An Introduction to Adequate Cooling Methods - Air Cooling
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We want air cooling, great, but now how do we pick an efficient heat sink and a fan for it? The first component is the heat sink. There are more than a few heat sinks currently on the market made by different companies, with different construction methods, made of different materials, and available in all sizes. The heat conductivity of metal is much better than air. The increase in surface area will dissipate heat better, and it can radiate heat from its whole body. Commonly used metals are aluminum and copper. Between the two, copper's ability to radiate, transfer, and dissipate heat is better. There are quite a few ways heat sinks can be built using these materials. There are pure aluminum-only heat sinks, copper-based heat sinks, and pure copper-only heat sinks.
Today there is also a really important feature used to build newer heat sinks. This feature employs the use of Heat Pipes. These are heat transfer mechanisms which can transport quantities of heat in a tube-like design consisting of thermo-conductive metal, aluminum or copper, filled with some sort of coolant (such as water or ethanol) to improve its performance. This technology helps to transfer heat through the heat sink's body resulting in significantly better efficiency.
Let's discuss the heat sink's size. A heat sink with a larger body can dissipate more heat than a smaller one, so the rule of thumb is the bigger, the better - but don't forget to consider the space. Some people order extreme heat sinks via online shops, and then when the product arrives they are shocked that they can't fit the sink into their computer case.
Now that you understand these attributes, you know that picking a copper or copper-based heat sink is better. Get one that is 80mm in size, or 90mm/120mm if you have the space required for it, and don't forget about Heat Pipe technology. Check out the following picture, it's an aluminum heat sink with copper heat pipes...
The second important component for an air cooling setup is/are fan(s). First of all, there are a few attributes used in rating fans that we must understand. The first attribute is the size. Fan sizes are abbreviated in the following form: ##X##. The first is the fan's length and width, and the last represents its height.
The second attribute is the air flow. I bet you've noticed those 'CFM' inscriptions. Their values are stated in cubic feet per meters. It's quite clear that the higher the value is better because that means the fan can move, or cycle, more air which results in better flow.
The third attribute is the speed, measured in RPMs (=rotation per minutes). Obviously smaller fans need to spin at higher speeds than a bigger fan with larger, longer blades. Then, of course, if a fan is spinning at insanely high speeds, it causes noise, so it's really important to find a great ratio-perfect synergy between size, cfm, rpm and dBs (the last abbreviation is for decibels, which I will also mention separately).
The fourth attribute is the power consumption. It's usually stated as an inscription on the fan label-the fan's amperage. Most computer fans are running on the 12v rail, so to calculate the required wattage we must multiply the amperage value with 12. For a fan which requires 0.30A, for example, the required wattage would be 0.30*12=3.6W. You should check out a fan's power requirement before plugging into your motherboard. Fans can be powered up with a minimum of two and a maximum of four wires. When there are 3 wires, the last one is for RPM monitoring so that you can monitor your fan's speeds through BIOS or monitoring software. When there are 4 wires, the last one basically does nothing. It's just to make things easier because the fan can then be powered up with a simple Molex 4-pin connector.
The fifth attribute is a fan's noise level, usually stated in dB- meaning decibels. Now, let's take into consideration that a fan will never operate at 100 percent of its performance so it will never work at the rated air flow, because it is measured and stated assuming ideal conditions. The same thing happens with a fan's noise level, the dB rating. Even though the fan's performance should match or at least be close to the stated values, sometimes there is quite a difference.
Also, there are numerous cases when cables and other components inside your case can and will block the air flow. We can't forget about the dust which will decrease a fan's efficiency. Considering these points, it's advisable to clean the fans once every 3 months and check cables (rounded cables are amazing, and worth their price) which may block airflow. Check any other situations that may block airflow as well.
Summing up, you can make your own air cooler by buying a special heat sink and a fan for it. It would work and you could customize it the way you wanted, or you could buy aftermarket CPU coolers, which are already supplied with a heat sink and fan. Check out the following photo, it's a stock processor cooler made by Intel:
Let me enumerate a few brands that are producing great quality and efficient heat sinks and fans: AeroCool, Arctic Cooling, Delta, Cooler Master, Enermax, Panaflo, Scythe, Swiftech, Thermalright, Thermaltake, Vantec, and Zalman.
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