Without adequate cooling, a CPU or other internal equipment can overheat. Depending on the level and length of time depends on the damage, Minor overheating can simply reduce the life of the hardware, whereas prolonged overheating can in fact irreversibly damage hardware. With ever increasing hardware speeds, this can all take place within a matter of seconds.
Fan
An internal computer fan is pretty much like a normal household fan. It is used to reduce heat on internal hardware by moving away the hot air prodcued by the hardware.
Heat sink
A heat sink is a device that removes heat by exchanging it with air in a more efficient manner than the surface the heat sink is attached to.
This is accomplished by providing a larger surface area than the flat attached surface. The larger surface area is usually achieved by possessing a group of fins built into the shape of the heat sink. The larger these fins, and the more of them, the greater the surface area.
Heatsink Fan (HSF)
A heat sink fan combines the benefits of both the heat sink and fan. The heat sink acts as standard and the fan makes the removal of hot air more effective. Faster airflow offers more efficient cooling.
Water Cooling
Water cooling is more efficient than air cooling in that the water actually cools the unit rather than replacing the air around it. Liquid is used to remove the heat picked up by the heat sink which is then cooled by a refrigeration unit.
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