DIY Cooling

DIY cooling is one of the most cost-effective ways of boosting the performance of a computing system. Speed is usually the first casualty of an overheating rig. When a system becomes too hot, temperature sensors on the motherboard send a signal to the processor requesting it to slow down. Excessive heat also has the potential to cause irreversible damage to system components. For example, if hard drive cooling fails to maintain the temperature below 86 degrees, you run the risk of data loss or corruption. Newegg has all the accessories you need to set-up the cooling system of your choice.

Air Cooling for Fast and Affordable Cooling

Air DIY cooling uses fans to keep the internal environment of your system cool. They are easy to set up and are very durable. As this cooling option does not have an abundance of components, there is very little that can go wrong. CPU fans and heatsinks work together to dissipate excess heat, and can be set up in one of two methods:

• Positive pressure configuration
• Negative pressure configuration

Positive Pressure Configuration for Quick Setup

Under this setup, the Cubic Feet Per Minute (CFM) of the intake fans exceeds that of the relevant exhaust fans. The effect is that the pressure within the system exceeds the pressure without. This pushes air and dust out of the rig, using every opening as an exhaust avenue. One drawback of this setup is that it can only manage average cooling. This configuration cannot sufficiently cool GPUs that utilize Direct Heat Exhaust (DHE). To enhance the cooling capacity of this type of cooling, place your DIY heatsink strategically. That means putting these metal sheets at the rear, sides, and front of your CPU.

Negative Pressure Configuration for Better Cooling

In a negative pressure configuration, the exhaust fans have a higher CFM than their equivalent intake fans. This creates a pseudo-vacuum within the system, which proves very useful for keeping the rig cool. It cools the system better than the positive pressure setting, and can even work well with DHE GPUs.

Liquid Cooling for the Most Efficient Cooling

Liquid cooling is the preferred cooling system for gamers and other performance-reliant users. To max out the cooling effects of this setup, use a DIY radiator to dissipate excessive heat from the liquid coolant. The faster the DIY radiator loses the heat via the fins, the cooler the system and the faster it operates. There are two ways you can go about this DIY cooling strategy:

• Closed-loop
• Open-loop

Closed-Loop for Easy Installation

These rigs are ready for fitting right out of the box. They're cheaper than open-loops, easier to maintain and require minimal maintenance. They'll integrate with your current cooling mechanisms without forcing you to do an overhaul of your system. You'll not need any extra CPU accessoriesto get this configuration up and running.

Open-Loop With GPU Mounting Kit for Aesthetics

Open-loop cooling is very appealing to the eye, but that is at the cost of ease-of-use. It is very maintenance-reliant and equally hard to set up. A GPU mounting kit should help, however.