last revised Aug 20 2000
CPU Cooling Measures
The considerable power consumption of today's CPUs and subsequent heat
generation can unfortunately not be dealt with by passive cooling, as was
the case with 386's and even some 486's.
Most stock heatsink/fan combos are a mere toy, tribute to the ever decreasing
PC prices.
Three measures have helped to keep the noise down.
A large heat sink. This has two effects: a larger thermal
mass helps to steady temperature gradients, and a more efficient heat
dispersion reduces the amount of required air flow and thus fan speed.
A better fan. I replaced the noname Asian product by a
Papst fan with ball bearing. Although ball bearings initially produce a higher
noise level than sleeve bearings, the long term behaviour is a lot better.
Papst fans are also renowned for reliability and low noise levels.
A speed regulator which shuts off the fan completely below
CPU temperatures of approx. 55° Celsius.
Above 55° the fan speeds up to keep a maximum temperature of approx. 60° under
full load.
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