Why do GPUs come with cooling but CPUs do not?

[mbe]

Can somebody please explain why CPUs generally come without a cooler / fan, or maybe with one that you have to attach yourself, but GPUs all seem to come together with a cooler / fan in one unit? (Sorry if this is a stupid question - I'm pretty new to building PCs.)

 

Thanks.

[Rym]

GPUs require a lot more expertise and work to place a cooler on. CPUs are much harder to screw up by comparison.

[MigasTigas]

It's easier to apply a 14mm wide cooler in a 5cm chip vs a big chongus card

[mariushm]

The CPU only has to cool itself  (the cpu).

 

The video card cooler has to cool the VRM (the circuit which converts 12v down to 0.6...1.5v the gpu chip needs) and the gpu chip and the memory chips (which consume more power than regular computer ram and therefore make more heat, and they're also positioned much closer to the gpu chip. 

 

The gpu chip also consumes much more power than a cpu, let's say up to 200-250 watts with around 40-60 watts for the memory chips. It depends on video card. 

In contrast, most CPUs consume 65-95w ... most air coolers are good for up to around 115-125 watts TDP if I remember correctly. 

 

So there's a much higher risk for someone to put an inadequate (undersized) cooler on a video card, if they were to standardize cooler mounting locations on video cards.  A much higher risk for someone to return a perfectly good video card simply because the card is slow due to overheating. 

Also, higher risk of someone damaging the gpu chip because unlike regular cpus,  gpu chips don't have a metal top to protect them, the heatsinks go directly on silicon like it was with old processors.

 

 

 

[DoctorNick]

Back in the day all cpu's came with a cooler. Maybe not the best cooler, but a cooler that could keep up with stock clocks. At some point Intel stopped giving a cooler with the K-model of CPU's because overclocking, and could save some pennies