Processors are heating up, you won't surprise anyone with this fact, and that's why they put coolers on them.
Everything is fine as long as the CPU operates at its nominal frequencies with a cooler designed for it or selected by a specialist, but when the computer is assembled on its own, or the system is overclocked, cooling must be approached with special attention.

You can, of course, without hesitation, take a cooler with a copper kilogram radiator and a huge fan, which will not only cool the processor, but also collect dust from all neighboring rooms, not to mention the sound imitation of the Boeing 747 takeoff.

Why is the processor heating up?

Heating, first of all, is associated with the fact that the flow of current in a semiconductor inevitably leads to the release of heat.
It is known from the school physics course that energy does not come from nowhere and does not go anywhere.

In this case, it simply turns into heat.
The situation is complicated by the fact that the microcircuit is "surrounded" by substances that by their nature do not conduct heat well (housing, insulating layers, etc.) and thus do not allow the crystal to cool on its own.

Why cool the processor?

In addition, when the processor temperature rises by 10 degrees, its shelf life is halved, approximately 1.5% of the CPU performance is lost.
But even twice the reduced lifespan of the stone exceeds the period of its "relevance" (you change it before it fails), and 1.5% of 2 GHz is only 30 MHz.

Therefore, the main reason for cooling the CPU is unstable operation and, as a result, the failure of the processor when a certain critical temperature is exceeded for a certain time (often quite long).
For example, there is an unwritten dependence of the summer stability of the system: in the summer, computers start to fail.

And you can ask any lucky owner of an early Athlon or Duron about the weight of this argument.
And you may have seen Tom Pabst's experiments with "natural" cooling of new processors on the Internet.

So why is heat so bad for the CPU?

This is primarily due to the fact that in the process of vital activity in the stone, in addition to purely electrical phenomena, there is also a myriad of electrochemical reactions, the course of which largely depends on temperature.
Some reactions benefit from heat, but in most cases it is negative.
So cooling is necessary!

Processor marking

In order to rationally cool the crystal, it would be good to know to what temperature it should not be heated.
In addition to the experimental method for determining this temperature and the method of reading technical characteristics, there is another way - reading the marking.
You can find it directly on the processor.
Or you can use a specially designed utility.

Information about the maximum allowable temperature of Athlons XP (Thoroughbred, Thoroughbred-B and Palomino), MP, as well as Durons contains the third from the right symbol of their OPN-number; Athlon's SlotA is the fifth (counting the last stand-alone).
These symbols are interpreted as follows: S = 95, T = 90, V = 85, Y = 75, R = 70, X = 65, Q = 60 degrees Celsius.

The first group includes processors whose marking begins with AXD, A, D; the second is AMD-A, AMD-K7, etc.

Unfortunately, Intel processors do not contain the maximum temperature in their marking.

There is one more "But": some unscrupulous sellers saw through the CPU markings in order to sell them at a higher price.
Naturally, they do not guarantee the safety of the original data on the maximum temperature of the processor.
Therefore, I do not advise you to particularly trust the inscriptions on the stone bought from Vasya from the radio market.
Use the software-based labeling method.

Heat dissipation of the processor

And one more characteristic of the processor, which will be useful for you when calculating cooling - its maximum heat dissipation or thermal power.
In the English-language documentation, this parameter is called Maximum Thermal Power.
Its physical meaning is the amount of heat generated by a running CPU per unit of time.

Heat dissipation during overclocking

During overclocking, CPU heat dissipation increases in proportion to the frequency.
If you overclock an Athlon XP 1700+ (1.46 GHz), which has a typical heat dissipation of 44.9 W up to 2000+ (1.66 GHz), then its heat dissipation will be 44.9 x 1.66 / 1.46 = 51.05 W.
To be precise, it grows not quite proportionally: it grows proportionally with an increase in the bus frequency, and with an increase in voltage, a jump occurs.
But on the whole, the dependence is correct, and the increase in heat generation can be considered proportional to the increase in the clock frequency.

Cooling types

There are two main types of cooling for PCs: liquid and air.
When using the first, the cooling system looks like this: a metal plate, hollow inside, adjoins the processor directly, through which liquid is pumped with the help of a pump.
Water has a higher thermal conductivity than air, so it removes heat from the processor much better.

