There is talk that the Bulldozer CPU may be packaged with a liquid cooling unit for the CPU. See here:
http://www.nordichardware.com/news/69-cpu-chipset/43865-amd-considers-shipping-bulldozer-with-water-cooling.html
There is another article here also:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/coolers/display/20110811072448_AMD_Considers_Equipping_FX_Chips_with_Liquid_Cooling_Solution.html
Oh, I know that I am being so offensively off-topic, but I hope that it is not such an abhorrent transgression, as some people have gone so astray as to post pictures of ugly Intel sockets...
Actually, it would be awesome if there were less competition and more cooperation... Honestly, I do not understand what the problem is... and why a ready-made water-cooling systems are either so expensive, or suck so much!
What if AMD put in place some kind of voucher system? The vouchers could be used for obtaining a water-block (certified by AMD, of course), thus the processors could be supplied without those useless air coolers. (Or one could also get an AMD certified air cooler, perhaps only one kind, like today, to make matters less complicated and not divert them from my point.)
Now I understand that the water-blocks would have to be obtainable "free of charge", only for the voucher, simply for legal reasons (at least here in the EU—note that I am not a lawyer), as anything else could be considered (prohibited) "product bundling". But still, if AMD chose decent water-blocks, then the price difference would not be great—and the difference between them being only in the inlet and outlet diameters... and perhaps there could be only one ("AMD standard", or at least "AMD sanctioned") diameter which would ensure acceptable flow resistance even in more complicated setups (more water-blocks and longer tubing). (Or the most hardcore setups could use another water pump—it would be no big deal in such setups.)
This way ATI (my shorthand for the graphics division of AMD) in cooperation with its graphics card makers could launch a similar program for full-cover water-blocks. Well, I understand that things would not be so clear here, as a decent full-cover block costs at least 100 € or so, but I believe that those monstrous heat-pipe coolers are pretty expensive, too. Perhaps if things were so nicely standardized, there could be something like product lines featuring factory-installed full-cover water-blocks?
Thus enthusiasts would be spared the sorrowful looks on their piles of useless dismounted air coolers of no utility to them (or anyone else, for that matter).
It could even be a huge advantage for AMD (+ATI), because now they could push for a whole water cooled platform, as they produce all its key components. And such a move (and certification program and cooperation with other producers in this field) could even create further incentives for users to choose an ATI graphics card, I mean a Radeon, if they have decided on an AMD processor. Not a full-blown vendor lock-in, but still a mild tie-in...
So... why not?
Oh, I know why not... a lot of morons would then start playing with those components, knowing that they cannot burn them... No, they cannot, but that probably means that they could damage them all the more easily, simply by setting insane voltages... often until a breakdown point, when an avalanche current damages their chip... but even when they are raised below their immediate breakdown point, but still very high, the higher fluctuations may wear it out much sooner. And operating some parts at much higher frequencies may also contribute to their earlier demise...
