If you already own a PC which is few years old or planning to build one right from scratch, “Keeping it Cool!” is always the top priority. No matter how much money you put into it, if your system is not ready to vent the heat off, the party won’t get exciting. In this post, we are looking at ways to keep your PC cool, both for the new one and existing ones. You will need to plan smartly, not just because your machine should look HULK, but because it costs money, as well.
Check your PC Temperature & Overclocking
If you feel that your PC is generating more heat than usual, then there are two things you need to check first. Temperature and Overclocking.
Temperature:
There are many software available which can give you an idea if your doubt is right. These software programs will also tell you which component is actually heating more. It could be either GPU, CPU or your cabinet.
Overclocking:
Unless you own a gaming PC, overclocking your Processor or GPU is not necessary. Many a time one goes ahead because it can be done, and it is mostly to blame the advertisements which set you in that direction. If you have done it so, and your PC started heating more, undo it.
Check Existing Hardware
If your PC is a generation or two old, you might want to get some expert advice if you need to replace your hardware instead of putting money on the cooling system. Many times, the hardware itself gets aged, and just replacing them brings the temperature down. So instead of putting $200-$300 on the new cooling system, replacing the hardware in $100 makes more sense. Another aspect you need to ask the expert is about Thermal Compound. It’s a cooling paste that’s applied to CPU and GPU cores which helps in cooling. If with time it tears out, reapplying helps.
Common Sense
Before you go ahead and spend out $$$$ to get super cool systems to get the temperature right, it’s time to check how and where have you placed the PC cabinet. It is obvious that no matter where you keep your PC, the system needs enough air to vent out hot air, and exchange with cool air.
Do you have enough space behind the cooling fans? Is there enough breathing space where your cabinet is kept? Are your wires blocking the Fans vent? Did anybody suggest you to cover your cabinet with a ugly looking cover to keep the dust off?
That pretty much points to the common mistakes, and you can fix it no time.
Cabinets : Clean, Managed, and Bigger
Now that you know your PC is definitely heating up, and its time to cool it down, let’s start with getting more space for your components. This is the first step, but not mandatory because you can only do it if you have that kind of space. So before that, it’s time to open your existing cabinet and say hello to the big guys helping you with your daily work and gaming. Clean & Manage: If you opened up your cabinet after a long time, don’t get surprises to see the amount of dust it has accumulated, specially over your CPU, GPU, RAM, and anywhere it can.
It is easy to clean, but then you have to be careful. One way is to get Compressed Air which can blow off the dust & dirt settled inside, especially on FAN, Power Supply and corners. You don’t have to touch anything. The second way is to take out each component, use compressed air to blow off the dust, and out everything back. In both the scenarios :
Make sure you have professional help, if you cant do it yourself. Keep your eyes, and mouth covered when using compressed air. Be careful handling those components.
Post this, make sure that all your wires are properly managed. Many times they keep hanging around crossing boundaries and might get stuck with either the fans or a component which heats up. Bigger Cabinets: If you have the budget, get yourself a bigger cabinet, popularly known as Full Tower & Mid Tower Chases. This will give your PC enough room to breathe, and the new cabinets come with better fans, power supply and can house bigger hardware. Chances are, you would have solved 80% of your problems by this time. You have a cleaner PC, and a bigger cabinet to cool off the units, and deliver you the performance. Fans & Power Supply This is precisely for those type of PC which come with high-end configuration, usually built for gaming or video editing jobs. In both the conditions, keeping PC cool is important. Get a bigger cabinet, and then you need to install Bigger FANS, and Powerful Power Supply. Case Fans just fit this scenario. You can install one fan which can vent warm air out of the cabinet, and the other which can flow in cool air from outside to keep the balance. This will make sure that heat coming from your CPU and GPU can be quickly absorbed. Usually, large CPU coolers will have bigger heat-sinks and fans, which in turn means more heat getting dissipated. Case Fans help here in a big way.
Component Specific Fans are those which can out on specific hardware on your PC. While CPU and GPU both come with the recommended cooling system, you can always add additional Fans to them or replace with better ones. Since you have bigger cabinet now, you don’t have to worry about space.
Power Supply come with their cooling system, and if you feel the fan isn’t doing enough, you will need to replace the whole power supply unit. Thats a drawback, and you will only opt-in when it is necessary. Depending on your hardware, your cabinet size, pick up a power supply which helps in cooling.
Water Cooling
Not only this cooling system looks fancy, but it is also one of the efficient ways to cool down your PC. The worst part, it is also one of the expensive ways to cool down your PC, and you need to plan ahead. After going through the options available. we would say unless you have enough money to spend equally on the custom PC and Water cooling system, you need to check out All in One Liquid Cooler That said, you should know that Water Coolers are:
Costly Take more space. Not all will be compatible with your PC cabinet even if they are compatible with your CPU and GPU. They are also know to interfere with your existing components, so plan ahead. They create more noise compared to Air Fans because of additional components like pumps. The liquid evaporates over time, and can bring the entire system down. Its an extreme case, but you should know.
These are things can probably happen, but if planned well, will mostly not happen. Now that you have read through, it’s clear that this is a pretty serious business. Not only you need to pick the components properly, but you also need to analyze if you really need it. Many a time you will get things cooler by following the basic tips we gave at the start and replacing old hardware. And if that doesn’t fit your case, you can always build one right from scratch to keep your PC cool.
