In fact, in DIY computers field, the barrel effect is particularly important. Neglecting hardware such as radiators and power supplies may affect the performance, stability and even life of the entire host platform. Today, Coolerslzx shares the choice of computer CPU cooler, what should we pay attention to when purchasing, and types of cpu cooler, which type is the best cpu cooler, and so on.
1.What is a CPU cooler?
The radiator is a device for dissipating heat for the heat-prone electronic components in the electrical appliance. The fan dissipates heat.
Heat sinks are an extremely important presence in the field of DIY hardware. For example, the CPU in a computer uses a fairly large heat sink. The CPU (processor) is the core chip hardware of the computer. Because of its large surface heat, it needs to be equipped with a radiator for heat dissipation. The CPU cooler came into being.
At present, most desktop computers and notebook computers are equipped with heat sinks on the CPU. This is mainly due to the fact that the computer CPU will generate a lot of heat when it is working. If the heat is not dissipated in time, it will cause the computer to crash at light level, and the CPU may be burned in severe cases. Therefore, the radiator is always the concern of many hardware DIY players.
2.The installation of CPU cooler
Generally, the heat sink should be coated with a layer of thermal grease on the contact surface between the electronic components and the heat sink for using, so that the heat emitted by the components is more effectively conducted to the heat sink, and the heat on the heat sink is blown to the surrounding air by the fan.
The same for the installation of the computer CPU radiator. Before installing the radiator, you need to apply a layer of thermally conductive silica gel evenly on the surface of the CPU, and then install the radiator on the surface of the processor.
3.Classification of CPU coolers
Computer CPU radiators can be divided into three types: air cooling, heat pipe and water cooling according to their different cooling methods. Among them, air cooling radiators are the most common, while water cooling is a high-end radiator that has become popular in recent years.
1.) CPU Air Cooler
The air-cooled radiator is the most common type of radiator in the current computer CPU radiator, and its advantage is that it is cheap and easy to use. Air-cooled radiators include a cooling fan and a heat sink. The principle is to transfer the heat generated by the CPU to the heat sink, and then take the heat away through the fan.
The picture shows the air-cooled radiator.
It should be noted that different types and specifications of CPUs use different radiators. For example, AMD processors and Intel processors often use different radiators due to different pins. Therefore, when purchasing a CPU radiator, you need to choose according to the pins of the CPU. Choice, of course, there are many AMD and Intel general CPU coolers on the market. When purchasing, you need to pay attention.
2.) Heat pipe radiator
A heat pipe radiator is a heat transfer element with extremely high thermal conductivity, which transfers heat through the evaporation and condensation of liquids in a fully enclosed vacuum tube. Most of these fans are “air cooling + heat pipe”, which have the advantages of both air cooling and heat pipe, and have strong heat dissipation performance.
The picture shows the heat pipe radiator
Heat pipe CPU heat dissipation, the key lies in this pipe. Many players think that the heat dissipation effect of buying multiple heat pipes will be better, but it may not be true. The number of heat pipes is not directly proportional to the heat dissipation effect, but more related to the materials used.
3. )CPU Water Cooler
The water-cooled radiator uses liquid to force the circulation of the radiator to take away the heat of the radiator under the drive of the pump. Compared with the air-cooled, it has the advantages of quietness, stable cooling and less dependence on the environment. The water-cooled radiator is a relatively high-end radiator at present, with outstanding heat dissipation effect, which is dazzled by DIY game enthusiasts
The picture shows the water cooling radiator
As the price of water-cooled radiators continues to drop, water cooling cpu cooler are now gradually becoming popular.
4.The cooling method of CPU radiator
In terms of heat dissipation methods, CPU coolers have a variety of heat dissipation methods. At present, the most common ones are mainly divided into active heat sinks and passive heat sinks.
1. Active radiator
To put it simply, an active cpu cooler is a radiator that has external forces to assist heat dissipation, such as fans and water cooling liquids. These are classified as active heat dissipation, which is also the most common cooling method for computer CPU radiators at present.
2. Passive radiator
The passive radiator refers to a heat dissipation method that does not rely on external force, only conducts through metal sheets, and then dissipates heat energy into the air. This heat dissipation method has relatively poor heat dissipation capacity, mainly for some CPUs with low calorific value, will be used in.
