Performance + cooling.

[AndyBogard]

I'm still a bit new to building computers, I'm about to start building my second computer in about a month.

Does better cooling offer more performance in gaming and such? I'm talking about keeping everything stock except the cooling, I mean no overclocking.

I know that is probaly a stupid question, so please forgive my ignorance. I know better cooling will help with longevity of equipment, I'm just wondering if it also helps with performance.

 

[akira34]

Better cooling is better all around... The lower you can keep your processor temps the better (without forming condensation). You might not see better performance, but improving the cooling efficiency will keep your system running longer. There are also ways to cool better with less noise, if you care about that.

Personally, I'm on a quest for the holy grail when it comes to cooling my system. I want great cooling, but I also want little or no noise. I'm not looking to put parts of the cooling system into another room, or spend an outrageous amount of money in the process, which makes it a quest. I am thinking of going to liquid cooling on my processor with a single 120mm radiator. That could do it... I'll keep the two 120mm fans in my case, add the one that comes with the product I'm looking at, and remove the 92mm (35db peak) fan on my processor. That would still move the amount of air I need to keep the case cool, while improving the cooling efficiency of my processor and making that run cooler. Some people here have already made the move to liquid cooling... I just haven't... yet.

 

[Operandi]

There will be improvement in performance at least not that you can quantify.

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: Operandi
There will be improvement in performance at least not that you can quantify.

Technically this is true as the cooler the processor runs the less expansion there is between the transistors and the fewer errors there are during processing. You won't notice this in the least (unless you are pushing some super high temps, then your compy might shut-down all-together

As akira said, better cooling bascially give you more life out of your components. If you are a upgrade every year sort of guy, then this may not be a big issue, but if you like your parts to last a while, then cooling is critical.

The main time heat will affect gameplay is when your GPU overheats, has errors, and crashes. This is becoming more and more of a problem as the GPU's today dissapate alot more watts then the older cards.

To sum up: good case cooling ensures fewer errors in both the CPU and GPU. Unless you have a "sweat-box" computer, better cooling will not result in noticible better performance though it will greatly extend the life of all your components.

-spike