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Computer cooling
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Computer cooling is the process of removing heat from computer components.
A computer system's components produce large amounts of heat during operation, including integrated circuits such as CPUs, chipset and graphics cards, along with hard drives. This heat must be dissipated in order to keep these components within their safe operating temperatures, and both manufacturing methods and additional parts are used to keep the heat at a safe level.
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Encyclopedia
Computer cooling is the process of removing heat from computer components.
A computer system's components produce large amounts of heat during operation, including integrated circuits such as CPUs, chipset and graphics cards, along with hard drives. This heat must be dissipated in order to keep these components within their safe operating temperatures, and both manufacturing methods and additional parts are used to keep the heat at a safe level. This is done mainly using heat sinks to increase the surface area which dissipates heat, fans to speed up the exchange of air heated by the computer parts for cooler ambient air, and in some cases softcooling, the throttling of computer parts in order to decrease heat generation.
Overheated parts generally exhibit a shorter maximum life-span and may give sporadic problems resulting in system freezes or crashes.
Causes of heat build up
The amount of heat generated by an integrated circuit (e.g., a CPU or GPU), the prime cause of heat build up in modern computers, is a function of the efficiency of its design, the technology used in its construction and the frequency and voltage at which it operates.
In operation, the temperature levels of a computer's components will rise until the temperature gradient between the computer parts and their surroundings is such that the rate at which heat is lost to the surroundings is equal to the rate at which heat is being produced by the electronic component, and thus the temperature of the component reaches equilibrium.
For reliable operation, the equilibrium temperature must be sufficiently low for the structure of the computer's circuits to survive.
Additionally, the normal operation of cooling methods can be hindered by other causes, such as:
- Dust acting as a thermal insulator and impeding airflow, thereby reducing heat sink and fan performance.
- Poor airflow including turbulence due to friction against impeding components, or improper orientation of fans, can reduce the amount of air flowing through a case and even create localised whirlpools of hot air in the case.
- Poor heat transfer due to a lack or poor application of thermal compounds.
Damage prevention
It is common practice to include thermal sensors in the design of certain computer parts, e.g. CPUs and GPUs, along with internal logic that shuts down the computer if reasonable bounds are exceeded. It is, however, unwise to rely on such preventative measures, as it is not universally implemented, and may not prevent repeated incidents from permanently damaging the integrated circuit.
The design of an integrated circuit may also incorporate features to shut down parts of the circuit when it is idling, or to scale back the clock speed under low workloads or high temperatures, with the goal of reducing both power use and heat generation.
System cooling
Air cooling
While any method used to move air around or to computer enclosures would count as air cooling, fans are by far the most commonly used implement for accomplishing that task. The term computer fan usually refers to fans attached to computer enclosures, but may also be intended to signify any other computer fan, such as a CPU fan, GPU fan, a chipset fan, PSU fan, HDD fan, or PCI slot fans. Common fan sizes include 40, 60, 80, 90, 120, and 140 mm.
In desktops
Desktop computers typically use one or more fans for heat management. Almost all desktop power supplies have at least one fan to exhaust air from the case. Most manufacturers recommend bringing cool, fresh air in at the bottom front of the case, and exhausting warm air from the top rear.
If there is more air being forced into the system than being pumped out (due to an imbalance in the number of fans), this is referred to as a "positive" airflow, as the pressure inside the unit would be higher than outside. A balanced or neutral airflow is the most efficient, although a slightly positive airflow results in less dust build up if dust filters are used.
In high density computing
Data centers typically contain many racks of flat 1U servers. Air is drawn in at the front of the rack and exhausted at the rear. Because data centers typically contain such large numbers of computers and other power-consuming devices, they risk overheating of the various components if no additional measures are taken. Thus, extensive HVAC systems are used. Often a raised floor is used so the area under the floor may be used as a large plenum for cooled air and power cabling.
In laptop computing
Most newer Laptop are made to rest on a solid surface. Practically all early models used rear or side ventilation, which allowed the laptop to acquire its name as it could be used on one's lap.
