Ok i found this really intresting article about Cooling from OCNZ Forums, the article was posted by Whetu one of the Mods in that website, hes given me permission to post the article here, so here i am sharing this article with you guys....Worth a READ imo...

Cooling

Introduction
Cooling is perhaps one of the most important aspects of the overclocking realm. As you increase your voltages and bus speeds like a mad ox, your heat output also increases. You must balance this with improved cooling, or you could face the consequences... The consequences can be anything from instability, to a completely dead CPU, so cooling is not something you want to overlook.

<who what when where why how>

The Importance of Thermal Compound

Thermal compound should always be used, you can get away without using any compound but temps will be at least 6 degrees higher. The main reason being that to create an efficient thermal junction between CPU and heatsink/waterblock, both surfaces need to be as flat as possible - thermal compound just fills in all the nooks and crannies on a microscopic scale. The difference between the different brands of compounds are minimal (they all pretty much perform within a degree or two - well within the margin of error).

There are basically three types of thermal transfer materials for use with heatsink:

Thermal Interface Material (TIM) - A pad usually found attached to the bottom of new heatsink.
Contrary to popular opinion, modern TIMs are actually very good at what they do. The type of TIMs used a few years ago when processors started to require "advanced" cooling solutions were really very poor quality, although at the time it didn't matter very much. Modern TIMs are quite different and do work very well, but need to be "baked" or "cooked" before they reach their best, so a freshly applied heatsink with TIM will seem to perform quite badly. The other problem is a TIM is a one time solution - once you remove your heatsink the TIM is stuffed, and they leave behind a bit of a gooey mess which is always fun to clean up.

Thermal Paste - An opaque paste, usually white in colour.
Most generic thermal pastes perform quite well, although they have a tendancy to dry out. this attribute is what separates thermal paste from thermal grease (see below). Generic paste often performs worse than a TIM but is easily applied and removed.

Thermal Grease - Thermal grease is very similar to thermal paste except it is in a grease formula which is designed to prevent it drying out. Thermal grease also often contains a metal component to aid in thermal transfer, although the actual difference in performance is minimal (perhaps a degree or two lower than a TIM or thermal paste). Because of these reasons thermal grease is also usually significantly more expensive than thermal paste.

As i said earlier you can actually go without any thermal compound at all, but the idea is to maximise the thermal junction between the heatsink and CPU, and pretty much any thermal compound is better than nothing (even vegemite and toothpaste apparently ).

"What's a shim?"
A shim is a thin piece of metal that goes between your CPU's package and your heat transfer device (heatsink, waterblock etc.) The point of the shim is to protect the core of your CPU from damage from highly pressured heatsinks/waterblocks, or from poor installation of heatsinks/waterblocks.

"Do I need one?"
This is up to you to decide, but personally, having seen a friend destroy his duron simply by putting it in a car and taking it to work, I have always used a shim since. It's a cheap investment to protect possibly an expensive investment. I'd rather spend 20 bucks for extra piece of mind for my 200 dollar CPU than take the risk...



Aircooling

"What is aircooling?"
Aircooling involves mounting a heatsink on top of your cpu. A heatsink is a specially shaped piece of metal, with a base and fins, manufactured normally using either aluminium or copper, or an aluminium/copper combination. On top of the heatsink resides a fan, which can be of any different size, speed, and noise available.

Heat transfers from the CPU and into the heatsink, the heatsink radiates and warms the air around its fins. The fan's job is to either blow colder air over the fins so that the warm air is dissipated, or to suck the warm air off the fins so that cooler air can replace it.

On slower CPU's it is possible to operate passively without a fan, as natural convection (eg. heat rises) will be enough.

The heatsink and fan combination is normally referred to as an HSF, or more crudely and inaccurately, a "cpu fan."

"Why would I want to aircool?"
Because aircooling is cheap and commonplace. It is currently the standard cooling method used.

"How do I change my heatsink?"
This depends on the heatsink, however if you are installing a new heatsink, your new heatsink could possibly have some provided instructions (again dependant on the heatsink; $100 HSF's will have instructions, $10 HSF's most likely wont.) If there are some provided instructions, FOLLOW THEM. Otherwise, read on.

The standard attachment method is to clip onto socket lugs, normally using only the middle two of the provided six lugs.


Here you can see a standard cpu socket, with the 6 lugs and socket step outlined. What you want to do is look for the middle lug at the step end of the socket.

Once located (and with your computer off), give a bit of downwards force on the clip, and flick it out from under the lug, and then releasing the downwards force allowing the clip to come free.

This image shows how you want the clip to be at this stage; free of the lug. Be warned though, some clips are worse than others and you may require the use of a tool such as a flathead screwdriver or needle-nose pliers to assist you in the removal of your heatsink.

Now gently rock the heatsink back towards the side that is still clipped. The clip should pop free fairly easily allowing you to remove the HSF completely. Clean up any mess on your cpu using paper towels and meths or cleaning alcohol. Apply a fresh coat of heat transfer compound (Arctic Silver III is a favourite) and continue to install your new HSF.

