[twosdai]

I don't think that because a computer uses 1000W of power it would produce 1000W of heat though. I think if that were true then there could be no computation done since all the energy of the electrons would be converted to heat. I'm not sure what the efficiency rating of computers is, or how much is turned heat.

Not to rain on your back of the napkin math. Although I think your sentiment is right, the cooling systems for computers in space would need to be bigger since you can use convection to move the heat away.

[BenjiWiebe]

It is all heat, except for the light from your monitor which then turns into heat when it's absorbed.

Computing isn't doing work in the physical sense. An HDD of ordered data doesn't have more potential energy than an HDD of data in a different order.