why do CPUs overheat and how to cool them down?
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.
After several years of use, the dust on this laptop CPU cooler has rendered the computer unusable due to rapid overheating. 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.
CPU Cooling
A CPU generates a lot of heat and with PCs heat is your worst enemy. This is why all computer systems use some sort of cooling method to reduce CPU and case temperatures. Today’s processors require cooling fans and a heat sink to keep them at a temperature level that will not damage the CPU. The heat sink is mounted on the CPU with a thermal compound placed between the heat sink and CPU. The thermal compound helps to draw heat from the CPU and transfer it into the heat sink, which usually has a fan mounted on it to better dissipate the heat. Higher end systems have as many as seven or eight fans mounted in the PC case to reduce temps. For extreme over clocking water or phase change cooling are often used.
Types of PC cooling methods:
- Air Cooling (Fans & Heat Sinks): It is the most basic method of cooling. The function of air cooling is to simply draw in fresh air and expel hot air dissipated from the heat sinks using fans.
- Water Cooling: It is a method of cooling popular with over lockers. Water has a better heat absorbing property than air.
- Phase Change: Phase change is the ultimate method of CPU cooling. Based on the same principles as an air conditioning unit or refrigerator, phase change happens when a liquid changes to a gas.
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 that reduces the amount of air flowing through a case, possibly causing stable whirlpools of hot air in certain areas.
- Poor heat transfer, e.g. due to a lack or poor application of thermal compounds.
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 CPU. Save my system’s computer repair services provides unique CPU management services.
The design of a CPU 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.
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