Desktop System Cooling Hardware Guide - December 2008

Power Usage	A computer that uses more power or has more powerful components creates more heat.  That means more fans, and thus more noise.
Noise Level	A computer that requires more cooling will usually create more noise.  However, a larger diameter fan running slower can cool the same as a smaller fan running faster.
Case Size	A larger case will usually dissipate heat easier, and a larger case also has room for more fans, bigger fans, and extreme cooling solutions like liquid cooling or phase cooling.

To categorize which cooling solutions are best for your usage, all the following cooling solutions will be categorized by the following usages/users.

Normal User	The average consumer who surfs the internet, reads email, and simple office applications.
Normal Gamer	The average gamer who plays games on occasion and has a moderate power advantage over the Normal User.
Heavy Gamer	The above average gamer who has multiple video cards and the top-binned processors (ie Extreme) who plays at the highest settings possible.
Bencher/Enthusiast	While the hardware may be the same as the Heavy Gamer, the stress and heat of the components is higher to achieve the most performance possible.
Silent User	The user who wants the lowest-noise system possible or whose job/environment demand the use of a low-noise system.

CPU Cooling Solutions

Reference Air Cooling Usage:  Normal User Nearly all mainstream and enthusiast processors today come with a standard heatsink to adequately cool the processor under normal circumstances.  These CPU coolers are not rated for overclocking user, nor are they the most quiet of coolers.  If overclocking or noise is a concern, please upgrade the CPU cooler.

 

Aftermarket Passive Cooling Usage:  Silent User For servers or for the user who wants a quieter system, passive cooling can be used.  However, active cooling must flow through the cooler or a much bigger passive cooling surface must be used to cool the processor.  There are cases such as the ones that Zalman produces which have large passive cooling heatsinks which connect via heatpipes to the heat sources that do not need active cooling.

 

Aftermarket Air Cooling Usage:  Normal Gamer, Heavy Gamer, Silent User   Replacing the standard CPU cooler with one that can reduce noise and increase cooling can let the system run with higher performance components.  These CPU coolers also usually generate a channel of air that starts at the front of the case, goes through the CPU cooler, and exits directly out the back of the case.   The large CPU coolers are quite heavy and can come dislodged during shipping or handling.  The very large or odd shaped ones can impede direct access to the motherboard as well.

 

Aftermarket Liquid Cooling Usage:  Heavy Gamer, Bencher/Enthusiast   Aftermarket liquid cooling comes in two varieties:  pre-built and custom.  Pre-built systems include all the components sealed together with the coolant already filled.  These systems are as easy to install as an aftermarket air cooler.  Custom liquid cooling requires assembly using parts selected for the application or case design.  Both work equally well to create lower temperatures then air cooling.   Pre-built liquid cooling can only the cool the CPU while the custom design can cool many other components.  The drawbacks to custom is the cost and time to build and also the fragility of the system.  While we try to build the most robust liquid cooling, the shipping process can dislodge hardware or tubes causing the cooling system to fail or leak.

 

Aftermarket Thermo-Electric Cooling Usage:  Heavy Gamer, Bencher/Enthusiast   Thermo-Electric cooling comes in two varieties:  liquid or air cooling.  In the liquid system as shown, the liquid coolant is cooled below the ambient temperature using TECs (Thermo Electric Cooler).  In air cooling, a TEC is placed between the CPU and an air cooler.   Both methods can create lower temperatures then liquid or air cooling, but require massive airflow to carry away the extra heat which can cause more noise then either air or liquid.  Also the TECs themselves require large amounts of power draw to create the low temperatures sometimes in excess of 200 watts each.

Video Card Cooling Solutions

Reference Air Cooling Usage:  Normal User, Normal Gamer, Heavy Gamer   Many video cards have good cooling even with the standard air cooler.  Because video cards are rarely overclocked, and due to usually good design, the standard cooler can work under a variety of conditions.

 

Reference Passive Cooling Usage:  Normal User, Silent User   These cards with built-in passive cooling are usually low-powered, so their usage is geared towards either desktop non-gaming usage or silent users.

