Heat sinks are used to cool CPUs and chipsets, with active heat sinks using a fan and passive ones being fanless. They are made of materials with high thermal conduction, such as aluminum or copper, and have a square base with pins or fins for greater surface area. Attachment methods vary, but all require thermal compound to fill microscopic voids. Fanless heat sinks are quieter and less likely to fail, but may be difficult to fit in smaller cases. It’s important to check with the manufacturer for recommendations and warranty information before purchasing.
A motherboard heat sink is a cooler installed on computer processing units (CPUs) and chipsets. There are two basic types of heat sinks: active and passive. An active heat sink employs a fan, while a passive model is fanless. The fan included in an active heat sink helps cool the surface area of the device for greater efficiency, while a fanless heat sink uses more surface area to dissipate heat, making up for the lack of a fan. The benefits of a fanless heat sink include quiet operation and avoidance of potential chip damage due to fan failure.
A heat sink is made of inexpensive materials that have a high rate of thermal conduction or the ability to act as a funnel for heat dissipation. Aluminum alloys are light and inexpensive. Copper is heavier and a little more expensive, but has twice the heat conducting capacity of aluminum. Some heatsinks are made with both materials.
A heat sink has a square base designed to fit the surface of the chip. The base supports rows of pins or vertical fins, depending on the design, which can be angled or straight. While the base allows heat to move from the chip to the heat sink, the pins or fins create a surface area that stays cooler than the base. Heat is naturally drawn into cooler areas where the airflow allows the heat to dissipate.
An active heat sink features a small fan above the fins to aid in this cooling process. A fanless heat sink relies on case fans for air circulation. Since this is a less direct method, a passive heat sink is typically much larger than its cousin, providing more surface area for greater efficiency. Due to the larger footprint of most passive heat sinks, they can be difficult to fit into smaller cases and tolerance measurements should be taken before purchase.
Heatsinks attach to chips in a variety of ways, depending on the model and chip they’re designed for. Attachment methods include Z-clips, spring arms, and other methods, but all apply a load to the heat sink to ensure excellent base-to-chip contact. Due to the extra weight of a fanless heat sink, some models require the removal of the motherboard to install a more stable retention system.
Regardless of the method used to attach a heat sink, a thermal compound must be placed between the heat sink and the chip to fill the microscopic voids that otherwise trap air, reducing thermal conduction between the two surfaces. Thermal tape is a low cost product that is sometimes used, but generally thermal pads or grease based products for pipes are more highly recommended. Many websites are dedicated to testing these compounds, which may contain micronized silver and diamonds. Whether passive or active, a heat sink should never be operated without thermal compound.
While some might find the somewhat massive, fanless heatsink an eyesore, its quiet operation is music to the ears for those interested in keeping the decibels low. More importantly, there is no way it will fail if installed correctly on the correct chip. If the fan on an active heat sink stops working, it can easily go unnoticed until it’s too late. A heat sink designed to work with a fan won’t be able to keep a chip cool for long, once the fan stops spinning.
When researching products for possible purchase, be sure to first check with the CPU or chipset manufacturer for recommendations and relevant warranty information. Some heat sinks and even some compounds may be pre-approved by the manufacturer, and using an untested or approved fanless heat sink may affect or even void the chip warranty. Once you know the possible models and compounds you can choose from, user forums are a great place to get more advice and feedback, and many online retailers offer customer reviews.
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