Once upon a time cooling was one of the most essential parts of any PC build. Even at stock, enthusiast and gaming hardware tended to push a lot of heat, and if you overclocked your CPU, then you were really asking for it.
I have fond memories of a friend’s high-end gaming system with its side panel off, a desk fan perpetually blowing air into the oven-like interior.
These days a lot of PC components are much more heat tolerant, able to handle heat better as well as put out less of it. Nonetheless, good cooling is still important, and overclocking or running an SLI setup can still create a good amount of waste heat. It’s also important to take into account not only the PC hardware’s own heat output, but also the location of your PC, and in the Australian summer, a bit of extra cooling can not only help PC performance, but it can help you be more comfortable, too; the last thing you want for a long day of gaming is to have to put up with a huge thermal load sitting right next to you.
THE RIGHT COOLING FOR YOU
Intel has recently stopped selling their CPUs with a cooling fan, so while it used to be possible to get your system up and running with nothing but the stock cooling on your case and that skimpy little Intel cooler. It may not have been wise, but you could do it.
Now though, you’re forced to consider the right cooling for the job, which is probably an improvement. On top of that, your choice of cooling is now wider than ever, thanks to the ubiquity of all-in-one water-cooling kits. Again, water-cooling used to be rather complex – you’d need to mix and much tubing, mounts, radiators, pumps, all kinds of esoterica, and then work those cooling loops into your PC case, which may not necessarily have been built with water-cooling mind.
That said, water-cooling kits are not a silver bullet. A lot of all-in-one kits don’t tend to be much better at cooling than a heatsink and fan set-up – some are actually less efficient. What they are, however, is much quieter under normal operation. Where an air-cooled system relies upon the mechanical action of a fan or fans to push air over a set of cooling fins, the radiators in all-in-one kits are much better at radiating heat, and the liquid itself, too, is a more efficient cooling mechanism. Under heavy load, these set-ups can be just as noisy – or even noisier. The smaller fans on these units need to spin faster to push the same amount of air as larger fans, and you’ve got pump-noise to keep in mind, too.
Now, that said, if you’re system is under load, it’s very likely because you’re gaming, and you’ll either having a lot of sound coming out of your PC, or be wearing headphones. And while you’re just browsing or performing other low impact tasks, your PC will be that much quieter. On top of that, water cooling setups also tend to equate to more room in your PC, to o. If you’re an inveterate tinkerer, not having to deal with a massive PC heatsink is a real plus.
And if you’re worried about leaking… don’t be. Modern all-in-one kits are super-reliable. We’ve not heard of any disasters in the last couple of years, and all-in-one models from Corsair and CoolerMaster come with impressive warranties to boot, even if you are worried about the extra mechanical strain.
IN THE AIR TONIGHT
Water-cooling is, well, cool and all, but a lot of people still like the solid reliability of a big old lump of copper and aluminium. And there’s actually still some advantage to be had by sticking with a pure air-cooled rig.
Take Noctua’s massive NH-D15, which boasts two 140mm fans blowing air over two stacks of aluminium cooling fins, connected to copper cooling pipes, in turn looped through a solid copper base. Sure, it’s pretty much an entire Coca Cola canning factory in your PC case, but it remains one of the most efficient coolers on the market, and is very quiet, thanks to the larger fans and the impressive array of fins.
The other advantage of big cooling towers like this one is that they managed to push air over hot-running motherboard components, too – something which closed-loop systems don’t manage. This kind of cooling also fits in with the fans that are likely already installing in your PC case, so that you have a continuous line of exhaust; cool is pulled into the front of the case by fans on the front panel, pushed into the CPU cooler where it warms up as it pulls heat out of your CPU, and then is blown straight into your case’s exhaust fan.
And, finally, air-coolers are generally much cheaper, though there are some very economic water-cooling kits on the market.
That said, there are some drawbacks. You lose a lot of space, for one, which can actually impact ambient heat build-up from other components, and they are quite heavy. Modern motherboards are pretty well reinforced for just this reason, but it’s still something to consider – especially if you move your PC around a lot.
They’re also a right bastard to keep clean. Even with a well-filtered case, micro-grit and dirt will still find its way into your case, and the natural airflow will see it deposited on the fins of your heatsink. If you don’t regularly stay on top of this, you’ll actually see cooling efficiency drop off, as the dust acts as an insulator, while also keeping cool air away from the aluminium surface.
THE REST OF YOUR CASE
Your CPU may be one of the hottest parts of your PC, but that’s no reason to ignore the cooling requirements of other parts. Your video card, for instance, may come with a fan and cooling attached, as does your PSU, but you can help both out by keeping a few things in mind.
First up, when you hear system builders talk about cable management, it’s not just because it makes for a neat and easy to access build. If you’ve got cables just blobbed into a mess in the middle of your case, that’s going to act as a block to airflow, not only gather more evil dust, but helping build up more heat in your case, which will in turn impact other parts. Similarly, if your case is unfiltered, that means dust build-up on every moving part. And that means more heat.
Basically, if you have pets, or live near a busy road (or even under a flight-path), you can expect more grit than normal, so you’ll really do yourself a favour if you invest in a well-filtered case. Go for filters that are removable for cleaning, and keep an eye on any grills covering your fans, as these too can get awfully clogged up.
Make sure your PC also has good ground clearance. If you’re up on a desk, you should be fine, but if your PC is resting on carpet, its feet are likely to sink into the pile, bringing any intakes at the bottom of the case almost in contact with a large amount of fluff and grit. Also be aware of where your PC’s exhausts and intakes are, so that none are blocked by walls or other obstacles.
It’s also worth taking note of where your fans are placed out of the box in your case. If there’s a single intake fan in the front panel, it’s likely either towards the top or bottom of the case. Both are useful, for different reasons. A higher fan helps direct air directly into any CPU cooler, while a lower fan pushes air over possibly hot hard drives; so if you’re pushing your system, and likely to be thrashing your storage, investing in a second intake fan (or buying a case with two or more intakes at stock) could be wise.
In fact, we’d always recommend having more intake fans than exhaust fans, because that means you can maintain positive air-pressure in the case. With positive air pressure, more air is being sucked in than the case can exhaust; this means that dust is less likely to settle into the case through any other access points, like upper mesh panels or other vents.
Now even if you do follow all this advice, do make sure you keep an eye on your PC internals. No matter what you do, or how sealed your case is, it will get dust and grit inside, so open it up every few months. Invest in a can of compressed air, and blast that gunk out of your case. Clean the blades of all your fans, make sure everything’s pristine.
And the not insignificant investment that is your PC will go on rewarding you with years of pleasant fragging.