 

Aftermarket Air Cooling Usage:  Heavy Gamer, Bencher/Enthusiast   Due to the fact that aftermarket cooling is very expensive, this is normally reserved for the most powerful of cards which generate massive amounts of heat.  This allows for slightly more overclock then reference cooling.  This method can increase overall system temperature due to the fact that it does not direct airflow out of the case as seen to the left.

 

Aftermarket Liquid Cooling Usage:  Heavy Gamer, Bencher/Enthusiast   Due to the fact that aftermarket cooling is very expensive, this is normally reserved for the most powerful of cards which generate massive amounts of heat.  This allows for slightly more overclock then reference cooling.  This method also lowers the overall system temperature as well.

 

Aftermarket Passive Cooling Usage:  Silent User   The giant heatsinks can dissipate enough heat to allow the card to be passively cooled.  However, the coolers may take up several expansions slots limiting expansion and the heatsinks do need some airflow to aide in the cooling.  An active fan directly on the cooler will create the most effective type of aftermarket air cooling possible.

 

Memory Cooling Solutions

Reference Cooling Usage:  All Users   Current memory is designed to run at a certain frequency.  At this frequency, memory does not create as much heat as CPU or GPU.  Thus the reference cooling produced by the memory companies is usually good enough for all types of computing.

 

Aftermarket Air Cooling Usage:  Benchers/Enthusiasts   With the higher temperatures of overclocked components, the heat must be taken away faster.  Aftermarket memory air cooling creates more airflow that goes past the reference heatsinks that may not be present in a benched system.  This is sufficient to cool down overclocked memory.

 

Aftermarket Liquid Cooling Usage:  Benchers/Enthusiasts   With the higher temperatures of overclocked components, the heat must be taken away faster.  Liquid cooling for memory is the most efficient way possible, but the heatsinks can be too wide to fill all the DIMMs with memory and can also be costly for all the connections and tubing required.

 

Motherboard Cooling Solutions

Passive Cooling Usage:  All Users   The motherboard chipset runs at a much lower frequency then the CPU or GPU.  Thus its temperatures are lower and all that is needed is passive cooling.

 

Air Cooling Usage:  All Users   When the motherboard is designed for overclocking and gaming, the North Bride is usually designed with active cooling.  This can increase overclocks and create more stability.   There are also fans designed to fit on top of a passive chipset cooler to lower temperatures.

 

Liquid Cooling Usage:  Heavy Gamers, Benchers/Enthusiasts   When the motherboard is designed for overclocking and gaming, the North Bride is sometimes designed with a dual cooler which is passive and can also be liquid cooled.  When overclocking, the liquid cooling is much more effective then the passive cooling.  This can create higher overclocks then on air alone.   There are also waterblocks designed for the chipsets to replace both air and passive chipset coolers.

Hard Drive Cooling Solutions

Hard Drive Passive Cooling Usage:  All Users   Almost all hard drives do not create heat to be worried about.  If the hard drive does create enough heat, the manufacturer usually creates a cooling system to keep the drive cool.  Almost all gaming and enthusiast cases today include fans to cool the hard drives as well.

 

Hard Drive Air Cooling Usage:  Normal Users, Heavy Gamers   While it may be odd to see normal users in the usage list, these type of users sometimes use much more hard drive space then gamers.  If there are multiple hard drives in a confined space, extra cooling may be needed to keep the drives cool.  Heavy gamers may also need this if their case creates too much heat due to other components.

 

Hard Drive Liquid Cooling Usage:  Benchers/Enthusiasts   The need for such a setup is rare, and is usually reserved for the Enthusiasts who want everything liquid cooled.  Setup is expensive and the results are slightly better then air cooling.

 

Other Component Cooling Solutions

Aftermarket Case Fan Usage:  Heavy Gamers, Benchers/Enthusiasts, Silent Users   Many cases have an adequate number of fans to cool hardware that is in normal operation.  However, hardware which is overclocked or multiple GPUs need extra airflow to be sufficiently cooled.  This requires fans which push more air then stock case fans.   Another reason for aftermarket case fans is due to noise.  Some of the lower-priced cases use unusually loud case fans which can be replaced with lower-noise fans which push the same amount of air.  Normally,  the stock fans on gaming and Enthusiasts cases are low-noise as well.   Yet another reason is that these aftermarket fans may also include extra features such as lighting effects as seen to the left.