After receiving thermal energy, the liquid is discharged into a special radiator, where it is cooled.
Moreover, it can be brought to a temperature much lower than the ambient temperature, thereby increasing the efficiency of the system.
The main disadvantage of liquid cooling is complexity and, as a result, high cost.

The air cooling system is a combination of a radiator and a fan, popularly referred to as a “cooler”.

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The most power-hungry in a computer is the processor and the removal of the released thermal energy is an urgent task, especially when the ambient temperature is high. Not only the stability and durability of its operation depends on the heating temperature of the processor, but the speed, which processor manufacturers usually keep silent about.

In the overwhelming majority of computers, the processor cooling system is designed with disregard for the elementary laws of physics. The system cooler operates in a short-circuit mode, since there is no screen preventing the cooler from sucking hot air coming out of the processor heatsink. As a result, the efficiency of the processor cooling system does not exceed 50%. In addition, cooling is performed with air heated by other components and assemblies located in the system unit.

Sometimes an additional cooler is installed on the back of the system unit, but this is not the best solution. The additional cooler works to push air out of the system unit into the environment, just like the cooler of the power supply. As a result, the efficiency of both coolers is much lower if they worked separately - one sucked air into the system unit, and the other pushed it out. As a result, additional electricity is consumed and, what is most unpleasant, additional acoustic noise appears.

The proposed design of the processor cooling system is free from the above disadvantages, is easy to implement and provides high efficiency of cooling the processor and, as a result, other components of the motherboard. The idea is not new and simple, the air for cooling the processor heatsink is taken from outside the system unit, that is, from the room.

I decided to improve the cooling system of the processor of my computer when I came across a construct from the cooling system of a branded, obsolete system unit.

It remains to fix this part in the system unit and connect it to the processor cooler. Since the length of the branch pipe was insufficient, it had to be extended with a polyethylene tape twisted into a tube. The tube diameter was chosen taking into account the tight fit on the CPU cooler case. To prevent the tape from developing, it is fixed with a metal bracket with a stapler.

The system is fixed with the help of self-made two corners with self-tapping screws to the back wall of the system unit. Exact positioning relative to the center of the cooler is achieved due to the lengths of the sides of the corners.

Such a simple design made it possible to practically eliminate the flow of hot air from the system unit to the processor cooling system.

There was already a ready-made hole in the lid of my system unit, which simplified the work. But making a hole on your own is not difficult, you need to project the center point of the cooler onto the side cover, draw a circle with a compass, slightly less than the diameter of the tube. Drill with a drill with a diameter of 2.5-3 mm with a pitch of 3.5 mm along the entire length of the hole circumference. The drilling points must first be marked with a core. Then re-drill the drilled holes with a 4 mm drill. Cut the edges of the hole obtained with a round file. All that remains is to install a decorative grille, although it is not required.

A plastic beverage bottle can be used as an air duct. If there is no suitable diameter, then you can take a larger one, cut along and sew with threads. High tightness is not required here. You can also fix the tube with small screws directly to the cooler case. The main thing is to provide air supply to the processor cooling system from the outside.

Temperature measurements showed a high efficiency of the made cooling system for the Pentium 2.8 GHz processor. At 10% CPU load, at an ambient temperature of 20 ° C, the processor temperature did not exceed 30 ° C, the heatsink was cold to the touch. At the same time, the cooler effectively cooled the radiator at the lowest speed.

Conventional fans have faithfully served computer owners for many years, still remaining the main cooling method - there are others, but those are more for enthusiasts. Phase change systems are obscenely expensive, and liquid cooling with all kinds of pipes, pumps and reservoirs is complemented by constant worries about leaks. And the cooling in the liquid system still occurs with air, only the radiator is moved away.

Putting aside worries about the age of technology, it is difficult not to admit that blowing out the radiator with air at room temperature is an effective way of removing heat. Problems arise when the entire system prevents air from circulating normally in the enclosure. This guide will help you optimize your cooling system to improve performance, stability and component life.