Installation is very straightforward, in fact just the reverse of the removal method I have just described. Make sure the socket step and the HSF step are aligned correctly, lean the heatsink back towards the side opposite the socket step and slip the clip onto the lug(s). Flatten the heatsink onto the cpu carefully and hold it firmly in place with one hand. With the other hand apply downwards pressure on the socket-step side of the clip and slip it onto the lug(s.)

Double check that the socket step and HSF step are aligned properly, plug in the fan and fire up your computer. Congratulations.

This is a very brief description of the process, and I recommend you do some google searching for other articles before attempting this for the first time. The other thing you can do is get someone who is experienced to show you, there's bound to be an OCNZ member in your hometown, it never hurts to ask! Otherwise, I accept no responsibility for what you may or may not do with your computer as a result of this information.

"Ok, you talk about temperatures, how can I find out mine?"
This is a bit of a grey area. The problem with most motherboards is that they use an external temperature sensor, so any temperatures you read won't really be the true temperature of your cpu. So you can't compare your temperature with your friend's. You have to compare apples with apples. If your friend has exactly the same motherboard and cpu, then you can compare. If you have say, an ASUS mobo, and your friend has an Epox, you can't directly compare, as your temps are most likely just indicative, not accurate.

Intel CPU's have used built-in temperature diodes for awhile now, so their reported temperatures are reasonably accurate. AMD has only recently implemented built-in diodes, but the issue here is that being able to read them is motherboard dependant.

Next time you change your heatsink, pop your CPU out of its socket and have a look underneath. If you see a small smokey-coloured plastic strip, then you have a Thermal Probe. If you have a small (normally) blue onion-shaped component, then you have a Thermal Diode.

*Thermal Probes are normally accurate to +/- 3c
*Thermal Diodes are normally accurate to +/-10c

So dependant on what you have, take your readings and just consider it's true accuracy. If you are reading from a built-in diode, don't worry, your readings are accurate .

Now, to read your temperatures, try the following links:


* Motherboard Monitor
* link here
* link here


"Okay, I'm not reading from a built-in diode. Can I get a more accurate reading?"
Sure, you can purchase a Senfu Thermal Probe and put it in direct contact with the side of your CPU core. If your CPU does have a built-in diode, you can modify your motherboard to read from it, however you should be aware that in doing so, you will void your warranty. Look here, and here to learn more.

"What temperatures should I be aiming for?"
Generally the colder the better. Chances are, the reading you take will be an idle reading, to see the upper limits of your current cooling, put some load onto your cpu with a load program such as prime95, <other one here>, or a distributed computing program such as setiathome. No matter your CPU, be it Intel or AMD, a good temperature to aim under is 45-50 degrees centigrade with full load on your cpu.

"My temperatures are awfully hot! What can I do???"

"What is the best heatsink?"
There are many factors that determine the best heatsink. Aircooling has been engineered to perhaps its optimum performance, so there probably wont be any other spectacular heatsinks coming out.

It is fairly difficult to pronounce the world's best heatsink without having any solid data to back myself up, but generally speaking you can't go wrong with an alpha, thermaltake or globalwin unit.

I recommend that you read a lot of articles, targetting for heatsink roundups as they will show head to head comparitive results. Here are some good articles:

* DansData
* link here
* link here


"How much does aircooling cost?"
Anywhere from free (stock HSF provided with your CPU purchase) and all the way up to NZ$120 and beyond. If you read a few head to head roundups, you'd probably be best to go with a HSF in the $40 - $60 bracket, as they will normally perform within a few degrees of a $120 HSF, thus providing best bang for the buck.

"Are there any risks?"
The only risk i know that should occur in Air Cooling is sticking your finger in the Fan Blades

"Is there any maintenance involved?"
An occasional dusting should be all that's required. The amount you do this depends on how dusty your house is, but once every month or two should suffice.
Every six months or so, I recommend a complete removal of the HSF. Disassemble the HSF and completely clean it. Put a few drops of some fine machine oil into the fan hub (peel back the fan sticker to discover .) Clean off your CPU and reapply some fresh heat transfer compound. Reinstall your HSF and enjoy.

Watercooling

"What is watercooling?"
Watercooling is a simple affair. A waterblock is mounted on top of your cpu. A waterpump and radiator are added. Optionally, a resevoir can be added as well. These are all normally connected using plastic tubing, usually of the 1/2 inch or 3/8 inch variety.

As you operate your PC, heat is transferred from the CPU into the waterblock. Water runs through the waterblock, where heat is transferred from the waterblock and into the water. Somewhere along the lines, the now heated water will enter the radiator where heat is transferred from the radiator to air, normally by forced means - a large, slow, quiet fan. The now cooled water then continues the cycle through the waterpump which keeps the water moving through the system. The cycle then repeats.

It doesnt stop there, both your motherboards' main chipset, and your video cards' main chipset can be watercooled, either integrated into the loop, or running on independant loops.

"Why would I want to watercool?"
Most PC Enthusiasts switch to watercooling in the search for lower temperatures and a quieter computer. While these are not the only reasons one would watercool their PC, they would be the primary reasons.

