offering the LM10 here and here for the astonishing 280 Euro. Danamics also sells what they call a PowerBooster, an optional device that enhances the LM10's performance by providing its electromagnetic pump with more power, for around 128 Euro. Let's assume you want to buy the LM10, you'd need roughly 400 Euro or ~$510 for one of those. In return you'll receive a high-quality air cooler filled up with liquid metal and equipped with an electromagnetic pump that has no moving parts. The cooler is compatible with all Intel LGA 775, AMD AM2/AM2+ and AMD 939/754 sockets. I'm looking forward for a review of the Danamics LM10, it has to be one of a kind cooler to cost so much.

Denmark's Danamics LM10 CPU cooler, the world's first commercially available liquid metal-based processor cooler, was reported today to have received a release date. The LM10 will land in Europe as of November 17th, but it will come in limited quantities. Outside of Europe, Danamics is still awaiting approval of its liquid metal-based technology, and after one is obtained the company can start selling.
Recently, Danamics engineers claimed to have developed a CPU cooler that will put to shame every air cooling solution available and most of the current water cooling kits. The LM10 has no moving parts and an unlimited mean time between failures. Inside is a yet-to-be-named liquid metal that's said to provide superior thermo physical properties and is circulated without moving parts thanks to a built-in electromagnetic pump. Expect more information next week.