One of the most important design considerations for any PC is its cooling system. The different types of PC cooling all have their distinct advantages and disadvantages, and are used in different roles accordingly.
Why Do PCs Generate Heat?
Computers generate heat as a natural byproduct of their operations. A PC relies on electricity to perform computations and access information. As this electricity passes through circuits and wires, it must overcome the resistance of those materials.
All materials have a certain amount of resistance, which is how easily electrons can move through that material. Some materials, such as metals like gold and copper, have very low resistance and make for excellent conductors. Other materials like rubber and ceramics have a very high resistance and are used as insulators.
However, all physical matter has at least some amount of resistance, which causes electrical energy to be wasted as heat. The more electricity used, the more resistance becomes an issue, and the more heat is generated. This is why superconductors (materials that can conduct electricity with zero loss) are so desirable, especially for high-demand computing.
Until we perfect developing superconductors, however, we’re stuck cooling our PCs. The largest sources of heat in a computer include:
- CPUs and GPUs: Central processing units (CPUs) and graphical processing units (GPUs) are some of the hottest-running components of a computer, as they perform millions of calculations every minute. They are also relatively small, meaning the heat is much more concentrated and therefore more likely to damage those components. Thus, CPUs and GPUs are often equipped with dedicated cooling units attached directly to them.
- Batteries: Laptops and computer tablets rely on batteries to supply power. These batteries are another significant heat source due to the amount of electricity they store and distribute.
- Mechanical Hard Drives: Hard drives also generate heat due to their spinning platter and mechanical reader. This extra heat is part of why they are being phased out in favor of solid-state drives, which generate comparatively less heat.
Why is Overheating Bad?
Now that we’ve established the problem, what are the consequences of overheating? That often depends on what the computer is connected to or controlling.
In terms of the computer itself, overheating can lead to performance loss and physical damage. Modern CPUs are designed so that if they hit boiling temperatures (212° Fahrenheit or 100° Celsius), they will automatically throttle their performance to prevent severe damage. If this fails, the solder holding circuits together can melt, silicon can crack, and wires can become brittle and lose their insulation.
But computers are rarely used by themselves, especially in business sectors like industry or healthcare. A damaged, malfunctioning, or lagging computer can have disastrous consequences if it’s controlling an assembly line or life-sustaining equipment attached to a patient. Severe damage and loss of life are all possible when a vital computer fails.
The Different Types of PC Cooling
Now that we understand the problem, we can review the solution. Better PC cooling is essential for keeping the computer's vital components from overheating. The three primary forms of PC heat management are:
Fans
The most popular type of cooling for computers is spinning fans that blow hot air away from the PC’s components and draw in cool air. Fans are extremely popular for consumer-grade PCs, but they have several disadvantages.
First and foremost, they can easily spread dust and microbes in their operating environment. This makes them unsuitable for any workspace that requires cleanliness, such as hospitals or clean rooms. Additionally, the constant spinning of their fans can cause reliability issues; a broken fan can easily lead to the overheating issues we’ve previously discussed. Lastly, the continuous noise of their spinning can be distracting or uncomfortable for people nearby, such as patients trying to sleep. For these reasons, cooling fans are not an ideal solution in the medical or industrial sector.
Liquid Cooling
Liquid cooling works on a similar principle to air cooling, but with liquid as the medium. A liquid cooling system mounts directly onto the heat source, such as the CPU, and uses a heatsink to transfer heat from the processor to the liquid. The liquid is then pumped away from the heatsink, cooled, and pumped back to the heatsink in a continuous cycle.
While extremely effective, liquid cooling has several notable downsides. First, it is the most expensive of all cooling options. Second, it requires very specialized equipment that takes up lots of space inside the PC, which is a serious issue for roles that require a smaller form factor. Lastly, liquid cooling systems require periodic maintenance for their numerous moving parts and can be very delicate, which makes them a poor fit for any application requiring ruggedness. For these reasons, liquid cooling is typically only seen in dedicated computing roles, such as for dedicated servers or high-end gaming PCs.
Fanless Cooling
Finally, we have fanless cooling. Also known as radiative cooling, fanless cooling relies on heatsinks and radiation fans to disperse heat from the processors and into the air. A heatsink is attached to the heat source, draws heat from it, and radiates it into the surrounding air. These heatsinks are designed with as much surface area as possible and can radiate large amounts of heat despite being comparatively small.
The greatest advantage of fanless cooling over other options is that it requires no moving parts and doesn’t consume electricity to do its job. For these reasons, fanless cooling is extremely popular for industrial-grade computers that need to be as rugged and simple as possible to work on or near heavy machinery.
Their lack of moving parts also makes computers with fanless cooling nearly silent during operations, meaning they’re more comfortable to be around for long periods of time. Fanless cooling systems also don’t need holes in the computer’s casing to vent air through, meaning that it’s easier to make the case watertight. These factors are invaluable for medical computers, which operate for hours on end next to patients and must be frequently cleaned and disinfected.
Which Type of Cooling is Right for Me?
The right type of PC cooling depends on how you plan to use the PC. If you need a simple office PC, fan-based cooling will suffice. If you need serious computing power and serious cooling to go with it, you may want to invest in a liquid cooling system. However, in harsh working environments where reliability is paramount, nothing matches fanless cooling.
Intelligent Cooling Systems from Cybernet Manufacturing
The right cooling system is as critical as choosing an operating system or CPU when building a computer. Understanding the different types of PC cooling and their roles is critical to using them effectively.
If you need rugged, reliable computers for the healthcare and industrial sectors that feature fanless cooling, contact the team at Cybernet Manufacturing. We use fanless cooling on our medical and industrial computers to enhance their durability and enable their use in even the harshest conditions.