With the advent of the notebook many models currently made now draw air from the bottom. Unfortunately what many people fail to realize is that the "LAPTOP" / "NOTEBOOK" can no longer be used on ones lap and if used in this manner will eventually cause overheating and component failure due to restricted airflow.
The only safe way to use a computer as a real laptop is to provide a means where the Air intake is NOT blocked or restricted. It is of great importance that the issue of excessive heat should not be ignored. It is a known fact that heat over heating is electronic components is the primary cause of laptop & computer failure. Methods have been in place for over 3 years to help mitigate this problem yet are not generally well known. Some in depth studies actually show a laptop on an incline actually run cooler than ones using USB type external fans. Which allows the rear of a laptop (where most heat occurs) to be unsupported, which is said to be in free air space. By reducing any restriction of air flow that would impede the natural flow of air restricted airflow is eliminated. It is AGAIN important to note that laptops are neither designed for nor should they be used on surfaces or in spaces which impede the free flow of air (such as carpet or bed linens), as heat damage and/or thermal shutdown/slow-down will eventually occur.
While manufacturers should emphasize that it is imperative to Not block or obstruct the ventilation system of a laptop because of the imminent overheating Not a single displays this information visible on the computer. None have come forward to make it obvious to the general public that to use a laptop on your lap bed couch, WILL cause a choking hazard to your machine and will severely limit it’s life and continued use.
Liquid submersion cooling
An uncommon practice is to submerse the computer's components in a thermally conductive liquid. Personal computers that are cooled in this manner do not generally require any fans or pumps, and may be cooled exclusively by passive heat exchange between the computer's parts, the cooling fluid and the ambient air. Extreme density computers such as the Cray-2 may use additional radiators in order to facilitate heat exchange.
The liquid used must have sufficiently low electrical conductivity in order for it not to interfere with the normal operation of the computer's components. If the liquid is somewhat electrically conductive, it may be necessary to insulate certain parts of components susceptible to electromagnetic interference, such as the CPU. For these reasons, it is preferred that the liquid be dielectric.
Liquids commonly used in this manner include various liquids invented and manufactured for this purpose by 3M, such as Fluorinert. Various oils, including but not limited to cooking, motor and silicone oils have all been successfully used for cooling personal computers.
Evaporation can pose a problem, and the liquid may require either to be regularly refilled or sealed inside the computer's enclosure. Liquid may also slowly seep into and damage components, particularly capacitors, causing an initially functional computer to fail after hours or days immersed.
Waste heat reduction
Where full-power, full-featured modern computers are not required, some companies opt to use less powerful computers or computers with fewer features. For example: in an office setting, the IT department may choose a thin client or a diskless workstation thus cutting out the heat-laden components such as hard drives and optical disks. These devices are also often powered with direct current from an external power supply brick which still wastes heat, but not inside the computer itself.
The components used can greatly affect the power consumption and hence waste heat. A VIA EPIA motherboard with CPU typically generates approximately 25 watts of heat whereas a Pentium 4 motherboard typically generates around 140 watts. While the former has considerably less computing power, both types are adequate and responsive for tasks such as word processing and spreadsheets. Choosing a LCD monitor rather than a CRT can also reduce power consumption and excess room heat, as well as the added benefit of increasing work space.
Conductive and radiative cooling
Some laptop components, such as hard drives and optical drives, are commonly cooled by having them make contact with the computer's frame, increasing the surface area which can radiate and otherwise exchange heat.
Spot cooling
In addition to system cooling, various individual components usually have their own cooling systems in place. Components which are individually cooled include, but are not limited to, the CPU, GPU, hard disk, and the Northbridge chip. Some cooling solutions employ one or more methods of cooling, and may also utilize logic and/or temperature sensors in order to vary the power used in active cooling components.
Passive heat sink cooling
This involves attaching a block of machined metal to the part that needs cooling. An adhesive may be used, or more commonly for a personal computer CPU, a clamp is used to affix the heat sink right over the chip, with a thermally conductive pad or gel spread in-between. This block usually has fins and ridges to increase its surface area. The heat conductivity of metal is much better than that of air, and its ability to radiate heat is better than that of the component part it is protecting (usually an integrated circuit or CPU). Until recently, fan cooled aluminium heat sinks were the norm for desktop computers. Today many heat sinks feature copper base-plates or are entirely made of copper, and mount fans of considerable size and power.
