Your computer contains many parts that generate heat. Excessive heat can cause your computer to behave erratically or its hardware to fail prematurely. The more you overclock the graphics or the CPU, the hotter the computer will run. Cooling systems assure that your computer is stable and extends the life of your investment.
Case cooling can be a combination of a well ventilated case and the use of fans to circulate air within the case. Most cases come with at least one fan. This is the minimum configuration. For best results, there should be at least two fans in the case. One is as an intake to draw in cold air while the other is an exhaust to expel hot air. There are many different types of fans and configurations. Cable management also plays a huge part in cooling the system. Bad cable management and tangled wires disrupt airflow and cause dust to accumulate inside the case.
Cooling devices are available for individual parts on the computer. The two most common are coolers for CPU's and graphics cards. There are generally two types of component cooling systems, active and passive.
* Passive Systems - Usually consist of a heat sink or a heat conductive metal attached to the component. Passive cooling works by providing a larger surface to adsorb and dissipate the heat.
* Active Systems - Add a fan to the heat sink and you are actively removing heat. The cooling fan can be dynamically adjusted to the load of the CPU or graphics card on most motherboards.
* Liquid Cooling - High performance computers can benefit from a liquid cooled system. These types of systems circulate a liquid between the hot components and a cooling radiator.
* Thermal Paste - As an addition to all GPU and CPU cooling, a layer of thermal paste is added between the CPU and the cooler in order to avoid metal on metal contact, this thermal paste is applied as a thin layer which acts in order to disperse and absorb heat in order to avoid damage to the component.
* Keep it clean - Dust can clog up fans, heat sinks and act an an insulating layer trapping heat. Use compressed air to keep the dust out of the internal cavity. Maintenance of liquid cooling systems should be considered as well. Many forms of liquid cooling require incremental flushings to keep the tubes clean.
* Case Covers - Contrary to what you read on the internet, keeping the case covers on the computer aids cooling. Absence of the case covers disrupts air flow and can actually increase the heat inside the case.
Room ventilation - Place the computer in a neutral location away from the rooms environmental registers. Keep the computer away from room heaters or vents at all times.
* Room placement - Keep the computer away from windows or areas of strong sunlight exposure. Placement in closets can also provide challenges to cooling. It is recommended to keep the computer away from any carpet-like material, which can easily bring dust into the computer.
* Placement next to other computers - Locating the computer away from other equipment allows air to flow in and out of the computer. Placement close to other equipment can constrict air flow and increase heat.
* Cable Management - Having a rat's nest of cables can block air flow and make your computer hotter. It is reccomended to take some time to cable manage after building a computer, because it can increase the lifespan of your computer in the future.
Thermal paste is a thermally conductive compound which is used as an interface between the CPU and the heatsink itself. Thermal paste trys to eliminate the amount of air gapes or space inbetween the heatsink and CPU in order to maxamize the amount of heat transfer in between the two.
### Types of Thermal Paste
Thermal paste comes in differnt varieties which have different amounts of thermal conductivity. From least to greatest thermal conductivity, here are the different types of thermal compound:
