Cold for change: review of budget CPU coolers. Comparative testing of various processor cooler models

Any computer or laptop needs a good cooling system to function properly. During operation, elements such as a processor (CPU), video card, and motherboard generate a large amount of heat and become very hot. The higher the CPU performance rating, the more heat it produces. If the PC does not quickly remove air, this can lead to various system failures, incorrect operation of equipment, decreased performance, and cause failure of important elements. Why does the processor get hot? How to cool the CPU in PCs and laptops? Which cooler to choose for optimal PC cooling? We will try to answer these questions in this article.

Reasons for CPU overheating

If the computer starts to turn off, glitch, or freeze, this may be due to overheating of the CPU. The reasons why a PC processor begins to overheat are very different. Therefore, we will consider the main ones, and also give simple ways to solve problems.

In most PCs and laptops, the main elements of the cooling system are the cooler (fan) and radiator, which are installed on the processor. Thanks to the tightest possible contact, heat transfer between the surface of the radiator and the processor is minimal, which in turn ensures fast, efficient heat dissipation.

The radiator can be monolithic or consist of two parts. In the first case, it is completely fixed on the processor (budget option); in the second case, only a small part of it is attached to the CPU, inside of which there are heat pipes that transfer heated air to the main radiator.

The primary role in the case ventilation and PC cooling system is played by the fan. Regardless of its location, it cools the entire radiator or its main part. The more efficiently it works, the better the heat dissipation from the CPU will be, and, accordingly, the lower its temperature. Heat pipe coolers provide greater CPU cooling.

If the processor starts to heat up, the main reasons include:

deterioration of contact between the processor and the heatsink;
speed reduction cooler (fan) operation;
use of ineffective cooling systems;
absence ventilation systems in the case, in the PC power supply;
pollution ventilation holes housings with dust;
failure cooling systems;
wrong radiator fixation.

An increase in process temperature can also be caused by the fact that the cooler is trivial clogged with dust. For this reason, its speed and efficiency are reduced. The fan is simply not able to remove heat. To increase heat transfer, after replacing the CPU, it is worth purchasing and installing a new model of case cooler.

Another reason is upgrade PC. For example, after replacing an old CPU, a new, more powerful and productive one was installed. But at the same time, the fan in the cooling system remained the same. Due to the increase in power, the processor cooler simply does not fully cope with its task.

If the processor gets hot, let's consider what to do in this situation.

How to cool the processor of a PC or laptop

Overheating of the processor in laptops and desktop computers significantly increases the load on all system elements. To reduce heat generation and reduce energy consumption, you need to:

check the condition of the cooling system, perform cleaning;
reduce the load on the CPU;
overclock the processor cooler;
replace thermal paste;
install additional coolers.

You can also reduce processor heat dissipation by BIOS settings operating system. This is the simplest and most accessible method that does not require much time or physical effort.

There are special technologies that reduce CPU frequency when idle. For AMD processor technology is called Cool'n'Quite, For Intel - Enhanced SpeedStep Technology. Consider how to activate it.

On Windows 7 you need to go to " Control Panel", select section " Power supply" In the window that opens, check which mode is active: “ Balanced», « High performance», « Energy Saving" To activate the technology, you can select any one, with the exception of “High Performance”. In Windows XP you need to select " Energy Saving Manager».

Energy Saving Settings must be enabled in the BIOS; if they are not, you can load the default settings.

It is equally important to pay attention to the system housing ventilation. If the cooling system is working properly and is regularly cleaned, but the CPU is still heating up, then you need to look to see if there are any obstacles in the path of air flow, for example, if they are blocked by thick cables.

The system unit or PC case should have two or three fans. One is for blowing on the front wall, the second is for blowing out on the rear panel, which in turn ensures good air flow. Additionally, you can install a fan on the side wall of the system unit.

If the PC system unit is in a bedside table inside the table, then do not close the doors so that the heated air comes out. Do not block the ventilation openings of the case. Place the computer a few centimeters from the wall or furniture.

You can purchase a special cooling pad for your laptop.

There is a large selection of universal models of stands on sale that adapt to the dimensions and size of the laptop. The heat-dissipating surface and coolers built into it will contribute to more efficient heat removal and cooling.

When working on a laptop, always keep your work area clean. The ventilation openings must not be blocked by anything. Objects lying nearby should not obstruct air circulation.

For laptops you can also do overclocking the cooler. Since a PC has at least three fans installed (on the CPU, video card, built-in storage), and most laptop models have only one. The second one can be installed if you have a powerful video card. In this case, you can overclock coolers:

through special utilities;
via BIOS.

Before increasing the fan speed, you first need to clean the cooler and motherboard elements from dust.

Cleaning the cooling system of a laptop or desktop PC should be done at least once every six to seven months.

Cleaning the cooling system

If the processor gets hot, check the condition of the fan and the entire PC cooling system. Dust is a serious enemy of any technology. Clogged between the edges of the radiator, dust, lint, and pet hair impair air circulation.

To thoroughly clean it, you need to disconnect the cooler from the power supply and disassemble it. By removing the fan, you can also clean the dust that has accumulated on the radiator. The radiator and cooler blades can be cleaned with a special plastic spatula or a stiff brush. After removing dust, wipe the radiator with a damp cloth.

In addition to removing dust from the radiator and cooler, wipe the wires located in the case from dust. Blow or wipe the vents on the chassis.

Replacing thermal paste

Upgrading and replacing the thermal paste on the processor will help reduce the heat generated by the processor. Thermal paste is nothing more than a lubricant for cooling the processor. It acts as a heat conductor between the CPU and the heatsink, eliminates microscopic irregularities of the contacting surfaces, and removes air between them, which impedes heat dissipation. Good, high-quality thermal paste will reduce the temperature by 5–10 degrees.

Over time, the paste dries out, loses all its properties, and does not cool the processor. Therefore, it needs to be replaced every six months. If your PC has a more modern CPU, the thermal paste can be changed less frequently. You can purchase it at any computer store. Thermal paste must be of good quality.

Before you apply the thermal paste that cools the CPU, you need to get to the processor itself. For this:

How to choose a good thermal paste

Given the large selection of thermal pastes, many are interested in the question of which thermal paste is better. Note that the difference between pastes from different manufacturers can be from ten to twenty degrees. It all depends on the quality characteristics and heat-conducting properties of thermal interfaces. A good thermal conductivity paste should have low thermal resistance and high thermal conductivity.

According to experts, for cooling the processor you can purchase:

Arctic Cooling MX-4.
Arctic Silver Ceramique.
Noctua NT-H1.
Prolimatech PK-1.
Thermalright Chill Factor III.
Zalman ZM-STG2.
Glacialtech IceTherm II.
Coollaboratory Liquid Pro.

Some pastes can also be used to overclock the processor. For example, Arctic Cooling MX-4, Glacialtech IceTherm II, Thermalright Chill Factor III, Coollaboratory Liquid Pro. Knowing which thermal paste is better, how often and how to replace it correctly, you can significantly reduce the temperature of the CPU, thereby extending its service life.

How to cancel CPU overclocking

Many users, in order to improve performance and speed up the CPU, overclock the processor (overclocking). But in some cases, this procedure significantly increases the load on the CPU, which can negatively affect its functioning and lead to a decrease in operating life.

To check the performance of the CPU after overclocking, you need to warm up the processor using special utilities.

If you are interested in how to remove CPU overclocking, go to CMOS and BIOS. Cancel all motherboard voltage settings, return them to normal configuration.

Actions are performed in the following sequence:

We go into the BIOS by pressing the desired button when starting the computer.
Select the item “ Set BIOS Default/Use Default Settings", press Enter.
A window will appear in which you need to press the Y key.
After this, the original settings that were set before overclocking the CPU will be returned.
Now we save all the changes made and exit the settings.
Reboot the computer.

This can also be done by selecting the option “ Restore Fail Safe Defaults", after finding out on the Internet the exact specifications of the installed motherboard and CPU. This is necessary in order to make changes by setting the basic frequency and voltage settings.

In addition, you can change the system bus frequency and multiplier settings to the base value, returning back all the parameters that were changed during overclocking.

You can also remove additional cooling hardware that you installed to prevent the CPU from overheating.

You can manage and monitor the operation of the processor using a special utility - CPU Core, where you need to specify and set the required values of the multiplier and bus frequency.

Installing additional fans

If the CPU continues to heat up after cleaning and canceling overclocking, then in order to increase cooling efficiency, we recommend installing additional fans on the case to increase air circulation. This is necessary if there are many heating elements inside the system unit or if there is a rather small amount of free space inside it.

Give preference to large-diameter coolers, which will provide greater air flow at lower speeds. Such models work efficiently, but are noisy. When installing, consider the direction of their operation.

CPU coolers are classified into:

Boxed, without heat pipes. The most common models. Consist of an aluminum plate with ribs. May have a copper base with a fan attached to it.
Cooling systems based on thermal aluminum and copper tubes. They function by removing heat, which is carried out due to the liquid circulating in them. They have high efficiency indicators.

When choosing fans for the cooling system, read the installation instructions, check its compatibility with the socket, motherboard, and which socket is available for the processor. Consider weight, fan size, radiator type.

Too large, high-power fans will create additional stress on the motherboard and may cause its deformation. As for the size, select the housing to match the tire, take into account the location of other components. Choose products from well-known, trusted manufacturers.

If a large number of hard drives are installed, you can additionally install a fan on the front panel of the case, as well as on the rear upper part of the system unit to remove warm air outside. Modern cases allow you to install at least two fans: from the bottom, if there is no perforation on the front panel, and opposite the location of the hard drives.

If the PC has very advanced hardware and the processor gets hot, you can remove the side cover of the system unit. In this case, the cooling efficiency will be increased significantly.

How to overclock a cooler

You can overclock the cooler, as already noted, through the BIOS or using special free utilities that will allow you to monitor and control the speed of the fans. The programs are designed for various types of processors.

Let's look at how to overclock coolers via BIOS:

For processors Intel programs will allow you to reduce or increase the speed of rotation of the cooler Riva Tuner, SpeedFan. They have great functionality, a choice of settings, a clear interface, do not take up much space, and automatically control the operation of coolers.

If third-party PC software does not allow you to adjust the fan speed, the processor cooler can be controlled using original utilities from the manufacturers. For example, in the HP leptota there is a program Notebook Fan Control, in Acer - Smart Fan, ACFanControl. In Lenovo - Fan Control.

Modern “advanced” cooling systems, which are most often used in overclocking, include: radiator, freon, liquid nitrogen, liquid gel. Their operating principle is based on coolant circulation. The intensely hot elements heat the water, which is cooled in the radiator. It can be located outside the case or be passive, operating without a fan.

Conclusion

This article discussed various causes of processor overheating and solutions to this problem. Sometimes the reason for its occurrence can be ordinary dust, which periodically needs to be removed, or the consequences of inexperienced overclocking of equipment, as well as its upgrade. When replacing thermal paste, you must be careful and careful not to damage the equipment.

Video on the topic

Long gone are the days when processors could be cooled passively, without coolers or even radiators - modern processors, except perhaps the Pentium and Celeron J-lines, require at least active air cooling, and at maximum water cooling. And we will look at what is best for specific processors in this article.

Processor heat dissipation

This is the most important parameter; it is worth paying attention to first. You can find out the thermal dissipation (TDP) of your Intel processor on the website ark.intel.com, AMD - products.amd.com. Most coolers also indicate how many watts they can dissipate, and this figure should be greater than the heat dissipation of the processor.

Processors with heat dissipation up to 35 W (Intel Core T-series or AMD Pro A-series)

Processors from Intel here are essentially mobile Intel Core - a fairly low native frequency, about 2.5-3 GHz, and a significant Turbo Boost up to 3.5-4 GHz. As a result, such processors are well suited for compact systems where it is difficult to provide good cooling, but relatively good performance is needed. AMD here presents the so-called APUs - that is, a processor with fairly powerful integrated graphics: an ideal solution for a multimedia PC. In both cases, the heat release does not exceed 35 W, so here you can get by with the simplest cooler with an aluminum radiator without any heat pipes:

Processors with heat dissipation up to 50 W (Intel Celeron and Pentium G-lines, Core i3)

These are simple dual-core processors, some of which have hyperthreading enabled. Frequencies can reach 4 GHz, but even in this case, the heat dissipation of 50 W is very excessive for them (not to mention the Celeron without hyperthreading with a frequency of 3 GHz - there are 30 W of the eye). As a result, the same cooling system as in the previous case will suffice - a simple aluminum radiator and fan.

Processors with heat dissipation up to 65 W (Intel Core i5 and i7, AMD Ryzen without X index)

The Intel processors here are all quad-core, some with hyper-threading. Frequencies can reach 4 GHz, but there is no overclocking. As a result, 65 W is a reasonable figure for them, and even under a stressful load the heat dissipation is unlikely to be higher. In the case of AMD, everything is somewhat better - the processors have up to 8 cores, but the frequencies are low, 3-3.5 GHz, so such processors fit into a 65 W thermal package. However, they can be overclocked, so if you are interested in it, see the item with overclocked processors.

As a result, for such processors a regular radiator with a simple fan will no longer be suitable - it makes sense to take a tower cooler with 1-2 heat pipes and a 72-90 mm cooler, like this:

Processors with thermal output up to 95 W (Intel Core i5 and i7 with index K, AMD Ryzen with index X)

These processors are considered the top of the user segment - in the case of Intel, native frequencies can reach as much as 4.5 GHz, in the case of AMD - up to 4 GHz. Alas, in modern realities, an increase in frequency above 3.5-4 GHz leads to an avalanche-like increase in heat dissipation, so at stock frequencies the same i7-7700K is faster than the i7-7700 by only 10%, when the difference in heat dissipation is 30 W - almost half of the thermal package of the i7-7700 !

As a result, if you take such processors and do not overclock them, then you need to take simple representatives of super-coolers, with 3-4 copper heat pipes and a 90-120 mm fan:

Processors with TDP up to 200 W (overclocked processors, or Intel Core i7 and i9 X-series lines, AMR Ryzen Threadripper)

As I said above, every hundred megahertz above 4 GHz is given with a fight, and as a result, the i7-7700K at a frequency of 5 GHz can have a heat dissipation of as much as 150-170 W. The heat dissipation of AMD Ryzen 7 when overclocked to 4-4.2 GHz on all cores can even go beyond the psychological level of 200 W. This also includes X-line processors from Intel (6-18 core processors) and 16 core processors from AMD - they have a heat dissipation of about 150 W.

As a result, such processors require either a top-end super cooler like this:

Or a water cooling system, preferably with two coolers.

Nuances of choosing a cooler

So, we’ve sorted out the heat dissipation and appearance of the cooler, but some important nuances remain:

Cooler height: if you take a tower cooler, make sure that it fits into the case. Otherwise, it will simply not allow the lid to close.
Cooler dimensions: super coolers can be so large that they will overlap the first RAM slots and the PCI slot, so either take a cooler of a different shape, or take a motherboard where the RAM slots are far from the socket, and the first PCI slot has x1 speed.
Cooler noise: coolers that look identical can make completely different noises, so if silence is important to you, you should look at reviews and find out how loud a particular cooler is.
Compatibility of the cooler with the socket: perhaps the most banal thing, but they forget about it - the cooler must have a mount for the socket of your processor, otherwise you will have to make the mount yourself, which is not always possible.
Cooler weight: super coolers often weigh more than a kilogram - such a load can cause sagging and failure of the motherboard. So if you have a heavy cooler, think about the fact that it needs to be additionally attached to the case in order to reduce the load on the motherboard.
Space for the CBO radiator: if you want to get a water cooling system, then make sure that there is space on the case for it.
Using liquid metal: If you decide to use liquid metal as a thermal interface, then choose a cooler with a base that is not made of aluminum (otherwise it will corrode). Liquid metal also conducts current - make sure that it does not get on the motherboard.

As you can see, there is nothing complicated, and if all the conditions are met, you can easily choose a good cooler for yourself.

To cool the processor, a cooler is required, the parameters of which determine how high quality it will be and whether the CPU will overheat. To make the right choice, you need to know the dimensions and characteristics of the socket, processor and motherboard. Otherwise, the cooling system may not install properly and/or damage the motherboard.

If you are building a computer from scratch, then you should think about what is better - buy a separate cooler or a boxed processor, i.e. processor with integrated cooling system. Buying a processor with a built-in cooler is more profitable because The cooling system is already fully compatible with this model and this package costs less than buying a CPU and radiator separately.

But at the same time, this design produces too much noise, and when overclocking the processor, the system may not be able to cope with the load. Replacing a boxed cooler with a separate one will either be impossible, or you will have to take the computer to a special service center, because... Changing at home is not recommended in this case. Therefore, if you are building a gaming computer and/or plan to overclock the processor, then buy the processor and cooling system separately.

When choosing a cooler, you need to pay attention to two parameters of the processor and motherboard - socket and heat dissipation (TDP). A socket is a special connector on the motherboard where the CPU and cooler are mounted. When choosing a cooling system, you will have to look at which socket it fits best (usually manufacturers write the recommended sockets themselves). Processor TDP is a measure of the heat generated by the CPU cores and is measured in Watts. This indicator is usually indicated by the CPU manufacturer, and cooler manufacturers write what load a particular model is designed for.

Main characteristics

First of all, pay attention to the list of sockets with which this model is compatible. Manufacturers always indicate a list of suitable sockets, because... This is the most important point when choosing a cooling system. If you try to install a heatsink on a socket that is not specified by the manufacturer in the specifications, you may break the cooler itself and/or the socket.

Maximum operating heat dissipation is one of the main parameters when choosing a cooler for an already purchased processor. True, TDP is not always indicated in the cooler's specifications. Minor differences between the operating TDP of the cooling system and the CPU are acceptable (for example, the CPU TDP is 88W, and the heatsink is 85W). But with large differences, the processor will noticeably overheat and may become unusable. However, if the TDP of the radiator is much higher than the TDP of the processor, then this is even good, because The cooler will have more than enough power to do its job.

If the manufacturer has not indicated the TDP of the cooler, then you can find out by Googling the request on the Internet, but this rule applies only to popular models.

Design Features

The design of coolers varies greatly depending on the type of radiator and the presence/absence of special heat pipes. There are also differences in the material from which the fan blades and the radiator itself are made. Basically, the main material is plastic, but there are also models with aluminum and metal blades.

The most budget option is a cooling system with an aluminum radiator, without copper heat-conducting tubes. Such models are small in size and low in price, but are poorly suited for more or less powerful processors or for processors that are planned to be overclocked in the future. Often comes bundled with a CPU. It is noteworthy that there is a difference in the shapes of the radiators - for AMD CPUs the radiators are square, and for Intel they are round.

Coolers with radiators made from prefabricated plates are almost obsolete, but are still sold. Their design is a radiator with a combination of aluminum and copper plates. They are much cheaper than their counterparts with heat pipes, but the cooling quality is not much lower. But due to the fact that these models are outdated, it is very difficult to choose a socket suitable for them. In general, these radiators no longer have significant differences from their all-aluminum counterparts.