Heat sinks tend to get less effective with time due to the build up of dust between their metal fins, which reduces the efficiency with which the heat sink transfers heat to the ambient air. Dust build up is commonly countered with canned air, which is used to blow away the dust along with any other unwanted excess material.
Passive heat sinks are commonly found on older CPUs, parts that do not get very hot (such as the chipset), and low-power computers.
Active heat sink cooling
This uses the same principle as a passive heat sink cooler, with the only difference being that a fan is directed to blow over or through the heat sink. This results in more air being blown through the heat sink, increasing the rate at which the heat sink can exchange heat with the ambient air. Active heat sinks are the primary method of cooling a modern day processor or graphics card.
The buildup of dust is greatly increased with active heat sink cooling as the fan is continually taking in the dust present in the surrounding air. As a result, dust removal procedures need to be exercised much more frequently than with passive heat sink methods.
Peltier cooling or thermoelectric cooling
In 1821 T. J. Seebeck discovered that different metals, connected at two different junctions, will develop a micro-voltage if the two junctions are held at different temperatures. This effect is known as the "Seebeck effect"; it is the basic theory behind the TEC (thermoelectric cooling).
In 1834 Jean Peltier discovered the inverse of the Seebeck effect, now known as the "Peltier effect". He found that applying a voltage to a thermocouple creates a temperature differential between two sides. This results in an effective, albeit extremely inefficient heat pump.
Modern TECs use several stacked units each composed of dozens or hundreds of thermocouples laid out next to each other, which allows for a substantial amount of heat transfer. A combination of bismuth and telluride is most commonly used for thermocouples.
Since TECs are active heat pumps, they are capable of cooling PC components below ambient temperatures, which is impossible with common radiator cooled water cooling systems and heatpipe HSFs.
Water cooling
While originally limited to mainframe computers, computer watercooling has become a practice largely associated with overclocking in the form of either manufactured "kits" or in the form of DIY setups assembled from individually gathered parts. Lately watercooling has seen increasing use in pre-assembled desktop computers. Water cooling can extract more heat from the cooled parts, which makes it suitable for overclocking, and opposed to air cooling it is less influenced by the ambient temperature. One of its disadvantages is the potential for a coolant leak, which can damage electronic components. An advantage is that a water cooling system is not limited to one component, so it can cool the CPU, GPU and other components at the same time. Another advantage to water cooling is the low noise-level output it provides when compared to that of fan cooling, which can become loud especially when using a higher clock rate processor.
Heat pipe
A heat pipe is a hollow tube containing a heat transfer liquid. As the liquid evaporates, it carries heat to the cool end, where it condenses and then returns to the hot end (under capillary action). Heat pipes thus have a much higher effective thermal conductivity than solid materials. For use in computers, the heat sink on the CPU is attached to a larger radiator heat sink. Both heat sinks are hollow as is the attachment between them, creating one large heat pipe that transfers heat from the CPU to the radiator, which is then cooled using some conventional method. This method is expensive and usually used when space is tight (as in small form-factor PCs), or absolute quiet is needed (such as in computers used in audio production studios during live recording).
Phase-change cooling
Phase-change cooling is an extremely effective way to cool the processor. A vapor compression phase-change cooler is a unit which usually sits underneath the PC, with a tube leading to the processor. Inside the unit is a compressor, the same type that cools a freezer. The compressor compresses a gas (or mixture of gases) which condenses it into a liquid. Then, the liquid is pumped up to the processor, where it passes through an expansion device, this can be from a simple capillary tube to a more elaborate thermal expansion valve. The liquid evaporates (changing phase), absorbing the heat from the processor as it draws extra energy from its environment to accommodate this change (see latent heat). The evaporation can produce temperatures reaching around -15 to -150 degrees Celsius. The gas flows down to the compressor and the cycle begins over again. This way, the processor can be cooled to temperatures ranging from -15 to -150 degrees Celsius, depending on the load, wattage of the processor, the refrigeration system (see refrigeration) and the gas mixture used. This type of system suffers from a number of issues but mainly one must be concerned with dew point and the proper insulation of all sub-ambient surfaces that must be done (the pipes will sweat, dripping water on sensitive electronics).
