Cooling your Computer

I have listened to many people ask questions on how to cool their computer. Unfortunately, there are a lot of factors that are missed when people try to cool their computer. In this article I will share my knowledge and solutions for readers that are not sure on how to cool their case.

What gets hot in the computer:

We will start here because as with any problem solving formula you must first identify the problem.

CPU -- It is the easiest component to identify because it runs the hottest and is what everyone tries to cool.

Video Card -- If you have a decent video card, it will run warm. If you have that kickass card, it will be the second hottest item in your case. Decent implies a video card that comes with a heatsink on it, where as kickass implies a GeForce 2 or more.

Hard Drive -- ATA 66/100/133 and SCSI drives can run very hot. Most people associate the heat with the motor inside the drive. This is an error in thought because the controller on the drive is actually what heats up. That is why the ultimate hard drive cooler is a poor buy. It has a huge heatsink on top, but the controller is not located on the top of the drive. An underside cooler solution is best.

North Bridge Chipset -- Your northbridge chipset is the controller on the motherboard that controls your high-speed bus devices. This chip normally runs warm and is not a very high concern if your case is cooled properly. If you are overclocking your computer, this can be a bigger concern.

RAM -- Many people think they need RAM coolers. RAM gets warm but buying quality RAM will serve you better than buying cheap RAM with a cooler. If overclocking the RAM, you will probably need some form of cooling.

Other Devices -- SCSI controller cards, power supplies, CD-ROM and other controller cards might run warm. This can add to the heat of the case. Again a decently cooled case will provide accurate cooling for these devices.

Outside Factors to Consider:

Now that we have identified what devices are going to increase our temperature inside our case, we can focus on factors that cause these components to heat up. I have listed the main causes below.

Air temperature -- Air temperature is the biggest factor in my opinion because this air is what you are using to cool your computer. If your outside air is 80°F (26.7°C), the coolest your case can get with air cooling is 80°F (26.7°C). For instance, a heatsink is able to dissipate a certain amount of heat away from the CPU. If the heatsink is already at 80°F (26.7°C) before the CPU transfers heat to it, then the CPU will transfer less of its own heat to the heatsink. Or in other words "heatsink max" - "current temp" = "heat transferred to the processor." By using a liquid cooling system such as a water cooler, the system can be cooled below air temperature.

If you don't believe me then ask yourself why server rooms are always kept cold. In most cases, the server will have an air-conditioning vent in the floor that blows cold air up into the bottom of the system. That is why it is not a good idea to put your computer in a restricted air space, such as a computer hole in a desk.

Airflow -- Airflow is very important to a cooling system. If hot air does not escape your system and cool air does not enter your system, then hot air pockets form. That warm air is then recycled and used to cool the same component again and again.

Some people feel that if they overload the system with fans, say 15 fans to do the extreme case, then they are providing lots of airflow. This is not true. Two fans blowing air toward each other can cause a heat pocket of air to exist. This is because pressure is being applied from both sides and warm air is not able to flow out of the case.

Another thing that restricts airflow is cables or other items in the way. Air cannot pass through solid objects but must flow around the object.

Air pressure -- You can only force a maximum amount of air through a heatsink. If you force too much air, vortexes begin to build which causes restricted air flow. Think of it as pouring water into a funnel. If you pour a gallon of water all at once into a funnel that only holds one cup, the rest of the water will spill over the top of the cup. When air molecules collide with objects they bounce back. They then collide with other air molecules until you have a vortex restricting airflow above your heatsink. I will go into more detail on this more in my "Is a Highspeed Fan Good for You" article.

High and low pressure zones can be created in a case. Normally these zones don't affect cooling much. You might lose a degree or so in temperature. A low pressure zone is created when a fan is competing for air with another fan. For example, a power supply exhausting air is creating a low pressure zone for the heatsink fan. A high pressure zone is just the opposite, where a fan is pushing more air than the other fan can use.

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