Body layout

Most modern cases belong to the ATX layout: optical drives are at the top at the top, hard drives are right below them, the motherboard is attached to the right cover, the power supply is at the rear at the top, expansion card connectors are brought out to the rear. There are variations on this scheme: hard drives can be mounted in the lower front of the side using quick-connect adapters, which simplifies their removal and installation and provides additional cooling from the side of the drive bays. Sometimes the power supply unit is placed at the bottom so that warm air does not pass through it. In general, such differences do not have a negative effect on air circulation, but should be taken into account when laying cables (more on this later).

Cooler placement

The fans are usually installed in four possible positions: front, back, side and top. The front ones work on blowing, cooling the heated components, while the rear ones remove warm air from the body. In the past, such a simple system was already enough, but with modern heating video cards (of which there may be several), weighty sets of RAM and overclocked processors, one should seriously think about competent air circulation.

General rules

Resist the temptation to choose the case with the most fans in the hope of the best cooling: as we will soon find out, efficiency and smooth air flow are far more important than CFM (air flow in cubic feet per minute).

The first step in building any computer is choosing a case that has the fans you want and no fans you don't need. A good starting point would be a chassis with three vertically stacked coolers at the front, as they draw in air evenly across the entire surface. However, such a number of blower coolers will lead to increased air pressure in the case (read more about pressure at the end of the article). To remove the accumulated warm air, you will need fans on the back and top walls.

Do not buy a case with obvious obstructions to air circulation. Fast drive bays, for example, are great, but if they require the drives to be stacked vertically, this will seriously constrain airflow.

Consider a modular power supply. The ability to disconnect unnecessary wires will make the system unit more spacious, and in the case of an upgrade, you can easily add the necessary cables.

Do not install unnecessary components: take out the old PCI cards that will never come in handy, let the additional cooling for the memory remain in the box, and several old hard drives can be replaced with one of the same size. And for heaven's sake, get rid of the floppy drive and disk drive already.

Massive air ducts on the chassis may sound like a good idea in theory, but in reality they will rather interfere with the movement of air, so disconnect them if possible.

Fans on the sidewalls are useful, but they are more problematic. If they work with too large CFM, they will make the coolers on the video card and processor ineffective. They can cause turbulence in the enclosure, making it difficult for air to circulate and also lead to accelerated accumulation of dust. Side coolers can be used only for weak air removal that accumulates in the "dead zone" under the PCIe and PCI slots. An ideal choice for this would be a large cooler with a low rotational speed.

Clean the case regularly! The accumulation of dust poses a serious threat to electronics, because dust is a dielectric, and moreover, it clogs the air exhaust paths. Just open the case in a well-ventilated place and blow it out with a compressor (you can also find cans of compressed air for blowing out on the market) or lightly brush it with a soft brush. I do not recommend a vacuum cleaner, it can break off and suck in something you need. Such measures will remain mandatory, at least until we all switch to self-cleaning coolers.

Larger, slower coolers are usually much quieter and more efficient, so get them whenever possible.

Environment

Do not stuff the system unit into any semblance of a closed box. Do not trust the manufacturers of computer furniture, they do not understand anything about what and why they are doing. The internal compartments in the desks look very comfortable, but compare that to the inconvenience of replacing overheated components. There is no point in thinking about a cooling system if you end up putting your computer where there is nowhere for air to escape. As a rule, the design of the desk allows you to remove the back wall of the computer compartment - this usually solves the problem.

Try not to put the system unit on a carpet, otherwise dust and lint will accumulate in the case faster.

The climate in your area is also worth considering. If you live in a hot area, you need to take cooling seriously, perhaps even consider water cooling. If your place is usually cold, then the indoor air is of particular value, which means you should use it wisely.

If you smoke, it is highly recommended that you do not do so near your computer. Dust is already harmful to components, and cigarette smoke generates the worst possible dust due to its moisture and chemical composition. It is very difficult to wash away such sticky dust, and as a result, electronics fail faster than usual.

Cable routing

Proper cabling requires a lot of planning, and the patience is not available for everyone who enjoys buying a new piece of hardware. I would like to quickly tighten all the bolts and connect all the wires, but there is no need to rush: the time spent on the correct placement of cables, which does not impede air circulation, will pay off with interest.

