Besides framerates and unexpected blue screens, system temperatures are the most significant source of anxiety for PC users. The moment your CPU or GPU temperature starts creeping upwards, you are likely to panic and begin troubleshooting the root cause behind the "terrible calamity." Jokes aside, cooling your PC is essential, especially if you're running power-hungry components and demanding workloads.

When you aren't satisfied or amused with traditional air or liquid cooling solutions, it's time to bring in some wacky reinforcements. They might or might not be practical in the long term, but you can make them work if you're committed enough. So, let's get into some unique ways to cool your PC without liquid cooling in increasing order of complexity.

5 Point a table fan at the case

The bigger, the better

When your air cooler and case fans just aren't cutting it, perhaps the easiest way to increase airflow inside your PC is to bring in a massive table fan. Pointing it straight at the front mesh panel of your case can bring in a breath of fresh air to your PC that will definitely bring down the temps by a few degrees. You'd be surprised how effective this technique can be for older systems that are struggling to keep temps under control.

Of course, you would have to deal with the noise that comes with a huge table fan kept so close to your desk setup, but then again, some PCs already sound like that, even without one. Some users have reported CPU temperatures improving by up to 10℃ with this simple addition, and for an aging system, that can be the difference between thermal throttling and, well, not that. You might have to clean the dust out of your PC tower more regularly, though.

Those of you who can't tolerate even the excessive noise of case fans ramping up will scoff at this method, but it has its place. If anyone on your squad asks what the noise is, you can simply tell them that's how your PC sounds. And if it works, you might as well give it a shot.

4 Ditch the case

Let your PC breathe

The PC case is designed to keep all your PC components in place and allow for an organized flow of air that can run across each of them. However, if your PC isn't staying cool no matter what, it might be time to think outside the box, literally. While you can swap your existing case for an open-air case to retain some semblance of normalcy, many users go for a naked PC for lower temps. This test bench approach can work for you, too, if you're ready to deal with some drawbacks.

Keeping your PC flat on your desk with nothing but open air around it might drop your system temps a bit, but for most people, the cons outweigh the pros. For starters, your PC is now exposed to spillage, pets, and kids running around the house. The next issue is dust accumulation if your area is especially prone to it. Lastly, it will take some effort to make a careless PC look good since, in its default state, it's likely to look like an unholy mess of cables.

3 Get more out of your air conditioner

Don't give this a cold shoulder

A table fan can throw a ton of air at your PC, but it doesn't compare to the cooling potential of an air conditioner. There are multiple ways to use your AC to cool your PC, but the quickest method is to route the cool air from a window AC to the front of your case and see the magic happen. You will need to create a makeshift duct to allow the cool air to reach the front of your case (with the front panel removed, of course) with minimal gaps.

Taping an appropriately-sized cardboard box to the AC vent, making a hole in the box to attach a cardboard tube, and then placing your front-open case at the other end of the tube should do it. It's not an elegant solution, but it will work. You can measure your CPU and GPU temperatures before creating your contraption and compare the results afterward. You're bound to realize greater gains (well, drops) in cooling performance compared to the table fan method.

You can choose to combine the cooling prowess of your AC with an AIO cooler installed on your CPU, but since this article doesn't allow me to use liquid cooling, throwing the ice-cold air from the AC directly into the PC case is what I'm recommending. Condensation ruining the PC components can be a genuine concern when you're experimenting with crazy cooling solutions like this, so if I were you, I wouldn't do this on my primary PC. Make a guinea pig from an old PC and see where things go. You've been warned.

2 Submerge the PC in a dielectric fluid

Cooling with a liquid but not really

Submerged cooling systems are nothing new; enthusiasts have been using them to cool PCs for decades. In a nutshell, it involves submerging your entire PC in a case or container filled with a dielectric liquid (like mineral oil) that doesn't conduct electricity. The liquid absorbs the heat from the components, gets circulated through a radiator, and is routed back into the case.

I know the principle involved here is still "liquid cooling", but there are no AIO coolers or traditional custom watercooling loops involved, so I'm allowed to cheat a bit. The pros here are obviously the superior cooling performance compared to air cooling and the coolness (no pun intended) factor of dumping your PC components inside a liquid. The cons, however, are that the temps aren't going to be that different from conventional liquid cooling and the general cost and maintenance challenges.

You also need to ensure the components you're using can sustain being immersed inside a liquid and that there are no leaks that can damage the components.

1 Use liquid nitrogen

Time for the big guns

Liquid nitrogen or LN2 cooling is the favorite tool used by competitive and extreme overclockers to break world records and push CPUs to new heights (lows, actually). Keeping nitrogen in the liquid state is crazy as it is — you need to cool it down beyond -196℃. Using it to cool your PC is a whole different ball game, requiring robust safety processes and a high skill set for managing extreme chemicals.

Nevertheless, liquid nitrogen offers the best way to rapidly cool your PC components if you're into that sort of thing. It goes without saying that you shouldn't attempt this unless you're confident enough and can deal with any complications that may arise. Liquid nitrogen can cause severe burns if it comes in contact with skin, and using it in an improperly ventilated room runs the risk of asphyxiation.

Besides all of that, you would also need to delid your CPU for the best results. After all, if you're going to great lengths to cool it, you don't want a CPU block coming in the way. It's obviously not a long-term cooling solution for your overheating PC, and most people should just use conventional liquid cooling or even high-end air cooling on their primary PCs. As a cool way of showing off your PC cooling skills, however, it ranks right at the top.

How stressed should you be about your PC temps?

While there are obvious signs your CPU cooler is simply not enough and needs an upgrade, many PC users obsess too much about keeping their CPU and GPU temperatures low. If they're not worried about temps under heavy loads, they're stressing about slightly higher idle temps than expected. As long as your components aren't overheating or causing noise issues via radiator or case fans, you should focus more on enjoying your PC rather than bringing temps down by a few degrees.

Enthusiasts and competitive overclockers are willing to put in the money and effort to keep things super frosty, but the vast majority of users should simply consider these crazy cooling ideas "weird experiments" and nothing else.