WHEN AND WHY TO UPGRADE YOUR

DESKTOP’S HEATSINK

BY: SAFEBYTES SOFTWARE

Heat is one of your computer’s greatest enemies. Excess heat will cause your central processing unit (CPU) performance to degrade, damage your hard drive, and, in extreme cases, shut your computer down.  

A major cause of heat is the computer itself, from electrons moving through the circuits in the CPU, to the graphics processing unit (GPU) when handling 3D imaging, and even the optical drive when in heavy use playing CDs/DVDs.

YOUR COMPUTER’S HEATSINK

EVERYONE’S USED TO HEARING THE FAN ON THEIR DESKTOP COME ON PERIODICALLY, BUT THAT’S ONLY HALF OF THE HEATSINK COOLING EQUATION. THE OTHER COMPONENT IS A (TYPICALLY) FINNED RADIATOR THAT ABSORBS HEAT FROM THE CPU AND THEN DISSIPATES THAT HEAT THROUGH CONVECTION (THAT IS, AIR FROM THE FAN MOVING OVER THE RADIATOR FINS).

 THERE ARE FIVE KEYS TO MAXIMIZING HEATSINK PERFORMANCE:

• CONTACT AREA FLATNESS: THE HEATSINK SHOULD BE IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH THE HEAT SOURCE FOR EFFICIENT ENERGY TRANSFER.

• MOUNTING METHOD: CONTACT PRESSURE BETWEEN THE HEATSINK AND HEAT SOURCE MUST BE AS HIGH AS POSSIBLE, SO THE METHOD OF CONNECTING THE TWO—CLIPS, SCREWS, GLUE, TAPE—NEEDS TO BE BOTH DEPENDABLE AND EASY TO INSTALL.

• HEATSINK AREA: BECAUSE THE SURFACE OF THE HEATSINK IS WHERE ENERGY (THAT IS, HEAT) TRANSFER TAKES PLACE, A HEATSINK WITH MORE FINS AND/OR IS BIGGER WILL BE MORE EFFECTIVE.

• AERODYNAMICS: THE MORE THE FAN BLOWS AIR OVER THE COOLING FINS QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY, THE MORE EFFECTIVE THE HEATSINK WILL BE.

• THERMAL TRANSFER: THICKER FINS CONDUCT MORE HEAT WHILE THIN FINS ALLOW A LARGER TOTAL AREA, SO A BALANCE MUST BE STRUCK BETWEEN THE TWO.

In addition, because the heatsink is transferring energy away from heat sources, the quality of conductive material that it’s made of is critical.  Aluminum has the lowest conductivity rate but is cheap, light, and easy to mill. Copper has twice the conductivity of aluminum but is heavier and more expensive. Aluminum and copper will sometimes be used together to combine their production and performance characteristics; however, unless carefully manufactured, the copper can cause more harm than good.

REPLACING/UPGRADING YOUR HEATSINK

FOR MOST COMPUTER USERS, THE MANUFACTURER-INSTALLED HEATSINK WILL BE SUFFICIENT AS DETERMINED BY THE COMPUTER’S PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATIONS. WITH THAT SAID, HERE ARE A FEW INDICATIONS THAT A PROBLEM EXISTS AND THAT YOU ARE IN NEED OF AN UPGRADE/REPLACEMENT OF YOUR HEATSINK: 1-EXCESSIVE NOISE: IF THE FAN IS TOO LOUD, COMES ON TOO OFTEN, OR STAYS ON TOO LONG, THAT LIKELY INDICATES THAT YOU NEED TO REPLACE THE FAN, IF NOT THE ENTIRE HEATSINK.

2-BROKEN FAN: THE FAN MAY STOP WORKING ENTIRELY, IN WHICH CASE IT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED IMMEDIATELY TO KEEP COMPUTER COMPONENTS FROM BECOMING DAMAGED.

3-EXCESS HEAT: BECAUSE THE HEATSINK ABSORBS HEAT, IT CAN EVENTUALLY MELT AND MUST BE REPLACED.

Even if your computer is working fine, you still may want to upgrade your heatsink. Installing an aftermarket heatsink with greater cooling capabilities can markedly increase computer performance and longevity. Plus, overclocking—intentionally increasing the speed of your computer’s microprocessor—will dramatically increase the heat being generated, demanding greater cooling capacity.