Different methods used to cool processors

Every electronic device we use today has some kind of processor in it. Whether it is your PC, laptop or your mobile all have processors. Now, these processors run very fast, but the heat they generate needs to be dissipated.

To dissipate that heat electronics manufacturers use different methods. Today in this article we will see all the popular ways in which these processors are cooled.

Methods used to cool down processors in Computer:

Air-Cooling

This is the most common type of cooling. In this type of cooling system, a copper heatsink is placed above the processor which absorbs the heat from the CPU. Above that heatsink, a cooler is placed which dissipates this heat. All low-powered processors use this kind of cooling.

Liquid Cooling

This is a powerful way of cooling PCs. A water block is placed above the processor. That water block is connected with radiators through water pumps. Hot liquid flows from processor to radiator and fans are placed over radiators which cools the liquid. The liquid which has just got cooled again goes to the processor and this continues.

Custom Water Cooling Loops

This method works the same way as liquid cooling. The difference is between the customization opportunity this offers. In this, the pipes are custom fit and a water reservoir is also present. This is harder to implement.

Submerged Cooling

This is just another level of the cooling system. It is less about cooling and more about aesthetics. People use it to make their PC look very cool. In this type of cooling all hardware components are submerged in mineral oil. Mineral oil is used because it does not conduct electricity. This not only cools the processor but the whole system.

Methods used to cool down processors in Smartphones:

Smartphones don’t have much space to fit anything so passive cooling is used. Passive cooling means that there is no cooler, instead, material selection is such that heat spreads and the smartphones get cool. There have been one or two phones which have had fans in them, but fan cooling is not prevalent.

There is also another thing called a vapor chamber which is used to cool down processors in smartphones. A kind of a liquid is filled in this metal cavity (vapor changer) that is spread inside the smartphone. This liquid helps the heat spread faster resulting in faster cooling.