Cooling Fans and Heat Sinks

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All the components inside the system unit can generate heat. This heat can be very dangerous to your processor. The processor, itself, is one of the main heat-generating components inside the system unit. When a system is on for a while, the processor, expansion cards, and memory chips heat up. When the system is turned off, these components cool down. Such continual changes in temperature can result in expansion and contraction of the mentioned components. Over time, these components can work their way out of their sockets and slots. This phenomenon is known as thermal card or chip creep. It is very important to maintain proper temperatures in the system unit to protect the components.

Most computers today incorporate the use of processor cooling fans and heat sinks to maintain a temperature between 90°F and 110°F. The cooling fan usually sits on top of the processor, drawing heat from it, and pushing the heat out and away from the motherboard, where it can be drawn out of the system unit by the power supply fan. Some CPUs need more than a cooling fan. In these cases, a heat sink can be placed between the processor and the cooling fan to assist with the extraction of heat from the processor.

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