Why it is necessary to upgrade the CPU cooling system when overclockibng the CPU?

Answer 1

CPUs use normal electronic components to form what amounts to banks of switches. Inherent in small electronic circuits like CPUs is capacitance. Capacitance occurs when any two conductors are brought close together. Capacitance stores charge so, in order to turn a switch on or off, the capacitance must be drained or charged. The more the capacitance, the slower the switch and the slower would be the CPU. In order to charge and discharge capacitance, high currents are drawn in and out of the switches. The higher the current, the faster the switch. Because most of the activity in a computer occurs in the CPU, the switches must be really fast to very high currents are used. The higher the current, the more heat is generated. If CPUs were not cooled, they would simply get extremely hot and burn out.

Answer 2

Early CPU's did not need cooling. The advent of faster and faster CPU's and smaller and smaller circuits inside them has increased the heat that they produce. Most modern CPU's require some sort of active cooling to keep them from overheating and burning out the tiny circuits inside.

It is still possible to make CPU's which do not require cooling, and most embedded CPU's (such as the one in your car, refrigerator, or whatnot) don't require active cooling like your computer or laptop CPU. However, these CPU's are painfully slow compared to the CPU in your computer.

To sum it up, the faster it goes the more heat it makes. Do you want a cool CPU or a fast one?

Answer 3

The microprocessor has electricity flowing through logic circuits, which generates heat. At some point this heat causes the metal to melt, and the circuits flow together, breaking the logic of the structure. The processor does not have enough surface area to radiate the heat fast enough, so you use a larger piece of metal with more surface area, and a paste at the junction that allows heat to flow readily into it. The fan then increases the volume of air exchanging heat over this increased surface area. It's all about giving the heat somewhere to go so it doesn't ruin your day.

Answer 4

The fan protects the CPU from being destroyed.

The CPU (Central Processing Unit) fetches and executes billions of instructions per second. The electric power it uses doing so generates heat. The heat can build up to the point where some part of the CPU can burn up or melt destroying the machine. Some computers have circuitry to shut the computer when it gets too hot preventing it from being damaged.

A heat sink (a chunk of metal with radiating vanes) attached to the CPU draws the heat away from the CPU and a fan on top or side of the CPU or heat sink blows the heat away preventing the CPU from getting too hot.

Without its own fan or CPU Cooler, the CPU would either fry or shut down once the CPU temperature reached a specific temperature limit specified in BIOS or CPU itself. The CPU cooler ensures the CPU operates at a stable temperature. There is a new technology called PWM (Pulse-width modulation) that will speed up the CPU Cooler's fan as the processor becomes hotter under load in an effort to keep the CPU at a low and stable temperature.

Answer 5

To keep it from overheating.