Do you think a PC build looks woefully incomplete without a fancy aftermarket cooling solution?
If so, you're probably going to run out and buy an all-in-one cooler with tons of RGB on it no
matter what we tell you. But do you really need to upgrade from your stock CPU cooler at all
if you're just worried about cooling performance? Unsurprisingly, many enthusiasts simply go out
and buy an aftermarket cooler because they're planning to overclock their chips. Since stock
coolers are only designed with, well, stock frequencies in mind, they tend to have fairly
limited capacity to absorb the extra heat caused by overclocking. This isn't to say you can't
overclock at all with a stock cooler, but it's likely that anything more than a modest overclock
will result in your CPU thermal throttling, basically slowing down when it's under load.
Exactly how much you can overclock on a stock cooler depends on factors like CPU model,
how good the individual piece of silicon in your processor is, and ambient temperature.
But if you're planning to overclock to any significant degree, do yourself a favor and
spend a few bucks on a better cooler. But should you buy one if you're not overclocking?
A good way to think about more advanced cooling solutions is to understand
that the whole point of them is to give your CPU more thermal headroom to operate. This is important
even if you're not overclocking, as more thermal headroom can mean your CPU can boost
to higher speeds for longer periods of time. Now, of course, this doesn't necessarily mean you have
to buy an aftermarket cooler to get that headroom. Stock coolers usually do allow your CPU to reach
their maximum manufacturer-specified frequency for long periods, as long as the rest of your system
has adequate airflow and isn't in some kind of unusually hot environment. But let's say you are
typically using your PC in a warm room, you have a small form factor case that doesn't give your
components lots of room to breathe, or your system just tends to accumulate dust very quickly.
In these situations, an aftermarket cooler might be worth it, especially if you notice your CPU
frequency throttling down under load. That said, you can get a CPU that throttles on a stock cooler,
even in a clean system. Intel's Core i7-12700 is known for doing this sometimes, likely because
it can exceed Intel's stock cooler ratings when it turbos. And if your CPU didn't come with a
stock cooler, which you do see sometimes with some higher-end chips, you should also take a pause if
you're thinking about slapping a stock cooler from your old system into your new one, as there's a
good chance that old cooler might not be designed for the amount of heat your new CPU can put out.
But besides thermal performance, there's another aspect that's important to consider,
given that it might annoy the people you live with. One major selling point of aftermarket
coolers is that they're frequently quieter than stock solutions. And in fact, this used to be a
major problem with pre-Ryzen-era AMD coolers. CPUs such as the old FX6300, a popular mid-range,
lower-price chip released in 2012, came with stock coolers whose fans would get horribly noisy
under load, with some users complaining that their PCs sounded like jet engines. Sounds badass,
it's not. The modern AMD Wraith stock coolers are much improved in this regard, but they,
along with their Intel counterparts, still generally can't run as quietly as aftermarket
coolers, which tend to be larger than stock. However, noise is subjective, and if you're not
often pushing your processor too hard, you may find you're perfectly satisfied with the noise
level of the stock cooler, making this a try it and see kind of situation. But even if your stock
cooler satisfies you in terms of thermal performance and noise level, can you extend the life of your
CPU by getting an aftermarket cooler? The answer is probably no. Modern CPUs are extremely reliable,
and will likely outlive many of your other components as long as you don't do something
dumb like put too much voltage through it. And if it starts getting too hot for comfort,
they'll either just throttle or shut down completely before any real damage can be done.
Bottom line, buy an aftermarket cooler if you're overclocking, hitting thermal limits,
or have a stock cooler that's putting out way too much noise. Otherwise, you're probably okay
sticking with what came in the box. And if you do go aftermarket, remember that you don't have to
get something top of the line to significantly improve upon your stock cooler. Those super fancy
custom water loops may look really cool, but you might feel a little silly when you realize you
spent more on water blocks and pumps than you did on your processor. Embarrassing.
But you shouldn't be embarrassed at all for watching all the way to the end of this video,
because you made me happy. Hey, like the video if you liked it, dislike it if you disliked it,
check out our other videos, comment below with video suggestions, and don't forget to subscribe
and follow TechWiki. That's this channel. Bam. Oh, wow.