A horizontal metal radiator with copper tubes for heat removal is one type of inexpensive, but modern and efficient cooling system. The main disadvantage of designs that use copper tubes is their large dimensions, which do not allow installing such a design in a small system unit and/or on a cheap motherboard, because it may break under its weight. Also, all the heat is dissipated through the tubes towards the mother card, which, if the system unit has poor ventilation, reduces the effectiveness of the tubes to nothing.

There are more expensive types of radiators with copper tubes that are installed in a vertical position rather than horizontal, which allows them to be mounted in a small system unit. Plus, the heat from the tubes goes up, and not towards the motherboard. Coolers with copper heatpipes are great for powerful and expensive processors, but they also have higher socket requirements due to their size.

The efficiency of coolers with copper tubes depends on the number of the latter. For processors from the middle segment, whose TDP is 80-100 W, models with 3-4 copper tubes are ideal. For more powerful processors of 110-180 W, models with 6 tubes are already needed. The specifications for a radiator rarely indicate the number of tubes, but they can easily be determined from a photo.

It is important to pay attention to the base of the cooler. Models with a through base are the cheapest, but the radiator connectors get clogged with dust very quickly and are difficult to clean. There are also cheap models with a solid base, which are more preferable, although they cost a little more. It’s even better to choose a cooler that, in addition to a solid base, has a special copper insert, because it greatly increases the efficiency of inexpensive radiators.

The expensive segment already uses radiators with a copper base or direct contact with the surface of the processor. The effectiveness of both is completely identical, but the second option is smaller and more expensive.
Also, when choosing a radiator, always pay attention to the weight and dimensions of the structure. For example, a tower cooler, with copper tubes that extend upward, has a height of 160 mm, which makes placing it in a small system unit and/or on a small motherboard problematic. The normal weight of a cooler should be about 400-500 g for medium-performance computers and 500-1000 g for gaming and professional machines.

Fan Features

First of all, you should pay attention to the size of the fan, because... the noise level, ease of replacement and quality of work depend on them. There are three standard size categories:

80x80 mm. These models are very cheap and easy to replace. They can be installed even in small cases without any problems. They usually come with the cheapest coolers. They produce a lot of noise and are not able to cope with cooling powerful processors;
92x92 mm is already a standard fan size for an average cooler. They are also easy to install, produce less noise and are able to cope with cooling mid-price processors, but are more expensive;
120x120 mm – fans of this size can be found in professional or gaming machines. They provide high-quality cooling, do not produce too much noise, and are easy to find a replacement in case of breakdown. But at the same time, the price of a cooler equipped with such a fan is much higher. If a fan of this size is purchased separately, there may be some difficulties in installing it on the radiator.

There may also be fans of 140x140 mm and larger sizes, but this is for TOP gaming machines, whose processor is subject to a very high load. Such fans are difficult to find on the market, and their price will not be affordable.

Pay special attention to the types of bearings, because... the noise level depends on them. There are three in total:

Sleeve Bearing is the cheapest and most unreliable example. A cooler that has such a bearing in its design also produces too much noise;
Ball Bearing - a more reliable ball bearing, it costs more, but also does not have a low noise level;
Hydro Bearing is a combination of reliability and quality. It has a hydrodynamic design, produces virtually no noise, but is expensive.

If you do not need a noisy cooler, then additionally pay attention to the number of revolutions per minute. 2000-4000 rpm make the noise of the cooling system clearly audible. In order not to hear the computer operating, it is recommended to pay attention to models with a speed of about 800-1500 per minute. But keep in mind that if the fan is small, the speed must vary between 3000-4000 per minute for the cooler to cope with its task. The larger the fan, the less revolutions per minute it must make to properly cool the processor.

