When it comes to PC gaming, the biggest challenge is cooling. You can pack all the power in the world into a case, but without cooling it means nothing. The more power, the more heat, thanks to big jerk physics, and temperature rather than performance is the bottleneck in many builds. This is why overclockers soak their CPUs in liquid nitrogen or use about 8 pounds of solid copper.

Copper is an incredibly conductive material, perfect for cooling, but also very expensive. So when I saw a huge tower of solid copper casually placed on top of an enthusiast's CPU, I was not at all prepared for it. This image was posted on Reddit by That Desktop User (opens in new tab) and shared on Twitter by Fanless Tech (opens in new tab).

Not surprisingly, this incredibly thermally conductive bunch of metal does a pretty good job of cooling the CPU. This is placed on top of an i9 chip, which is known to heat up. Apparently, this setup keeps the temperature at 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius) at idle, and only about 176 degrees Fahrenheit (80 degrees Celsius) at the maximum. I use AIO (open in new tab) to keep it cooler than that, but it is better than the temperatures I can manage with just the fans on my PC on my old i7.

Despite the efficiency offered by this phenomenal copper phallus, it is unlikely that we will see this implementation reach the mainstream. One could make this phallus look like a cool lighthouse or rocket. With a little artistic flair, it could go from a big obtrusive block to something aesthetic.

But again, copper is not cheap to use in such large quantities. Copper is an excellent thermal conductor, so its use in PC builds is not uncommon, but in much smaller quantities. These IHS copper lid replacements (opens in new tab) are great examples for the avid DIY enthusiast.

And copper is not just used to cool CPUs. One modder used copper and thermal paste to lower the temperature of a card from over 100°C to nearly 60°C (opens in new tab). Thanks to the size of the copper used, this is a much cheaper attempt than installing a huge tower on the CPU.

Speaking of size, we are learning to make copper ultra-thin (opens in new tab). Gold is another metal that is widely used thanks to its conductivity, but thin copper may eventually replace it. Anything that can be done to lower costs and reduce mining of the rare mineral is great for PC gamers. And even if you don't have access to big chunks of copper around the girth, there are plenty of excellent recommendations (opens in new tab) for keeping your PC cool.