“Can I overclock a CPU without a liquid cooling system”

(Answer requested by Lorenzo Gramigni)

Sure. The system doesn’t care how you provide cooling, as long as you keep the CPU safely within its designed temperature rage.

Most PCs use air as the working fluid for heat removal. You can prepare many PC’s for modest overclocking simply by adding a larger heatsink and higher-capacity fans. It’s an easy and not-very-expensive upgrade.

But there’s a practical limit to how big a heat sink can be, and how much air you can move through a PC. At overclocking speeds where air cooling won’t work, liquid cooling may: Liquid is denser than gas and can carry more heat per given volume. Thus, liquid cooling either lets you move more heat (letting you keep the CPU cool at higher speeds), or to use a smaller heatsink for a given speed.

But liquid cooling adds significant complexity and expense. Air-based cooling is much simpler and way less expensive.

So the answer depends on how fast you’re trying to go. You may find that simple, enhanced air cooling is all you need.

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