It is also worth paying attention to the number of fans in the design. Budget options use only one fan, while more expensive ones may have two or even three. In this case, the rotation speed and noise production can be very low, but there will be no problems in the quality of processor cooling.

Some coolers can adjust fan speed automatically based on the current load on the CPU cores. If you choose such a cooling system, then find out whether your motherboard supports speed control through a special controller. Pay attention to the presence of DC and PWM connectors on the motherboard. The required connector depends on the type of connection - 3-pin or 4-pin. Cooler manufacturers indicate in the specifications the connector through which the connection to the mother card will occur.

In the specifications for coolers, the item “Air flow” is also written, which is measured in CFM (cubic feet per minute). The higher this indicator, the more efficiently the cooler copes with its task, but the higher the level of noise produced. In fact, this indicator is almost similar to the number of revolutions.

Attaching to mother card

Small or medium-sized coolers are generally secured using special latches or small screws, which avoids a number of problems. In addition, detailed instructions are included, which tell you how to fasten and what screws to use for this.

Things will be more complicated with models that require reinforced fastening, because... in this case, the motherboard and computer case must have the necessary dimensions to install a special pedestal or frame on the back of the motherboard. In the latter case, there should not only be enough free space in the computer case, but also a special recess or window that allows you to install a large cooler without any problems.

In the case of a large cooling system, what and how you install it depends on the socket. In most cases these will be special bolts.

Before installing the cooler, the processor will need to be lubricated with thermal paste. If there is already a layer of paste on it, then remove it with a cotton swab or disk soaked in alcohol and apply a new layer of thermal paste. Some cooler manufacturers include thermal paste with the cooler. If there is such a paste, then apply it; if not, then buy it yourself. There is no need to skimp on this point; it is better to buy a tube of high-quality thermal paste, which will also have a special brush for application. Expensive thermal paste lasts longer and provides better CPU cooling.

List of popular manufacturers

The following companies are the most popular in the Russian and international markets:

Also, when purchasing a cooler, do not forget to check whether there is a warranty. The minimum warranty period must be at least 12 months from the date of purchase. Knowing all the features of the characteristics of computer coolers, it will not be difficult for you to make the right choice.

To achieve high overclocking results, you need a sufficiently powerful cooling system. In our review, we will look at several coolers of different types in different price categories and select the best models for overclocking.

The temperature of the processor cores must remain at a sufficiently low level, with a decent margin up to the maximum temperature TJMAX, in order not only to protect the processor from overheating, but also to ensure high overclocking results.

As tests of various CPUs have shown, as core temperatures increase, power consumption also increases, while frequency scaling turns out to be worse than at low temperatures. It is no coincidence that many overclockers prefer to overclock the system on the balcony - in this case they can more effectively cool the central processor.

However, too much heat may accumulate under the distributor, and even the best air cooler in the world will not have time to remove it. In such cases, extreme cooling or other measures are required.

The CPU core itself, at least in mainstream CPUs, is much smaller than the heat spreader (source: Intel)

This problem is well known for all Intel processors after the 2nd generation Core called "Sandy Bridge". In particular, with the third and fourth generations of "Ivy Bridge" and "Haswell", many users complained that Intel began to use not the most effective thermal paste under the heat spreader instead of solder with higher heat transfer.

Due to these changes, the processors warmed up more than their Sandy Bridge predecessors at the same clock frequency and VCore; at high frequencies the additional heating was 20-30 °C.

But Intel, with the Haswell Refresh generation, decided to meet the enthusiasts halfway by introducing “Devil’s Canyon” processors, which had improved thermal transfer material (TIM) under the heat spreader, which improved temperatures by about 5 ° C. But for long-term operation at high clock speeds At frequencies, enthusiasts still prefer to remove the heat spreader and replace the TIM with liquid metal.

For some processors, heat does not have time to be removed from the chip and accumulates under the heat spreader. Therefore, enthusiasts modify processors (