In a properly configured desktop or laptop computer, much of this heat is moved out of the computer’s case by several fans. If your computer isn’t removing the hot air fast enough, the temperature can get so hot that you risk serious damage to your PC. Needless to say, keeping your computer cool should be a top priority. Below are 11 computer cooling solutions that anyone can do. Many are free or very inexpensive, so there’s really no excuse to let your computer overheat and cause damage. Make sure there’s nothing sitting right against any side of the computer, especially the back. Most of the hot air flows out of the back end of the computer case. There should be at least 2–3 inches open on either side and the back should be completely open and unobstructed. If your computer is hidden away inside a desk, make sure the door isn’t closed all the time. Cool air enters from the front and sometimes from the sides of the case. If the door is closed all day, hot air tends to recycle inside the desk, getting hotter and hotter the longer the computer is running. The missing puzzle piece here is dirt. When the case is left open, dust and debris clog the cooling fans faster than when the case is closed. This causes the fans to slow down and fail much quicker than usual. A clogged up fan does a terrible job at cooling your expensive computer components. It’s true that running your computer with the case open might provide a small benefit at first, but the increase in fan exposure to debris has a much greater impact on temperature over the long run. One of the most effective ways to cool your PC is to clean the internal fans. There’s a fan on top the CPU, one inside the power supply, and usually one or more on the front and/or back of the case. Just shut your computer off, open up the case, and use canned air to remove the dirt from each fan. If your computer is really dirty, take it outside to clean or all that dirt will just settle elsewhere in the room, eventually ending up back inside your PC! If moving your computer just isn’t an option, keep reading for more tips. Unless you’ve replaced your CPU fan already, the one that’s in your computer now is probably a bottom-of-the-line fan that cools your processor just enough to keep it working properly, and that’s assuming it’s running at full speed. Many companies sell large CPU fans that help keep CPU temperature lower than a factory installed fan ever could. Case fans help move air through a computer which, if you recall from the first several tips above, is the best way to ensure that those expensive parts don’t get too hot. Installing two case fans, one to move cool air into the PC and another to move warm air out of the PC, is a great way to keep a computer cool. Case fans are even easier to install than CPU fans, so don’t be afraid to get inside your computer to tackle this project. Adding a case fan isn’t an option with a laptop or tablet but a cooling pad is a great idea to help out. To the rest of you: you’re well aware that overclocking pushes your computer’s capabilities to its limits. What you may not realize is that these changes have a direct impact on the temperature that your CPU and any other overclocked components operate at. If you’re overclocking your PC’s hardware but haven’t taken other precautions to keep that hardware cool, we definitely recommend reconfiguring your hardware to factory default settings. If you don’t have a case fan, the power supply fan is the only way that the hot air created inside your computer can be removed. Your computer can heat up quickly if this fan isn’t working. Unfortunately, you can’t just replace the power supply fan. If this fan is no longer working, you’ll need to replace the entire power supply. If you find that your memory, graphics card, or some other component is creating a lot of heat, you can cool them down with a component-specific fan. In other words, if your memory is running hot, buy and install a memory fan. If your graphics card is overheating during gameplay, upgrade to a larger graphics card fan. With ever-faster hardware comes ever-hotter parts. Fan manufacturers know this and have created specialized fan solutions for nearly everything inside your computer. “Water inside a computer? That doesn’t sound safe!” Don’t worry, the water, or other liquid, is completely enclosed inside the transfer system. A pump cycles cool liquid down to the CPU where it can absorb the heat and then it pumps the hot liquid out of your computer where the heat can dissipate. Liquid cooling kits are easy to install, even if you’ve never upgraded a computer before. A phase change unit can be thought of as a refrigerator for your CPU. It utilizes many of the same technologies to cool or even freeze a CPU. Phase change units like the one pictured here range in price from $1,000 to $2,000 USD. Similar enterprise-level PC cooling products can be $10,000 USD or more!
