Can I use a radiator without water cooling?

[patrickl9962]

Hello,

I've been all over the internet trying to figure out cooling my system. I've decided to go with air because while yes I understand water is better, it just seems like too much to deal with. So with fans, I've seen a lot of people talk about radiators and how they help turn warm air cool but do I need them if I'm not using water?

Thanks for any help!

 

[feelinfroggy777]

No, you don't need a radiator for an air cooler. You just need to buy an air cooler that fits on your motherboard and you will be good to go.

 

[ss202sl]

Radiators use water to take the heat away from the CPU. if you use a radiator, it has to have water.

 

[TJ Hooker]

The finned heatsink of an air cooler is the air cooling equivalent of a radiator.

To use the sort of radiator seen in water cooling setups, you need a medium that transfers the heat from the CPU to the radiator. If you're not using water to do this, how is the heat getting transferred?

 

[hotaru251]

radiator is just fans and (always?) metal.

the warmed water from CPU goes to radiator.

then the warmed water transfers some of the heat out of the water and into the metal and the nthe fans blow the heat out of the case.


iirc thats a eli5 version.