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CPU Cooler...
A good CPU cooler is essential to prolonging the life of your computer. You should try to keep your CPU below 50° Celsius, and anything above 55° C should have you looking into a new cooler (or more case fans).
This is a new area for me, as when I began to build computers, I never comprehended that noise or cooling could be such factors. Currently, my computer's noise isn't noticeable when actively doing something on it, but if I leave it on while I try to go to sleep (it's right by my bed), the noise is fairly noticeable.
When you purchase a CPU cooler (or sometimes a heatsink and fan, whatever the case may be), you should consider these things:
- Performance. How well does the fan cool the processor? This can usually be determined by the fan's CFM (listed with Air Flow).
- Noise. This is really dependent on how fast the fan spins, and is usually represented by dB. There also are silent solutions to cooling, such as water cooling, but they tend to be much more expensive.
- Cost. Money should come into a consideration, as always. If you are shooting for the best of everything, though, go for water cooling.
This elusive CPU cooler you are looking for also has several unique parts:
- Fan
- Heatsink
- Thermal compound/thermal paste.
So, there are several things to consider when purchasing a fan. If I did it over again, I'd purchase a non-generic cooler and go with one like I recommend, as a quality cooler can provide more air flow with less noise. Howerver, when you go with a quality cooler, the installation of the fan can become more of a problem with the need to apply your own thermal compound. To get an idea if this is something you want to tackle, look over Arctic Silver's instructions on applying thermal paste.
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This is what a generic heatsink looks like beneath the usual fan mounted atop it; it has a fair amount of surface area to aid in cooling the CPU. |
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This is what a generic CPU cooling fan looks like; there are a few rare occasions where the heatsink and the fan are separate, but for the most part they tend to look like the image below. |
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While the factory-applied thermal compound does not conduct heat the best, it still performs a decent job. The above instructions are applicable to any thermal paste. I would not go to the hassle of purchasing a cooler like the one depicted above (if it already has thermal paste on it) and removing it. Remember, if you are putting new compound on, remove the old (if any) left on it.
If you are trying to build your first computer, you want to keep the steps as simple as possible, even if it means having a little bit more noise. And, in reality, there's not much difference between thermal compounds, as discussed in this rather interesting and somewhat entertaining review.
The actual installation of the cooler is somewhat difficult the first time you try it. Trying to get both of the clips attached is a pain, and appears initially to require a lot of strength. A simple way to clip the fan on is by using a flat-head screwdriver to help leverage the clip into place. Here's an illustrated version of how to install a CPU cooler.
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Here is my mounted and installed CPU cooler on my motherboard. |
Case Fans
To help keep the CPU cool and prolong its life, I have 2 case fans in my computer to help circulate air. Sometimes a casemaker may include a case fan, but I suggest purchasing your own to make sure that the fan has enough airflow (rated in CFM) and is not too noisy (ranked in decibels).
To help keep the CPU cool and prolong its life, I have 2 case fans in my computer to help circulate air. Sometimes a casemaker may include a case fan, but I suggest purchasing your own to make sure that the fan has enough airflow (rated in CFM) and is not too noisy (ranked in decibels). Generally, the best way to situate the case fans should be based on the picture. The 'outflow' fan will push out the rising hot air, while the 'inflow' fan will draw in cool, room temperature air constantly into the case. If you do decide on 2 fans, make sure to find the lowest decibel fans out there so your computer will be cool and quiet. |
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For a relative ranking of decibel level (and a little education too!), check out this site for some more info on how loud a certain activity may be.
There is no clear-cut winner at all for case fans, as they are a relatively cheap and simple product to produce . I have a suggestion for a case fan on my homepage, but many other case fans can be considered if you find one that has enough CFM and noise for your liking. Case fans mostly tend to come in a standard 80mm size, which is pretty much the defacto size determined by the computer case industry's home-user cases.
If you are really interested in finding the ABSOLUTE best case fan out there, check out this easy-to-follow case fan comparison. However, I emphasize that this is not a part to stress out about; even if you buy a marginal case fan, you'll still have a decent performance boost compared to no case fan.
The Result
| CPU | Case | Cooling Components | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intake and exhaust fan. | A nice, cool computer. |
My computer is now drastically cooler than one without the proper fans. A computer without case fans will easily run 10°C hotter, a big jump in temperature.
If you would like to test your own computer once it's built, there are utilities in the System Benchmark section to help you test your CPU and system temperatures.
To attain a proper testing speed, your computer needs to be "under load", which essentially means it needs to be doing something that strains its capabilities (essentially, test it when it's doing something besides just running Windows).
There will be a slight audible difference in your computer with
case fans compared to none at all, but again, for longevity's sake,
it's well worth it.
Your Computer
I believe that 2 exhaust fans provide for the best configuration around, but if you are worried about the computer being too loud, you can skimp by with one fan, set up so it will exhaust the hot air from your computer. These are generally placed in the rear fan port close to the CPU fan.
An intake fan is usually placed in the front of the case (or the side panel if your case allows it). This setup allows cooler air to be brought in and benefit the entire system, from CPU on down.
Case fans come with 3 pin or 4 pin connections; the motherboard provides for 3 pin fan-specific connections, so I recommend purchasing only 3 pin fans. 4 pin connections are designed anyway for more important devices, like the hard drive and such.
On occasion, if you splurge and buy a good power supply (I generally accept whatever comes with the computer case, provided it's 350-400W), it may have an additional fan on it. You can use this to supplement your cooling system, requiring you to buy only one additional fan.
When connecting your fans though, make sure you connect the CPU cooler to the connection marked "FAN1" or something of that nature, as some BIOSes require it to be configured that way before starting the computer.
Here again are my complete recommendations for building a computer with a great Cooling System at a low price!
Next - Picking Your Video Card »
Shopping Guide: You should definitely consider spending the extra money to get a quieter CPU fan and case fan. The whole point is to notice the music, shows, games or blissful quiet instead of the fans whirring away. It's definitely one of those small things that will annoy the crap out of you if you don't plan ahead and go 'quiet'.
