Fans
Fans are the primary method for cooling in a computer. Cool air is pulled in through the front of the case and then circulates in the case and the now warm air goes out through the back or sides of the case.
Fans come in different sizes and styles. Fans also come in different volumes. Some are designed to be quieter, while other fans are designed for efficiency and may be louder.
Some fans are integrated into the adapter card itself. These cards can be bulky and are usually seen on high end graphics card.
Standard fan sizes are 80mm, 120mm, and 200 mm. Fans can be set at different speeds if connected to a fan controller or if your motherboard supports fan controller functions. Fans may also have variable speeds so that the speed adjusts as the computer becomes hotter or cooler.
Heat sink
Heat sinks dissipate heat through thermal conduction. Heat sinks are made of copper or aluminum alloy. Heat sinks take the heat from a component and dissipate the heat up through the conductors of the heat sink. Fins are placed on the heat sink to increase the surface area so that heat is transferred to the cool air passing through your computer.
Liquid
With liquid cooling, liquid coolant is circulated through a computer. Liquid cooling is usually designed for higher end systems, like gaming systems, video editing systems, or if you’ve overclocked your system.
Liquid cooling uses a pump, a radiator, and a cooling block with liquid to remove heat. Cool liquid is brought into the heat sink, which is then warmed up by the CPU, and then the hotter liquid is pumped away. At the back of the computer is a radiator and fan that cools down the liquid so that it can be sent back through the system to cool components down.
The advantage of liquid cooling is that it’s quieter and pulls away more heat than fans.
Thermal paste
Thermal paste provides a contact between the chip and the heat sink. The thermal paste provides a transfer of heat from the CPU to the heat sink or cooling mechanism attached.