As TechSpot grows, we're producing more content and adding new features, but we're also working on ways to improve the community. The recent forum upgrade will let us do some really cool stuff in the future. For now, we want to run a bi-weekly post on community happenings, highlighting your guides, discussions, gallery pictures, site feedback and so on. Naturally, your input on this feature is welcome.

With that out of the way, we draw your attention to two comprehensive cooling guides. Marnomancer has posted a multi-part write-up exploring the intricacies of air cooling, including dust management, case pressure and acoustics, fan placement and tips on avoiding common mistakes. Meanwhile, dividebyzero demystifies the dark art of liquid cooling with somewhat of a how-to/buying guide combo.


A shot of red1776's cooling setup (your potential competition)

In the spirit of frosty silicon, we're giving away the behemoth that is Phanteks' PH-TC14PE, a twin tower heatsink that'll chill your Intel or AMD processor to the core. The unit has won various awards and it just so happens to be the cooler preferred by our resident hardware tester, Steve. As usual, we'll try to make it easy to participate and the contest will be open to everyone, including international readers.

How to participate

  • Share one picture of something cooling-related – preferably in TechSpot's gallery.
  • Link the picture in this post's comments and tell us you want to enter.
  • TS staffers will review the submissions and vote on the winner.
  • The winner will be announced in the next community post on Thursday, May 31.

Other rules and stuff

  • "Cooling-related" can be anything from a pricey cooling setup to tidy cable routing or a novelty fan grill.
  • Composition/image quality matter as much as what's being photographed and it must be your picture.
  • Again, you're eligible to win no matter where you're reading this from.
  • We'll cover shipping costs, but you're stuck with import taxes or any other such fees.
  • Only registered members can participate (you can sign up here free of charge).
  • We'll notify the winner by email and they'll have three days to reply before we pick another.