It’s simple for cooling components to be forgotten; even the most experienced PC builder could overlook including a CPU cooler on their build list. A CPU cooler is essential for every build, despite the fact that it may not be as flashy as the finest graphics card. In order for your CPU to produce those crucial frames without succumbing to a self-induced heat-death, you do need a CPU cooler in your gaming computer.
There are still choices to be made because there are many different types of CPU coolers, including liquid and air coolers, and some CPUs ship with their own stock cooling systems. And these choices shouldn’t be ignored, as a robust cooling system is essential to a stable and effective gaming PC.
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Do You Need a CPU Cooler?
A CPU cooler is a must-have for any PC, unless you have a habit of killing your favorite components from heat. Most importantly, it prevents your CPU from becoming damaged or losing some of its lifespan and prevents it from becoming so hot that it throttles its performance or shuts down.
If you merely use your PC for light gaming and routine desktop duties, the basic air cooler should be adequate. But it’s preferable to choose an aftermarket cooler if you want to keep your PC comfortable while gaming. For the majority of gamers, an excellent aftermarket air cooler is ideal since, as long as your CPU is operating at factory settings and under any acceptable stress, it should maintain your CPU’s maximum temperature well below it.
An AIO liquid cooler, however, makes more sense if you intend to overclock your CPU or simply like the way it looks because, for the additional cost, it should cool your CPU even better than air coolers with comparable prices. Additionally, unlike custom loop liquid cooling methods, it ought to be simple to set up.
How does a CPU Cooler Work?
Because it processes all the instructions that the operating system and applications give it, the CPU is often referred to as the “brain” of the computer. But given how strong the greatest gaming CPUs are and all the processing they do, there is a lot of heat produced.
If not controlled, this heat might harm the CPU, which is where a CPU cooler comes in. A CPU cooler, as you might have guessed, cools the CPU by helping heat move from the CPU into something else, which is typically the surrounding air or liquid. The baseplate (also known as the “cold plate”) of a CPU cooler is always placed on top of the CPU’s Integrated Heat Spreader (IHS), with thermal paste sandwiched in between the two for improved heat conduction. The heat will then evaporate into the surrounding air or liquid after passing through the cooler’s heat-conductive substance.
Is a CPU Cooler Necessary?
A CPU cooler is a necessity for every PC, and going without one can be disastrous. In fact, your PC will probably not let you boot at all if there isn’t a CPU cooling fan connected to the CPU FAN header on your motherboard. Even if you have a CPU cooler, it may not be sufficient for your processing burden, causing your CPU to overheat and restrict itself or shut down in order to avoid harm. Finding the cooling system that best suits your demands is crucial.