What are the differences between water-cooled and air-cooled heat sinks?

The working principle of the radiator: both air-cooled and water-cooled radiators have a device called the base (also called the water-cooling header for water-cooled systems), which is generally made of copper (low-end, cheap air-cooled radiators are made of aluminum). Its role is to conduct the heat generated by the CPU, graphics card (or other equipment) out to the heatsink (most of the heatsink for the aluminum, a few for the copper, because of the good thermal conductivity of copper; aluminum heat dissipation is good). Air-cooled radiator is through the solid metal (copper or aluminum) or heat pipes will heat conduction to the heat sink; water-cooled radiator is through the liquid (water or other good thermal conductivity of the liquid) will heat conduction to the heat sink. Finally, the fan will blow the heat sink to distribute the heat as soon as possible. The difference between air-cooled and water-cooled: in fact, air-cooled and water-cooled radiator are finally through the fan to blow the heat sink to dissipate the heat, the difference between them lies in the intermediate link of the conduction medium.

The danger of water-cooled radiators: water-cooled radiators use a liquid medium to conduct heat, so there is a certain risk that once the piping and joints are broken, it will result in liquid leakage and thus short-circuit burns of electrical components. Since water cooling systems are relatively expensive, only a few enthusiasts and overclocking enthusiasts use them. The vast majority of computers take air-cooled radiators. There are four types of air-cooled radiators depending on the material: pure aluminum, pure copper, copper-aluminum combination, and heat pipes. The best air-cooled radiator is the copper-aluminum combination + heat pipe design. Copper is the base, aluminum is the heat sink, and heat pipes are the media for heat transfer between the two. There are three types of air-cooled coolers depending on the fan used: side-blowing, downward-pressing, and fanless designs. For reasons of silence, energy saving, and lower manufacturing costs, some devices with low heat generation use this fanless design, relying only on the natural flow of the heatsink and air to dissipate heat. Side-blown heatsinks have the fan at a 90° angle to the device being cooled, and are the best performers for major heat sinks. A downdraft heatsink has the fan blowing directly downward on the cooling device, which not only dissipates heat from the main cooling device, but also takes care of the cooling of other devices in the surrounding area. The best air-cooled cooler for CPUs is one that has a copper base, an aluminum heatsink, and heatpipes connecting it to a cooler with a side-blowing fan design.