Active radiator and passive radiator actually have their own advantages. The former has a good heat dissipation effect and can quickly take away the heat generated by the CPU, but the disadvantage is noise. Although the liquid cpu cooler has no noise, the cost is high, it belongs to a high-end radiator, and the price is relatively expensive; while the passive cooling has the advantages of low cost and no noise, but the disadvantage is that the cooling effect is worse than that of the active type, which is easy to cause heat accumulation. At present, it is mainly used in components with less heat, such as mobile phone CPUs, which are basically passive cooling methods.
5.Which one is the best cpu cooler?
If the price factor is not considered, among air-cooled radiators, heat-pipe radiators and water-pipe radiators, the heat-dissipation performance of water-pipe radiators is the best.
The water pipe radiator uses the cooling liquid to force the circulation of the radiator to take away the heat of the radiator under the drive of the pump. Compared with the air cooling, it has the advantages of quietness, stable cooling and less dependence on the environment. The disadvantage is that the price is much more expensive than ordinary air-cooled radiators.
In addition to the water-cooled radiator, the heat dissipation performance of the heat pipe radiator is relatively better than that of the air-cooled radiator. This is mainly because the water-cooled radiator not only achieves the effect of air cooling, but also adds a heat pipe to assist heat dissipation, so the heat dissipation effect should be Better than air-cooled, the price is between air-cooled and water-cooled.
Although the air-cooled radiator has the worst heat dissipation performance among the three, it is basically sufficient for most CPUs that do not generate a lot of heat. In addition, the price is cheap, so it is currently the most common CPU radiator.
6. How to choose a CPU cooler?
Different brands and different workmanship of radiators often have different prices, and their heat dissipation performance will naturally vary. The following takes the most common air-cooled radiator as an example to teach you how to choose a radiator.
●Fan speed
Usually the higher the fan speed, the more air it provides to the CPU and the better the air convection. But extremely high RPMs bring heat and wear on the fans, so a balance needs to be struck between the two.
●Material of heat sink
At present, aluminum alloys with low price and good heat dissipation effect are widely used as heat sinks for air-cooled radiators. At the same time, in order to improve the overall heat dissipation effect of the radiator, the medium and high-end radiators use a copper medium with better heat dissipation effect in the place in contact with the CPU heat dissipation core.
●Fan noise
Generally, the fan rotates at a high speed during the working process, which will produce a sound, which is mainly affected by the fan bearing and blades. smaller.
●Fan exhaust volume
The exhaust air volume of the fan is an important indicator to measure the performance of a fan. The angle of the fan blades and the speed of the fan are all determining factors that affect the exhaust air volume of the cooling fan.
●Radiator brand
Brand is also an important factor for radiators. Big brands have mature production lines, and they are relatively more secure in terms of workmanship and product quality.
At present, the main CPU cooler brands are: Corsair, Cooler Master, Be Quiet, AZZA, Antec, Arctic, Zaman, etc. they are relatively well-known brands, and the products are more reliable.
●Price
Even if it is a different brand, different grades of products will have different prices, after all, the cost of the product is there.
As far as the current market situation is concerned, most of the radiators between $5 and $20 belong to entry-level air-cooled radiators, and the heat dissipation performance is average, which can meet the needs of most dual-core CPUs or entry-level quad-core CPU radiators with low power consumption.
For a general i5 or AMD eight-core processor, it is recommended to buy an air-cooled or heat pipe radiator of about 100 yuan, while for high-end CPUs, it is recommended to use a heat pipe radiator of more than 100 yuan or consider buying some water-cooled heat dissipation of about 300 yuan for a better experience. for excellent cooling.
7. High-end water cooling radiator night effect
It is worth mentioning that if you buy a boxed CPU that comes with an official heat-sink, if you buy a bulk CPU, you need to buy a heat-sink separately. Of course, if you are a hardware DIY player, in order to pursue better heat dissipation performance, you usually buy a better heat sink separately. For ordinary users, you can usually buy the heat sink that comes with the boxed CPU.
Although many non-hardware DIYers only focus on CPU and graphics card performance, they don’t pay much attention to coolers that have nothing to do with performance. However, the CPU radiator plays a decisive role in the stable operation of the CPU. When assembling the computer, it is best to choose a better radiator. This is especially important for some users who like to play large games or large applications for a long time.
