CPU Heatsink: air cooling vs water cooling, which is better?

The difference between water cooling and air cooling: The CPU is the highest heat generating accessory in computer accessories, and the thing that cools down the CPU is the cooler, at present the CPU heatsink is divided into two kinds of air cooling and water cooling, in the eyes of many people, the cooling effect of water cooling will undoubtedly be better than air cooling, but I want to tell you: not necessarily!

The effect of water-cooled heatsink must be better than air-cooled this view, on the one hand, the business of the propaganda (water-cooled high profits), on the other hand, the user's thinking (water than wind cooling effect is certainly good), then the fact that it is true? Cpu cooler, in the end, to choose air-cooled or water-cooled it?

What are air-cooled cooling and water-cooled cooling

air cooling

For the high-end positioning of air-cooled processors, hot products use the U-shaped heat pipe tower planning. The principle is that the heat is "sucked" out through the base of the heatsink, which is in direct contact with the top cover of the processor, and then quickly transferred to the cooling fins through the heat pipe. A fan then forms an air duct to dissipate the heat from the fins. The liquid in the heat pipe then flows back for the next cycle.

Water Cooling

The cooling water system comprises accessories: a water cooling head, water pump, water pipe, water tank, and heat sink. The water cooling liquid flows through the water cooling head. It takes away the heat "sucked" out of the CPU by the water cooling head and circulates to the heat sink to dissipate the heat. The cold water is circulated back to the water cooling head to take away the heat again. Of course, the integrated structure of water cooling is a bit more integrated. Most products have the water pump and water cooling head integrated, which also eliminates the part of the water tank, equivalent to the water cooling head, heat sink, and the space in the water pipe is the water tank.

The water-cooled radiator process is complex and has high production costs.

Although water-cooled radiators use a higher specific heat capacity of water to act as a medium to conduct heat to a large area of the fins on time, and water-cooled radiators are made of more materials, but also to do a better sealing design, there is a more significant investment in the cost, resulting in a considerable price difference, many consumers based on the price to choose products to feel that water cooling is better.

At the same price, water-cooled may not be as good as air-cooled.

In fact, from the same price point, air-cooled and water-cooled radiators in terms of cooling performance are generally not too big a gap, if the lower price point, water-cooled and will not have too powerful performance, while the higher price point of air-cooled will have better design and materials to provide efficient cooling performance, so it will not be the same price of water-cooled radiators beat.

Water cooling without noise?

Some users may feel that water cooling does not have a fan, so there is no noise, but water cooling also has a fan. At this point, white users can Baidu the basic water cooling structure. Want to keep the CPU cooler quiet? The key is the fan. Whether it is water-cooled or air-cooled, the fan is the key to silence or not.

Conclusion

For players, if you are not to play extreme overclocking, there is no need to be water-cooled. Why not add the budget savings on other hardware and later maintenance without worrying about water-cooled rupture leakage and other problems (the free warranty does not cover hardware damage caused by water-cooled leakage); if you have a sufficient budget, the formation of a high-end platform, and want to compare the cool effect, then you can choose water-cooled If you have enough budget and are building a high-end platform and want cooler effects, then you can choose water cooling. But whether you choose an air-cooled or water-cooled CPU cooler, remember to choose a reliable brand, such as Coolsolte, a strength CPU heatsink manufacturer.