Have you just gotten a brand-new CPU cooler? Do you want to know what to do with the old cooler that has served you for so long? If these are your thoughts, you have arrived at the right place.
What can you do to reuse an old CPU cooler? Will you sell it or use it for something else? Are these your options, or is there more you can do with an old cooling fan? Find the answers to these questions in this guide.
All the possibilities regarding what you can do with an unused cooler are discussed here. Take a look at your options and decide which one resonates with you the most.
What Can You Do To Reuse An Old CPU Cooler?
After getting a new cooler for your CPU, you might be thinking about what you can do with your old stock cooler. Well, there are a few ways you could go with this. You can use it on another system, keep it as your backup cooler, cool other components, sell, recycle, or repurpose the cooler’s parts.
Newer and better hardware is being introduced every day. It’s only natural that you may want to improve your system by providing it with a more efficient CPU cooler.
Your CPU is the brain of your system and the most integral part that processes all the tasks in your system. It gives off a lot of heat when it is working, and you must have a cooler to dissipate heat away from your processor and other components. Otherwise, the heat could cause permanent thermal damage to your CPU and the CPU socket on the motherboard.
If you turn on your computer without a CPU cooler, or if your CPU cooler fails, the processing unit will start to overheat and could damage the whole PC, if not only itself and other computer parts.
Since it protects such an important part of your computer, the processor’s cooler is indispensable. So, spending big bucks on a high-spec cooler is justified while keeping compatibility in mind.
If you can, you should not hesitate to buy a new cooler for your Intel or AMD processor. It will protect your computer and ensure your processor is performing at its best. You have to remove your current cooler, apply new thermal paste on the processing chip and fit the new fan properly in the brackets.
The only drawback to getting a new CPU cooler – you are now stuck with a spare cooler laying around.
There are a few choices that you have when it comes to deciding what to do with an old fan. They are simply discussed here so that you can give them a look and make up your mind.
Here are the things you can do with an old CPU cooler:
1. Use It As A Backup Plan
When you’re upgrading your computer with a fresh cooler for your processor, keeping the old one as a backup is a good idea in case your new cooler malfunctions or fails to keep your CPU cool enough. A new device may not work properly with your system. Your old trusted cooler can help you out in these situations.
If you have upgraded your entire system with a fresh cooler, you can still keep your old one as a spare.
Although CPU coolers are rarely seen to malfunction, it is great to have a plan B in case the new product cannot keep up to your expectations or run into some trouble. In that case, you can use your older cooling fan on your system temporarily while you fix your new one.
Here’s a complete guide on how to know if CPU cooler is compatible with Motherboard.
2. Reuse It
If you are building a new computer system, it is obvious that you will get newer components for your system.
Now, you do not necessarily have to get a new cooler if your old one is functional and compatible with your new processor. In fact, you can plan your build around your old CPU cooler if it has served you capably for a long time. It will still serve you efficiently in the years to come.
Unless you want to get a new one, you might find that your spare cooling fan works fine.
So, if you want to cut costs in your new build and already have a competent cooler, there is no reason to get a new one. You can reuse your old CPU cooler in your new computer.
3. Use It In Another PC
If you have another PC that doesn’t have that great a cooler, you can use the cooling fan in that PC. You may have more than one computers that you use for different purposes. If you upgrade the cooler in one of them, you can always take your older one and fit it inside the other computer.
If your spare cooler functions properly and provides sufficient cooling, it can be a free improvement for another one of your computers. Using your old fan on another computer can save you from some expenses, especially if the other computer has a dysfunctional cooler.
Check out our recent article on do you need a CPU cooler.
4. Cool Your GPU With It
Yes, you might be able to use your cooling fan to cool your GPU too. If you have a spare cooler lying around, you can put it to work by making it cool your GPU. This will give you better and quieter cooling, as GPU cooler fans tend to be very loud. It will open the path for overclocking possibilities with your GPU.
You must ensure remember that you have to modify your graphics card to integrate your old fan onto it. Mounting it means you won’t be able to claim your GPU’s warranty anymore.
Oftentimes, there are a few challenges to this use of your spare cooler. Firstly, CPU coolers tend to be quite bulky in size these days. You may not have enough room around your GPU to fit the cooler. Secondly, air coolers have very heavy metal heatsinks. You should be careful that this weight doesn’t physically overload your GPU, or its PCB may be bent or broken.
5. Modify It/Its Parts For Other Purposes
An air CPU cooler has a heatsink made of metal fins and 120mm fan(s). If you no longer use an old air cooler, you can use it for other purposes than cooling. You can remove the fan and modify it to become a table fan or use the heat sink as a paperweight. You can also use your DIY skills and turn your old cooling fan into an aesthetic showpiece.
AIO liquid coolers have radiators, fans, screws, pipes and tubing for carrying the liquid coolant, and a water block. You can switch to creative mode with these parts and turn them into anything you want. The possibilities are endless regarding what you can use your cooler’s parts for.
Quickly check our epic post on how to find out what CPU cooler I have.
6. Sell It
If none of the above choices interest you and you want to get a small commission off of your CPU fan, you can always look for a buyer looking for a pre-owned cooler. You most likely won’t get the full price of your old, run-down cooler since it is a used component, but it will still bring some bucks into your pocket.
7. Recycle It
If you want to get rid of your old cooler, recycling its parts or the whole unit is also an option if you aren’t interested in using it for anything. Any local recycler for electronic devices will require you to take apart your cooler before they process it.
Some manufacturers also have recycling programs for their products. You can check with yours if you want to salvage your unutilized cooler.
Also, check out our separate post on can I start a PC without a CPU cooler.
Conclusion
An old CPU cooler can be utilized in several ways that can be productive and also quite efficient. All these ways of putting an old cooler to use in new ways are presented here in this guide.
If you have a spare CPU cooler laying around, you can decide what to do with it after you go through the content here.