Alternately a new breed of cooling system is being developed inserting a pump into the thermo siphon loop. This adds another degree of flexibility for the design engineer as the heat can now be effectively transported away from the heat source and either reclaimed or dissipated to ambient. Junction temperature can be tuned by adjusting the system pressure; higher pressure equals higher fluid saturation temperatures. This allows for smaller condensers, smaller fans and/or the effective dissipation of heat in a high ambient environment. These systems are in essence the next generation liquid cooling paradigm as they are approximately 10 times more efficient than single phase water. Since the system uses a dielectric as the heat transport media, leaks do not cause a catastrophic failure of the electric system.
This type of cooling is seen as a more extreme way to cool components, since the units are relatively expensive compared to the average desktop. They also generate a significant amount of noise, since they are essentially refrigerators, however the compressor choice and air cooling system is the main determinant of this, allowing for flexibility for noise reduction based on the parts chosen.
Liquid nitrogen
As liquid nitrogen evaporates at -196 °C, far below the freezing point of water, it is valuable as an extreme coolant for short overclocking sessions.
In a typical installation of liquid nitrogen cooling, a copper or aluminum pipe is mounted on top of the processor or graphics card. After being heavily insulated against condensation, the liquid nitrogen is poured into the pipe, resulting in temperatures well below -100°C.
By welding an open pipe onto a heat sink, and insulating the pipe, it is possible to cool the processor either with liquid nitrogen, which has a temperature below -196°C, or dry ice. However, after the nitrogen evaporates, it has to be refilled. In the realm of personal computers, this method of cooling is seldom used in contexts other than overclocking trial-runs and record-setting attempts, as the CPU will usually expire within a relatively short period of time due to temperature stress caused by changes in internal temperature.
Liquid helium
Liquid helium, colder than liquid nitrogen, has also been used for cooling. Liquid helium evaporates at -269 °C, and temperatures ranging from -230 to -240 °C have been measured from the heatsink.
Soft cooling
Softcooling is the practice of utilizing software to take advantage of CPU power saving technologies to minimize energy use. This is done using halt instructions to turn off or put in standby state CPU subparts that aren't being used or by underclocking the CPU.
Undervolting
Undervolting is the practice of running the CPU or any other component with voltages below the device specifications. An undervolted component draws less power and thus produces less heat. However, this generally will make a processor unstable as it no longer has the voltage necessary to carry out instructions error free. As such, in most cases undervolting is accompanied by an underclocking of the processor itself. Keeping the speed/voltage ratio allows a system to be undervolted while maintaining stability.
This technique is generally employed by those seeking low-noise systems, as less cooling is needed because of the reduction of heat production.
Cooling and overclocking
Extra cooling is usually required by those who run parts of their computer (such as the CPU and GPU) at higher voltages and frequencies than manufacturer specifications call for, called overclocking. Increasing performance by this modification of settings results in a greater amount of heat generated and thus increasing the risk of damage to components and/or premature failure.
The installation of higher performance, non-stock cooling may also be considered modding. Many overclockers simply buy more efficient, and often, more expensive fan and heat sink combinations, while others resort to more exotic ways of computer cooling, such as liquid cooling, Peltier effect heatpumps, heat pipe or phase change cooling.
There are also some related practices that have a positive impact in reducing system temperatures:
Heat sink lapping
Heat sink lapping is the smoothing and polishing of the contact (bottom) part of a heat sink to increase its heat transfer efficiency. The desired result is a contact area which has a more even surface, as a less even contact surface creates a larger amount of insulating air between the heat sink and the computer part it is attached to. Polishing the surface using a combination of fine sandpaper and abrasive polishing liquids can produce a mirror-like shine, an indicator of a very smooth metal surface. However, it should be noted that even a curved surface can become extremely reflective, yet not particularly flat, as is the case with curved mirrors; thus heat sink quality is based on overall flatness, more than optical properties. Lapping a high quality heat sink can damage it, because, although the heat sink may become shiny, it is likely that more material will be removed from the edges, making the heat sink less effective overall.
