How to Choose and Mount a CPU Fan: Everything You Need To Know

Are you looking to mount a new CPU fan? Finding the right CPU fan requires a great deal of research. Not only do different fan sizes populate the market, a byzantine maze of CPU socket types, bearing technologies, fan speeds and more greatly complicate the selection process. Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place.

This how-to guide explains the nitty-gritty of getting the right fan and mounting it to your PC’s CPU. Additionally, it explains my favorite method for applying thermal compound to a CPU.

If you’re simply looking for installation instructions on how to mount a CPU fan, skip to the second part of this article.

What Kind of CPU Fan Do You Need?

The PC component that keeps your CPU cool consists of two separate parts – the heat sink, which is typically a block of metal, designed to maximize airflow and surface area. The second part is the fan. Together they’re commonly referred to as the heat-sink/fan combo or HSF, for short. Lots of technologies and aftermarket products exist. Some are designed to reduce noise while others are designed for maximum cooling. All of them, however, require you know a few things about your computer.

Determining what sort of CPU fan you need takes five steps.

• First, find your motherboard’s CPU socket.
• Second, measure the available height in your case between the top of the CPU and the panel of the computer’s chassis.
• Third, inspect the area on your motherboard surrounding the CPU socket.
• Fourth, determine how fast you want the fan to run.
• Fifth, find the Thermal Design Power (TDP) of your CPU, if you are not using the stock (the one that comes with the CPU) HSF combo. TDP is the heat output of your CPU, measured in watts.