"But it's water inside my computer! That's bad right???"
Not necessarily. Given thought and precaution, you can reduce the possibility of anything going wrong. Water in its purest form is NOT a conductor, it is an insulator, so by using de-ionised water, and hoseclamps, you can reduce almost all chance of disaster.

A well planned watercooling rig has about as much chance of disaster happening as your average aircooled rig. The waterblock could fall off, damaging your video card and allowing your CPU to die in a ball of smoke. So what? Your boring, noisy, poor-performance heatsink and fan has just as much chance of doing the same.

This is the biggest hurdle for anyone considering watercooling; the psych factor. You will always have a sub-concious thought in the back of your mind telling you "water and electronics bad, BAD KARMA!!!". It is up to you to decide whether you can face reality and go through with it, or whether you will back off and stick with your heatsink and fan.

We still respect your decision either way

"What do I need to watercool my gear?"


* A waterblock
* A waterpump
* A radiator
* Applicable tubing
* Water and optional additives
* A resevoir (optional)
* GPU/Chipset block(optional)


Waterblock:


Waterpump:

Perhaps the component you should pay the most attention to is your waterpump. Make sure you purchase a good quality pump if you intend to install your watercooling once and never touch it for 6 months or an even longer period.

The general consensus amongst the overclocking community is that the best pumps your money can buy are Eheim (pronounced "air-hyme"). For beginners, the 1048 is perhaps the best model.

Another popular pump amongst the overclocking community is the Rio 600.

For a shorter period of time, you could use a cheaper pump, but you must realise that cheaper pumps will perform worse, and are most likely not designed for constant operation. Consider the waterpump as the heart of your watercooling system... If it stops, something could die.

Radiator:


Tubing

Tubing can be of many varieties. You can get vinyl, silicon, tygon, metal reinforced... any number of different types. The type you should go for depends on how much room you have in your case. If you dont have much space, you should consider a more expensive silicon or tygon solution (as they will be more flexible). If space is not a problem, then your average vinyl tubing can be picked up relatively cheaply at your local hardware or plastics stores.

Water and optional additives:


Most people will use your average everyday tap water. There are a couple of household items that you can add. A couple of drops of dishwashing liquid will help the water flow around easier. A couple of drops of bleach will help keep the nasties at bay. Foodcolouring or dyes can give the water an impressive colour that will show up through the tubing, toilet sanitary cakes can do this as well, and keep your nasties at bay - 2 birds with one stone .

There are other items you may want to consider adding such as antifreeze (if you are using peltiers or chilling the water.. more on that later.) Also, if you can afford it, some water wetter, however the dishwashing liquid does pretty much the same job for pennies.

If you are concerned about water leakage, than you can improve your chances of avoiding disaster by using Distilled (De-Ionised) Water. Distilled water will also reduce your chances of scale and other bad things forming in your system.

Resevoir:

Its that top bit filled with green coloured water

GPU/Chipset block:


"How much does it cost?"
As an example for a Purchased Kit: NZ$414.21 (converted from AUS dollars)

Self build as an example
*waterblock - liquidcc surge $90 StylesPC
*pump - eheim 1046 $110 StylesPC
*rad - suzuki van heatercore (PERFECT RAD) $20 local car wreckers
*tubing - depends which type you get, but bog standard vinyl tubing should be no more than $12 bucks all up
*resevoir - depends if you want/need one but a click clack lunchbox does a bang up job, is watertight, and is cheap. top price about $13 bucks for a large box
total: NZ$246
(this is being VERY generous as you can cut a lot of corners and can and will stumble across a good deal here and there, most of the money goes on the two most important parts: the waterblock and waterpump)

"Ok, closed loop or open loop?"

"What is better - a retail kit or a self-built kit?"
For a beginner, a retail kit is better as each component is designed to work with the other components in the kit. Added to that some (hopefully) well written installation instructions, a retail kit should be quick and painless to setup.

For an enthusiast, a self-built kit is better, as the enthusiast can research each component, hand pick each component, and then build their own kit. They know every niggle with their kit, and they know their kit inside out and back to front. If they were keen enough, and had the resources, they could build some of the components themselves.

Cost is the other factor that comes into discussion. A retail kit is normally specifically designed for use within the confines of a PC Case, a self-built kit can be thrown together out of a well priced waterblock, a garden fountain waterpump, and an automobile oil radiator or heatercore. The self built kit would be many, MANY times cheaper. This is the other reason most overclockers will have a self-built kit: they want to save costs by purchasing slower cpu's and overclocking them, they will also save costs by self-building their own watercooling kit.

"How do I go about setting up my watercooling?"

"Ok, are there any other risks?"

"Is there any maintenance involved?"

Recommended reading

* The overclockers.com series of articles
* An excellent guide by Bravo (This may require registering at the OCAU forums)
* Zero Fan Zone The chronicles of Bladerunner himself
* link here

That is a very good article asanthadenz. I always wanted a water cooled machine both for looks and effect but I think I'd leave it in the hands of the proffessionals. Water and electricity aren't my bag really. Which thermal grease/paste do you recommend though for the processor? Arctic silver III?

ya ASIII is the best imo, thats wht i use..

wow this is really cool what is the lowest temp u can get with this>>>????