Keeping Your Performance PC Cool and Quiet
By Kevin Orchard
Cooling Your Gaming Computer
Okay so you have your budget, you know where you want to sit on the AMD vs Intel fence and whether you want
to go Crossfire vs 1 bigger card. There may
be some underlying features of your system architecture that you have not considered. Building a system for the long term means you need to take in to account a range of other factors especially heat dissipation. A system that runs what will generally perform slower and not last as long as one that is kept well within its' preferred operational temperature range.
Cooling
Heat is one of the biggest factors in system deterioration. While going the
distance of water cooling is not always required, above adequate cooling is required for today's power house gaming systems. Everything in the system generates heat from the CPU, to the power supply, to the RAM itself. The main aim of a good cooling system is to transfer heat away from the main components and then shift this heat out of the system all together as quickly and quietly as possible.
System Fans
As a minimum you will want an intake fan at the front and at least one
large fan at the back. The case should allow for proper ventilation and also have additional breathing holes. It is also good to use a decent sized case as one too small will cramp the components and restrict air flow, and one too large will not allow for proper air flow unless you use bigger, noisier fans. Some cases from manufacturers such as iCute also have one very large, slow-moving fan on the side of the case. This pulls air directly away from a large part of the system and being such a large fan can spin slowly and produce less noise.
CPU Fan
The fans that come with CPUs are okay but they can get easily clogged. We prefer fans that sit at right
angles to the system board as opposed to
the ones that sit flat. This generally means there can be a bigger heat sink attached to the unit and it also greatly reduces the chance of dust clogging the heat sink gills. Generally these fans are also quieter than the original system fans while producing a better cooling effect.
RAM
Ram cooling should be taken care of by ensuring the internal system temperature is kept as low as possible.
Certain RAM has attached heat sinks on the modules themselves which is supposed to provide better cooling. Where you have multiple RAM modules it is good to try and position a fan to draw heat over
the modules themselves.
Graphics Card
Most performance graphics cards come with their own cooling systems which are best left alone. Newer cards
such as the Radeon series also include heat pipes to keep the critical components as cool as possible. The best way to keep the graphics card cool is the same as RAM, that is to keep the internal system
temperature down, and try and have a system fan draw heat directly over the card or as near as practicable as possible.
Power supply
Power supplies can also be used to assist in drawing heat out of the system. A good power supply will have one
internal fan to draw air into it's chassis, and then an external one to draw the air out of the system.
This also helps keep the power supply cool as these can quickly over heat to detriment of the system if a fan stops working. A good power supply will also aim to keep noise to a minimum and use intelligent fan control so the fans aren't spinning at 100% when they don't need to be.
Hard Drives
Hard drives can get very hot very quickly when under constant read and/or write conditions. Usually the
position of the hard drives is towards the front of the system and a good case will incorporate an intake fan to draw air across the drives. The issue with this is the air is already heated by the time
it gets in to the rest of the system. It is therefore advisable that if you are using a front intake fan over the hard
drives, to try and have a secondary in take fan to draw fresh air directly into the main part of the system. If your only option is an intake fan over the drives, try and get as large a fan as possible.
Cable Management
Ineffective cable management can have a massive effect of the cooling efficiency of your system. Generally it is
good to minimise how any cables you need
in side of the system and to also ensure the cables are tied neatly to the sides of the case. It is also good to keep cables from draping or hanging loose over other components but also ensuring that you can easily move cables around if you ever need to perform maintenance inside the computer. You can use a number of tools but a simple Velcro cable tie can do the job and be easy to undo in the future.
Environment
The cooling of a system will only be as good as the air drawn in to it. Hot humid air is going to cause multiple
problems with a system and in these conditions liquid cooling may be a better avenue to pursue. Ideally keep the system out of direct sunlight and also not in a
cupboard or other enclosed area. If is it preferred for the system to be hidden away ensure the spacing is adequate for good external air flow, and there is a way to get fresh air into the space.
Generally just having a vent is not going to remove the amount of heat a performance
PC is going to produce and getting some small USB fans to run is better than nothing. Ideally though, as with the system itself, you will need a fan to draw air into the spacing, and another to push air out. These should be aligned with the system as best as possible so air drawn into the enclosed space is directed towards the front of the case, and the fan pushing air out is assisting removing the heated air coming out if the PC.
Liquid Cooling
Liquid
cooling system offer the advantages of being extremely low noise and can provide direct cooling over critical components. Even with liquid cooling it is still good to have adequate overall system cooling and also you need to check the system regularly to ensure it is running properly. Systems can fail very quickly where the liquid cooling design fails and should be monitored constantly via a temperature monitoring system. Some of these come with an LCD display you can attach to the front of your PC so at a glance you can easily see the current system temperature. Liquid cooling can be ideal where the computer is situated in an already warm and humid environment.
Summary
With a range of fans providing direct and in direct cooling, you can easily keep a performance system at
decent temperatures and also keep noise to a minimum. By using a mix of fan sizes you can also design the system to
make use of smaller faster fans and also some larger slower fans that draw a greater air volume. By moving as much of the heat of the system out of the system as quick as possible, you will greatly aid in the longevity of the system and keep the various components running at their peak.
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