As processors, graphics cards, RAM and other components in computers have increased in speed and power consumption, the amount of heat produced by these components as a side-effect of normal operation has also increased. These components need to be kept within a specified temperature range to prevent overheating, instability, malfunction and damage leading to a shortened component lifespan.

While in earlier personal computers it was possible to cool most components using natural convection (passive cooling), many modern components require more effective active cooling. To cool these components, fans are used to move heated air away from the components and draw cooler air over them. Fans attached to components are usually used in combination with a heatsink to increase the area of heated surface in contact with the air, thereby improving the efficiency of cooling.

In the IBM compatible PC market, the computer's power supply unit (PSU) almost always uses an exhaust fan to expel warm air from the PSU. Active cooling on CPUs started to appear on the Intel 80486, and by 1997 was standard on all desktop processors.^[1] Chassis or case fans, usually one exhaust fan to expel heated air from the rear and optionally an intake fan to draw cooler air in through the front, became common with the arrival of the Pentium 4 in late 2000.^[1] A third vent fan in the side of the PC, often located over the CPU, is also common. The graphics processing unit (GPU) on many modern graphics cards also requires a heatsink and fan. In some cases, the northbridge chip on the motherboard has another fan and heatsink. Other components such as the hard drives and RAM may also be actively cooled, though as of 2012 this remains relatively unusual. It is not uncommon to find five or more fans in a modern PC.