Computer Cooling: Computer, Overclocking, Noise pollution, Integrated circuit, Graphics processing unit, Efficient energy use, Heat sink, Computer fan, Thermoelectric cooling, Water cooling

Computer cooling is the process of removing heat from computer components. Because a computer system's components produce large amounts of heat during operation, this heat must be dissipated in order to keep these components within their safe operating temperatures. In addition to maintaining normative function, varied cooling methods are used to either achieve greater processor performance (overclocking), or else to reduce the noise pollution caused by typical (ie. cooling fans) cooling methods (cf. ergonomics). Components which produce heat and are susceptible to performance loss and damage include integrated circuits such as CPUs, chipset and graphics cards, along with hard drives (though excessive cooling of hard drives has been found to have negative effects). Overheated parts generally exhibit a shorter maximum life-span and may give sporadic problems resulting in system freezes or crashes. Both integral (manufacturing) and peripheral means (additional parts) are used to keep the heat of each component at a safe operational level.