Start by installing the motherboard, power supply, storage and drives. Then, lead the cables to the devices, roughly indicating their grouping. This will give you an idea of ​​the total number of individual bundles and you will understand if they have enough headroom to fit under the motherboard. You may need additional adapters for this.

Then you need to select the cable tie tools based on your personal preference. There are many products on the market for bundling and securing cables to the enclosure.

• A conduit is a plastic tube that is split on one side. The bundle of wires is placed inside and the tube is closed. It looks neat when used skillfully, but it can be difficult if the beam has to bend.
• Spiral winding is a great option. This is a corkscrew-shaped plastic tape that can be unwound and wrapped around a bundle of cables. Very flexible, so conduit is more convenient in some cases.
• Cable braid is often found today on the wires coming from the power supply, primarily to the motherboard. Can be purchased separately for cable tie - looks amazing, but tricky to get the job done.
• Cable ties are a must for every computer builder. Combined with adhesive mounting pads, they make cable routing simple and effortless.
• Velcro straps (like the clasps on jackets) can be reused - if you make regular changes to the wiring system - but they don't look so neat anymore.
• If you know how to handle a soldering iron and want to shorten / lengthen the wires yourself, a heat-shrinkable film will be a convenient and reliable means of insulation and additional fixation. Under the influence of high temperature, such a film shrinks, tightly pulling the wires at the point of contact.

Data cables can be easily tucked under or on top of the drive, or stowed in an empty adjacent compartment. If the cables are in the path of air movement, secure them to the wall of the chassis or compartment. IDE cables are rare these days, but if anything, replace the flat versions with the round ones.

Now that all the cables are in place, it remains to connect the devices without worrying that the wires will interfere with the air flow.

Positive or negative pressure?

Oddly enough, it is not necessary to equalize the extract and exhaust fans according to CFM. Better to choose between positive and negative pressure.

Configured with positive pressure coolers with a higher CFM are placed on the blower.

Advantages:

• Air exits through all the smallest openings in the case, forcing each crack to contribute to cooling;
• Less dust gets into the case;
• More useful for video cards with passive cooling.

Flaws:

• Video cards with a direct heat dissipation system will partially resist the operation of coolers;
• Not the best choice for enthusiasts.

Configured with negative pressure CFM is higher on the air outlet, which creates a partial vacuum in the case.

Advantages:

• Good for the enthusiast;
• Enhances natural convection;
• Direct, linear airflow;
• Suitable for graphics cards with direct heat dissipation system;
• Enhances the action of a vertical processor cooler.

Flaws:

• Dust builds up faster as air is drawn in through all openings;
• Passively cooled graphics cards do not receive any support.

Choose a pressure scheme taking into account the filling of your computer. You can buy a case with an adjustable fan speed. You can use third-party solutions to control the speed of coolers, but they are expensive and often look tasteless. Check with your wallet and your sense of beauty.

Now that the air cools your computer seamlessly and efficiently, you can be confident that your precious components will last long and run at full capacity.

The summer time has come, and owners of laptop computers are increasingly asking the question: “how to cool down a laptop” if it gets pretty hot after a certain period of use.

Devices already emit a lot of heat generated during operation, and the heat only interferes with normal cooling, especially if a modern game is turned on on a laptop.

Content:

Overheating reasons

A laptop is a miniature computer with virtually the same computing power as a similarly configured desktop PC.

And the size is the first reason why the portable heats up faster.

• Due to the miniaturization of dimensions, they are very tightly packed in its case. Because of this, the free space in the case is extremely small, which interferes with normal air circulation (removal of hot streams to the outside and the flow of cold air from the outside).
• Dust, lint, hair, wool and other small light objects accumulate on the radiator, deteriorating its performance (thermal conductivity) and clog the cooler, the efficiency of which also decreases.
• Low performance cooling system or cooler operating in abnormal mode. It is not uncommon for the user to find out the effectiveness of cooling the device a couple of months after purchasing the device. Can get caught with not the best quality bearing or its lubrication.

