Air cooling

[PoisonPorkchop]

i was wondering what is the best way to cool your computer besides phase change/liquid nitrogen/water/putting in a freezer?
i want to have really good cooling but dont want to make the jump to liquid yet.(water in my case seems scary) also i heard that you have to change the water in liquid cooling every once in a while is this true?

thanks

 

[jinexile]

Air cooling is pretty limited in what you can do.

Larger fans (120mm) push more air at slower speeds so they are more effecient and quieter. Most cases are fit for 80mm fans so if you plan on using a 120mm case fan you'll have to get out some tin snipes or a dremel to make room.

You'll want a good heatsink and fan on your cpu with some thermal paste. I am personally partial to the Zalman family, they make some good combos that are good at cooling and quiet at the same time.

To answer your question, yes when liquid cooling from time to time you must top up (like any system some is lost to evaporation.)

 

[bigstanklo]

Get some kind of temp. grease to put on your processor core. Go to newegg.com and search for Artic Silver and buy a tube. It'll reduce your CPU temps by a good 7-9 degrees C. Just make sure you only use an extremely small amount (just a little dot in the middle of the core). 120mm case fans (if they'll fit in your case) also will usually do the trick. One fan on the side blowing in, one in the front blowing in, and one or 2 in the back blowing out should keep your case nice n cool!

 

[CreditSolutions]

Fans on the top venting hot air out do wonders as well. Not all cases have provisions for such fans, though. If you're more into functionality over looks like I am, you can always make your own provisions.

 

[bigstanklo]

Fans on the top venting hot air out do wonders as well. Not all cases have provisions for such fans, though. If you're more into functionality over looks like I am, you can always make your own provisions.

I have a Raidmax case with vents and a place for a fan in the top and I've found that taking the fan off and just leaving the holes open vents air better than having the fan manually blow air out the top. I also am lookin to save power in every way possible so....

 

[CreditSolutions]

I have a Raidmax case with vents and a place for a fan in the top and I've found that taking the fan off and just leaving the holes open vents air better than having the fan manually blow air out the top. I also am lookin to save power in every way possible so....

Really? Thats interesting. On my old rig I cut a hole for an 80mm fan blowing out the top, and the ambient temp in my case dropped a few degrees. Wierd.

 

[bigstanklo]

LOL I always seem to have the exception for some reason. But the grease is a real good investment. Around 8 bucks for a tube that'll do like 20 CPUs is great especially if you overclock. Also can be used on your graphics card chip if its OC'd and you can easily get to the chip core.

 

[Sui]

Thermo electric coolers too(peltiers). They're a small plate that goes between hsf and cpu. They use a decent amount of power, and increase the heat inside the case though. If they go out and your computer doesn't shutdown in time it'll toast your cpu.

 

[dale5605]

For the CPU zalman 7700-cu is great. It's very good cooling but nearly silent since it is a 120 mm cpu fan.