If attempted, a piece of float glass should be used, as it self-levels as it cools and offers the most economical solution to producing a perfectly flat surface.
Use of exotic thermal conductive compounds
Some overclockers use special thermal compounds whose manufacturers claim to have a much higher efficiency than stock thermal pads. Heat sinks clean of any grease or other thermal transfer compounds have a very thin layer of these products applied, and then are placed normally over the CPU. Many of these compounds have a high proportion of silver as their main ingredient due to its high thermal conductivity. The resulting difference in the temperature of the CPU is measurable (several degrees celsius), but the heat transfer does appear to be much superior to stock compounds. Some people experience negligible gains and have called to question the advantages of these exotic compounds, calling the style of application more important than the compound itself. Also note that there may be a 'setting' or 'curing' period and negligible gains may improve over time as the compound reaches its optimum thermal conductivity.
Use of rounded cables
Most older PCs use flat ribbon cables to connect storage drives (IDE or SCSI). These large flat cables greatly impede airflow by causing drag and turbulence. Overclockers and modders often replace these with rounded cables, with the conductive wires bunched together tightly to reduce surface area. Theoretically, the parallel strands of conductors in a ribbon cable serve to reduce crosstalk (signal carrying conductors inducing signals in nearby conductors), but there is no empirical evidence of rounding cables reducing performance. This may be because the length of the cable is short enough so that the effect of crosstalk is negligible. Problems usually arise when the cable is not electromagnetically protected and the length is considerable, a more frequent occurrence with older network cables.
These computer cables can then be cable tied to the chassis or other cables to further increase airflow.
This is less of a problem with new computers that use Serial ATA which has a much thinner cable.
Airflow optimization
The colder the cooling medium (the air), the more effective the cooling. Cooling air temperature can be reduced by these guidelines:
- Supply cool air to the hot components as directly as possible. Examples are air snorkels and tunnels that feed outside air directly and exclusively to the CPU or GPU cooler. For example, the BTX case design prescribes a CPU air tunnel.
- Expel warm air as directly as possible. Examples are: Conventional PC (ATX) power supplies blow the warm air out the back of the case. Many dual-slot graphics card designs blow the warm air through the cover of the adjacent slot. There are also some aftermarket coolers that do this. Some CPU cooling designs blow the warm air directly towards the back of the case, where it can be ejected by a case fan.
- Air that has already been used to spot-cool a component should not be reused to spot-cool a different component (this follows from the previous items). The ATX case design can be said to violate this rule, since the power supply gets its "cool" air from the inside of the case, where it has been warmed up already. The BTX case design also violates this rule, since it uses the CPU cooler's exhaust to cool the chipset and often the graphics card.
- Prefer cool intake air, avoid inhaling exhaust air (outside air above or near the exhausts). For example, a CPU cooling air duct at the back of a tower case would inhale warm air from a graphics card exhaust. Moving all exhausts to one side of the case, conventionally the back, helps to keep the intake air cool.
Fewer fans strategically placed will improve the airflow internally within the PC and thus lower the overall internal case temperature in relation to ambient conditions. The use of larger fans also improves efficiency and lowers the amount of waste heat along with the amount of noise generated by the fans while in operation.
There is little agreement on the effectiveness of different fan placement configurations, and little in the way of systematic testing has been done. For a rectangular PC (ATX) case, a fan in the front with a fan in the rear and one in the top has been found to be a suitable configuration. However, AMD's (somewhat outdated) system cooling guidelines notes that "A front cooling fan does not seem to be essential. In fact, in some extreme situations, testing showed these fans to be recirculating hot air rather than introducing cool air." It may be that fans in the side panels could have a similar detrimental effect -- possibly through disrupting the normal air flow through the case. However, this is unconfirmed and probably varies with the configuration.
See also
External links
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