Guide to Aftermarket Cooling Solutions - What to look for when purchasing a new heatsink
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One of the most noticeable differences in heatsinks is their design. Some heatsinks utilize all of the different technologies. But because one heatsink uses all of these technologies does not make it the best available cooler. The most efficient heatsinks are the ones that combine all of the following elements:
Heatsink Design/Compatibility: Depending on your system and what kind of cooling performance you are looking for, you may want to look into the design of the heatsink. Some heatsinks will simply not fit into a small chassis, and you will have to go with a low profile cooler. If this is the case, it's best to find a heatsink that has all of the current technologies integrated into the heatsink to provide the best cooling possible. Most users who are looking for the best performing coolers should look into the heatpipe coolers, and base the rest of the performance on the fans and what is suited to them. Be sure to get a heatsink that is designed to work on your system's CPU socket.
Thermal Resistance: This unit is measured in °C/W, although not all manufacturers will display their rating. Basically, you want the lowest number possible. This number will be multiplied by the amount of wattage the CPU will create, giving you an estimate to how warm your computer will run in optimal conditions. While it's not a very realistic way to tell, it is good information to know and to aid your decision.
Surface area: This is the amount of surface area the heatsink has. You want as much area as possible so that the head can be quickly dissipated by the fans. A heatsink with a large surface area may be very large. It might not fit onto your motherboard because of its large surface area, but the general rule is, the larger the surface area the better potential cooling.
Fans: You can have the greatest, most efficient heatsink available, but without a good fan your heatsink will not perform up to its full potential. It is worth keeping in mind, however, that with large surface area heatsinks you do not need fans with as high a rate of RPM. You can use low RPM, high CFM fans and get excellent cooling results with a generally quiet performance. With a high performance fan you can achieve the best cooling possible, although you may experience a lot of noise.
Price: New high tech heatsinks can cost a lot of money, although there are a few heatsinks available that have performance characteristics very similar to the more expensive models.
Upgradeability: A lot of the heatsinks currently on the market have been developed to fit onto multiple CPU sockets using brackets and adapters. These heatsinks are great for someone who may be looking at replacing their current setup in the near future with one of the newer faster sockets.
Once you find the combination of all of these categories that suit you, look for a review of the heatsink on the Internet and see how well it performed for the author of the review. If everything meets your standards, purchase that heatsink and get ready to install it.
Next: Installing your new heatsink >>
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