# Cooling my CPU



## Ares82 (Jan 15, 2014)

So I recently had an issue where my CPU cooler stopped working. I ended up replacing it. However, my case gets fairly hot when I do gaming. Sometimes gets up to 58 degrees Celsius. It's not horrible, my processor is FX-6300 and I think the max for that processor is 61, but still I want to see if I can bring the temp down a few more degrees.

I noticed that in addition to 2 case fans that I have already (1 intake at the front and 1 exhaust in the back). I have 3 additional spots for fans. There is 1 at the bottom and 2 more at the top. I was wondering if putting 1 intake at the bottom and 2 exhaust fans at the top would make appreciable difference to CPU temp or is it only going to affect the overall case temp.

Have never really messed around with cooling my CPU so not really sure if it's worth doing that. Expert opinions please.


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## SpywareDr (Jun 15, 2013)

The more cool air you can move through the case the better.


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## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

58°C while gaming is barely warm. As seen here, your CPU is designed to operate without triggering any thermal protection features up to 70.5°C. 

But I agree with SpywareDr and more case cooling sure can't hurt. 

You said your case supports 1 more fan at the bottom and 2 more at top. Is that the actual bottom and top of the case, or the bottom and top of the front panel? I ask because generally you want front-to-back flow through the case with bottom to top being next best. 

If really concerned, I would start with just the bottom fan. That may be all you need. But before that, make sure the interior is clean of heat trapping dust and you have good cable management. That alone may be all you need.


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## Ares82 (Jan 15, 2014)

I was checking the max temps on this site

CPU Temperature - What are the Maximum and Normal CPU Temps?

And it said 61 is max for my CPU that's why I was concerned. Yeah if it's 70 then that's a lot more wiggle room and I'm not as worried about it.

Still probably more cooling is better as you said so I will probably just add more fans like I was planning.

And when I said bottom and top of the case I meant floor and ceiling.

The two that are already installed are at the front (bottom) and back (top).

And wouldn't installing just an additional intake fan be a bad thing? I thought I read somewhere that it's better when you have more exhaust fans then intake fans? Is that not correct?


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## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

> I was checking the max temps on this site


Always go by the manufacture's data. 61°C is not hot. 



> And wouldn't installing just an additional intake fan be a bad thing?


"Bad". NO!!!! Not unless you had it (a new "front" fan) blowing out (exhaust). 

Typically additional front intake fans are better anyway because rear fans draw air in from all over the case - including vents in the back of the case, through every connector port, cracks around optical drives, etc. So there is no force behind that movement. A front panel fan concentrates that air into a nice flow over your heat sensitive devices. 

You need both front and back, though back only is better than none. It just depends on what your case supports - but it would never be bad to add more cooling if done so it supports a proper flow of air through the case. 

Don't pay attention to this overpressure, underpressure nonsense. You want flow that's what it is about. And remember, while the PSU fan is there to cool the PSU, it contributes to that flow too - at least if a top mounted PSU. 

You can always try a new fan in one place and check it out, them move it and check your temps again. If you get better in back, leave it there. 

But again, I would just try one fan, unless you don't care about all the extra fan noise 3 extra case fans will make. I sure would. And when shopping for a fan, get the largest your case will support. Larger fans move more air typically at a lower RPM for less noise. 

In almost all cases, faster RPMs mean more noise. The best designed fans move lots of air at low noise levels.


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## Ares82 (Jan 15, 2014)

OK got it. Thanks a lot for your help. I'll look into available fans. I think the biggest one for my case is 120mm, so I'll look at those.


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## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

My latest build uses Fractal Design fans. I have to put my ear right up to the case before I can hear them and even then, I think it really is the fan blowing air on my ear that "feel" rather than "hear". Mine are 140mm but I so no reason why their 120mm fans would not be of the same quality.


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## SpywareDr (Jun 15, 2013)

This one is especially quiet: Fractal Design Silent Series R2 Black/White Silence-Optimized 120mm Case Fan-Newegg.com


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## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

> This one is especially quiet


15dBA? I should say so! And a good price too.


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## SpywareDr (Jun 15, 2013)

Yep. Or, if you have Amazon Prime, it's the same price as Newegg but with free two-day shipping. https://www.amazon.com/Fractal-Desi...id=1472597759&sr=8-1&keywords=FD-FAN-SSR2-120


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

Well there has to be a disagreeable one in every crowd. If you have a front fan blowing into the case and a back fan blowing out, that is about as good as it gets. So if you still think the cpu is running too hot I would look at a better third party hsf first and here is why. Top fans and bottom fans more interrupt the air flow as far as I am concerned. They can easily draw air away from the hsf because the hsf should be blowing down onto the cpu while the bottom and top fans are blowing out interrupting the hsf flow of air as well as the front to to back air flow. Just my 2 cents!


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## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

Well, not sure you are that disagreeable. You do agree that front to back air flow is desired - so do I. But without looking at the case interior, I would still consider adding a case fan (or replacing current case fans with better ones) before swapping out the CPU cooler. The CPU cooler need only toss the CPU's heat into the flow of cool air flowing through the case. That is not hard to do which is why even OEM fans are more than capable of keeping their CPUs properly cooled. Extracting that heat in the case can be, however, a challenge depending on how strong that flow is. And that can depend on many factors, including cable management, number and location of drives, size and CFM of case fans, etc.

For the inexperienced, as the OP stated he is, swapping out the CPU cooler involves a lot more risk in terms of ESD control and physical damage to the processor and surrounding devices. It also involves thoroughly cleaning the CPU and properly applying a new layer of TIM (thermal interface material). These are not technically difficult tasks, but they are not intuitive tasks either.


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

I agree Bill it is not for folks with slight experience but today most hsfs have paste already applied so the real worry is properly cleaning off the old paste which is easily done if one is careful while the chip is still attached. But in either case experienced help shoulod be on hand.


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