First rule of overclocking: ADDITIONAL COOLING REQUIRED!
Dec 13 '00
The first rule of overclocking is stated as follows:
"Thou shall add more cooling. "
Be it fans and heatsinks to fancy stuff like Peltier or water coolers, you should add cooling BEFORE you attempt to overclock.
Overclocking, by definition, is running the component BEYOND its rated speed. Running things faster produces more heat, and more heat will shorten the life of your component. Additional cooling will prevent the shortening of life, and improve the stability of your system.
There are basically three types of coolers: heatsink/fan combos, peltier coolers (usually combined with heatsink/fan), and water coolers.
The basic stuff is the normal heatsink/fan combo. The fan is attached to the top, the bottom is attached to the component. Simple to use. How efficient it is depends on 1) how well does the heatsink "soak" the heat from the component (conduction), 2) how well does the heatsink dissipate the heat, and 3) how much air can the fan move to help the heatsink.
In terms of heatsinks, bigger is NOT always better. A well-designed heatsink of lots of internal folds and such can dissipate more heat in a compact form than a badly designed large heatsink. You have to also consider how well does the air move when the fan simply "blows down" into the heatsink. Some overclockers modify their heatsinks by using TWO small fans to force air across the heatsink, one blowing into, one to pull air out of.
You will also want good but small and quiet fans that move a lot of air across the heatsink, and some decent fans for the case to get that warmer air OUT of the case.
Heatsink/fan combos cannot reduce temperature to room temperature, though it can get close.
Peltier coolers uses the Peltier junction thermal effect that can make one side warmer and one side colder. We'll want the cold side to contact the component, and the warm side attached to a heatsink/fan to dissipate the heat. The problem with Peltier cooler is it CAN go below room temperature, and that will cause CONDENSATION (i.e. drops of water vapor condense from the air), and water is BAD for electronics. You can minimize condensation via good air circulation, but it's a factor when considering peltier coolers. You will want to insolate the CPU to prevent water damage.
Finally water cooler is the most exotic cooling device. Principles are simple: a small pump, small caliber copper tubing, take water inside, circulate among the heat exchanger inside, take the warm water back out, sent it through the outside heat exchanger, and repeat. This involves a LOT of exotic materials and workbenching and will not be discussed here.
You can find more overclocking advice at overclockers.com
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