For mid-range and high-end air-cooled processors, the hot-selling products all use a tower plan with U-shaped heat pipes. The principle is that the heat is "sucked" out through the base of the cooler, which is in direct contact with the top cover of the processor, and then quickly transferred to the cooling fins through the heatpipes. The fans then form air ducts to dissipate the heat from the fins. The fluid in the heatpipes then flows back out for the next cycle.
When choosing this type of cooler we need to focus on the following:
Heatpipe Roots
Heatpipes are a technology that used to be used in aerospace technology, but now it has become the standard for mid-range and high-end coolers. It efficiently conducts heat from the base of the cooler to the cooling fins, where it is then dissipated through the fans and fins. To put it simply, the more heatpipes you have, the better the heat conduction efficiency. So if you're in a position to do so, choose a cooler with as many heatpipes as possible.
Fan specs
Passive cooling through fins alone is not enough, so we need to add fans to the top of the fins. For the same size fan, the higher the RPM, the better the cooling effect, and the resulting noise will generally be higher; for the same cooling effect, the larger the fan size, the lower the RPM needed, and the working noise will generally be lower. So, our recommendation is to choose a cooler that supports a large fan as much as possible, to ensure that the heat dissipation at the same time the quiet effect is better. Also, one fan is naturally not as effective as two. Of course, when using dual fans, you need to consider the wind direction: first, it should be in a uniform direction, and second, it should not be against the air ducts of the chassis. At the same time, the dazzling effect on the fan also directly determines your expression of faith.
Cooling fin size
The introduction of fan specifications mentions a sentence that the larger the size of the radiator fins, the better, where the size refers to the surface area of the fins, which accelerates the heat transfer cycle. The larger the radiator fins, the more room is left for the heat pipes to allow more heat pipes to pass through. Of course, the internal layout of the case has to be taken into account at the planning stage of the installation - after all, a large radiator can easily fight with the memory, graphics card and case cover. At the same time, if the internal layout of the chassis is too compact, it will affect the air ducts from counterproductive.
Heatsink material
Not the same metal has a fixed thermal conductivity, the larger the value of the thermal conductivity effect is better. Now, the common radiator material on the market is aluminum or copper, copper's thermal conductivity is much greater than aluminum. So, the material problem is solved, copper is better than half-copper (copper + aluminum), half-copper is better than aluminum. Of course, the difference in material will be directly reflected in the cost, thus determining the price. In addition, copper is much denser than aluminum, so the pure copper radiator will be a little more pressure on the motherboard, which you need to take into account.
Again, let's look at water cooling.
A water-cooled cooling system consists of the following components: a water-cooling header, a water pump, water pipes, a water tank, and a heat sink. The water pump drives the water-cooling circulatory system. When the water-cooled liquid flows through the water-cooling head, it takes the heat away from the water-cooling head from the processor, circulates to the heat sink to dissipate the heat, and then the cold water circulates back to the water-cooling head to take the heat away again....... Of course, the integrated water-cooling structure is more integrated. Of course, the structure of the integrated water-cooled more integrated, most of the products of the water pump and water-cooled head integrated together, but also omit the part of the water tank, equivalent to the water-cooled head, cooling row, the space in the water pipe are water tanks. Because the readers of this article are more suited to integrated water cooling, so we are still along the line of water cooling options.
For integrated water-cooling, the heat sink is the most important heat dissipation system, because it seems to be the only efficient place for heat exchange in the whole system. Therefore, its size directly determines the heat dissipation effect. Simply and roughly, the larger the area of the heat sink row, the larger the heat dissipation area, the larger the number of fans that can be installed, and the better the heat dissipation effect. Of course, first you need to think about whether the layout of the case and the planning of the air ducts allow this.
The water pump is like the heart of the entire water cooling system, responsible for powering the water cooling process. So the faster the water flows, and with the right sized cooling fins, the better the cooling will be. So we need to look at the two parameters of the pump, head and power, the larger the value of these two, indicating that the water-cooled "strength" is greater, the faster the speed of water flow.
Air-cooling has always been safer and easier to use than water-cooling. The reason is that water-cooling has the possibility of leakage, once the water-cooling sealing problems, began to leak the liquid on the one hand, the cooling effect is reduced, while water-cooling liquid can also cause short-circuits, circuit breakers, and other serious circuit problems, easy to burn the hardware. Some people say that most of the water-cooled liquid are selected non-conductive liquid, but no one can guarantee that the motherboard is absolutely clean, may be due to the drift of dust and conductive situation. So, when choosing a water cooler evaluate its sealing plan, especially for all-in-one water coolers that have been assembled by the manufacturer.
Installation Precautions
Unlike the standardized planning of air-cooled fasteners, water-cooled headers are generally installed using a four-corner screw-fixed compression method, which is prone to uneven stresses at each corner, leading to poor contact between water-cooled headers and the processor. We recommend the diagonal installation, the first two screws on each diagonal with the force, and then adjust the tightness of the diagonal screws to adjust the installation of the water-cooled head.
Finally, we emphasize the selection of radiator general attention:
Air duct planning
Whether you choose water-cooled or air-cooled, must pay attention to the direction of the airflow generated by the radiator must help the air ducts run in the right direction. Never try to make a 90-degree angle with the main air duct plan, much less blowing against the main air duct in both directions. Let the chassis have a forward and backward out of the smooth cooling air duct, is to ensure that the computer excellent thermal prerequisites.
Air-cooling requires attention to maintain a safe distance from surrounding hardware and cables; water-cooling requires looking ahead to see if the mounting location supports enough fans and won't conflict with surrounding hardware.
When applying silicone grease, be sure to even it out, and remember not to smear too much, too greasy. A thin layer of silicone grease will smooth out the top cover of the processor and the metal surface of the heatsink.
Regular checkups
DIY gamers need to regularly check the working condition of their coolers, including whether they are loose and whether they are plugging in power cables. For water cooling you also need to take an extra look to see if the water flow rate is normal, and if there are any leaks. Once you find a problem, you need to disconnect the power immediately.
Now or in the next year to assemble a computer, you need to prefer the eight generation Core. Because the eight-generation Core processor compared to the previous generation of products have the essence of the leap, comprehensively improve the number of cores, threads, expanding the capacity of the level 3 cache, support for memory frequency is also higher, these are visible to the naked eye; there is also an increase in the instruction set, optimization, a more efficient North Bridge link, which is not easy to find out with the naked eye. In short, the eyes look full of performance enhancement, with the eight generation of Core feel Intel's sincerity, equipped with high-end cooler, the whole machine style immediately improved.