Cooling || Case Fans(Cooling) || Heat Sink(CPU) || Water Cooling
Cooling is very important to a computer. Computers Generate a lot of heat. If the components are not adequately cooled. The computer will overheat. If it overheats the computer will either run slow or lock up. Or the computer Will shut down And Will eventually Shorten The Life Of The Computer. 2 Of The Biggest Heat Generators Come From The CPU And Video Card.
Case Fans(Cooling)
So The Main Way To Adiquetly Cool The Computer Is With Case Fans, Case Fans Are Mounted Inside The Computer Case A Basic Case Fan Setup Will Include Atleast Two Fans. One Fan Is That Is Mounted In The Front Of The Computer Is The Intake Fan The Intake Fan Is For Drawing And Cool Air For Outside Case To Inside The Case. The Other Fan Is The Exhaust Fan, Which Is Located At The Back Of The Case. And Its Designed To Push Air Outside The Case. And Once These Fans In Place They Deigned To Work With Each Other To Create A Constant Flow Of Cool Air Coming Into And Outside The Computer, To Cool The Computer Components.
So The Cool Air Comes In Through Intake Fan And Cools The Computer Components. And The Air Makes The Contact With The Hot Components The Air Naturally Get Warmer And Is Drawn Outside The Case. And The Cycle Starts All Over Again, To Create A Constant Circulation. And This Type Of Cooling Is Known As Active Cooling.
Heat Sink(CPU)
The Biggest Heat Generator In A Computer Is The CPU
As Stated Before, The CPU Is The Brain Of The Computer. And It Produces an Enormous Amount Of Heat In A Very Short Amount Of Time. In fact If A CPU Were To Run By Itself Without Any Extra Cooling Components The Will Likely Fry Itself Within 10 Seconds. So To Remedy This Problem A CPU Needs A Heat Sink To Help This To Bear The Heat.
A Heat Sink Is Basically An Aluminum Block With Fins That Directly Makes Contact With The CPU. Its Purpose Is To Increase The Surface Area Of The CPU So That It Can Make More Air Contact For Cooling. The Larger The Heat Sink, The Larger The Surface Area Will Be. Thus Increasing The Cooling Ability. The Fins On The Heat Sink Are Designed To Furthur Increase The Surface Area For Air Circulation. Once The Heat Sink Makes Contact, The Heat Will Transfer From The CPU Where The Air Can Cool The Heat Sink Which Will Cool The CPU. And This Type Of Cooling Is Called Passive Cooling. Thermal Compound
It's Important The CPU And The Heat Sink Make The Most Contact With Each Other So That The Adequate Cooling Can Take Place. So It Important To Apply Thermal Compound On The CPU Before Attaching The Heat Sink.
Thermal Compound Is Used To Fill The Microscopic Air Gaps Between The Heat Sink And The CPU To Make Up For The Imperfections Of The Flat Surfaces. The Surfaces Area Between CPU And The Heat SInk Are Flat
But They Are Not Perfectly Flat When Examine With A Microscope. The Thermal Compound Is Designed To Fill In These Gaps So That The Most Contact Made Between The Two(CPU & Heat Sink)
Water Cooling
An Another Type Of Cooling Is Called Water Cooling. Instead Of Using Air This Type Of Cooling Uses Water To Cool The Computer Components. For Example, Here Is The Water Cooling Unit
There Is A Pump, Hosing, Radiator. And Inside This Unit Is Water. The Unit Is Placed Directly On The CPU, Just Like A Traditional Heat Sink And They Pump Inside Constantly Circulates For Water Throughout The Entire Unit To Keep The CPU Cool. Once The Water Reaches The Radiator The Water Is Air Cooled By A Radiator Air Cooled Fan. That Draws Air Into The Radiator And Cools The Water, This Cycle Is Repeated So A Constant Flow Of Cool Water Makes Contact With The CPU. And The End Result Is That A Water Cooling Units Cool Components Far Better Than Air Cooling. And They Are Much Quiter. But At The Same Time, Water Coolers Are More Expensive Than Air Cooling. Read the full article