Consequences of working at elevated temperatures

Although the processor is unlikely to burn out from overheating, it does not have a positive effect on it.

If the component will work fairly heated for a long time, the crystal structure of its elements will be gradually disrupted, which will soon affect not only its performance, but also its performance.

As for the first one, many noticed that an overheated processor starts to fail, it takes longer to perform operations and produces more errors (usually they are invisible to the user, but due to errors the processor has to perform calculations again until the correct result is obtained).

In addition to the increased rate of destruction of the crystal structure, the silicon, of which the processor transistors are composed, begins to carbonize, like the contacts of the processors. Due to the decrease in the contact area, it will begin to heat up even faster. Both that, and another in a couple of years or even months will disable the device. So take your laptop cooling seriously.

About symptoms

How do you know if your laptop is overheated? Yes, it is very simple, and this is done both by indirect signs and by direct ones.

Directly, the fact that the device needs additional cooling or shutdown will be indicated by the temperature sensor installed in it. You can extract the necessary information from it through either the HWInfo utility (you can run it in the mode of displaying data from sensors), HWMonitor or another with similar functionality.

Such programs (consider the example of the second one) show the minimum recorded, current and maximum recorded values ​​of the sensors and display the rotational speed of the cooler.

Information from the manual for the laptop or the official website of the developers of its components will help determine the permissible temperature range of the device.

An indirect indication of a high temperature in the housing will indicate a couple of factors:

We keep everything under control

Cooling down a laptop is not difficult, fortunately, the market is always driven by the need of its consumers.

Nowadays, you can buy a lot of gadgets and even installations that allow you to keep the temperature regime of the device in permissible limits.

Within the framework of this article, we will consider only hardware for cooling a laptop. Programs cannot do this, unless it is necessary to clean the list of software automatically launched with the OS and close unnecessary applications.

The only thing that will help, besides ending unnecessary programs, is managing the state of the processor.

1. We launch the applet through the search bar or Control Panel.
2. Go to the settings for the current power plan.

1. We call additional power parameters.

1. Expand the control point.

1. We decrease its maximum state.

Dust cleaning

It also follows at least once a year, which improves heat transfer from the processor to the heatsink, and, accordingly, the fan.

If you are an amateur in such matters, arm yourself with a Phillips screwdriver of the appropriate size (or another that will allow you to unscrew the back cover screws), remove the back cover, paying attention to the presence of plastic latches.

Then, using napkins, a cotton swab, or a vacuum cleaner / hair dryer, carefully remove all dust and other debris from under the case, fan, radiator.

Having a little skills in disassembling laptops, removing the processor to remove the old one and applying a thin layer of new thermal paste should not be difficult.

If you are not sure about something, do not do this, it is better to seek help from a friend or specialist.

Cooler replacement / repair

More experienced users, if the fan is at fault, can independently carry out its maintenance or replace it with a similar or more powerful one.

As far as maintenance is concerned, only the bearing grease can be changed.

It is usually possible to do this at home, when the fan is spinning with great difficulty. Typically, it spins easily from a light finger touch or breeze.

If this is not the case, the component must be replaced (or its bearing, which is sometimes more difficult and longer).

Any user can remove the old cooler by opening the latches or unscrewing the screws and turning off the power to the device, unless half of the device needs to be disassembled to perform the action.

The market offers

There are not many choices for cooling your laptop, but there is one. The most common cooling gadget is the fan table.

Such tables differ in the number of fans, shape, design and the presence of other possibilities (height adjustment, rotation, drawers, tilt).

They are more suitable for home use.

For constant trips and travels, it is better suited - a reduced and less functional copy of the table in terms of ergonomics.

You can buy everything on the famous Chinese site.

Including additional heatsinks with a layer for just a couple of dollars, but in case there is room in the case for additional elements.

For enthusiasts and hobbyists for something new (and expensive), water cooling systems are coming into production.

They are suitable naturally, only for, for low-power devices, there will be very little sense in purchasing a water cooling system.

If you cannot spend money on purchasing a table or stand, provide your laptop with improved air circulation.

Raise it above the surface of the table a couple of centimeters so that there is air space between the table (for example, a book will not work in this case).