What Is CPU Heat Sink and How Does It Work?

The heat exchanger uses copper, aluminum or a combination of both to bring heat from the heat sink through heat pipes. The fan helps blow air through here and bring it out of the system, helping the CPU to keep the temperature safe.

Liquid heat sinks also use the same way but replace plain heat pipes that contain semiconductor liquids and pump into heat sinks. Copper is a semiconductor capable of conducting heat very well, aluminum is only half as much and gas is extremely bad.

How does CPU heat sink work?

Heat transfer capacity is measured in W / m * K units. There is no need to be overly physical. You can also briefly understand this number. The number is also not absolute because each material has different heat transfer ability. Here are a few example numbers.

• The heat transfer coefficient of copper is 385 W / m * K
• The heat transfer coefficient of aluminum is 205 W / m * K
• The heat transfer coefficient of Arctic Silver MX-2 is 5.6 W / m * K
• The heat transfer coefficient of the air (measured at 0c) is about 0.024 W / m * K

So it took a long time for the sun to heat the morning air, but only a few minutes was a piece of metal warming up. The operation of CPU heat sink is also very simple.

A radiator consists of a heat exchanger, a heat transfer tube and a base. There is also a thermal disc above the CPU and thermal paste between the CPU and CPU radiator.

Soles (typically made of copper, but on cheaper radiators than aluminum) connect directly to the heat plate above the CPU. Heat transfers from the CPU thermal plate to the heat sink, which helps connect the base of the radiator and the heat plate. Then the sole connects to the heat pipe. Soles and tubes are typically made of copper because they have good heat transfer capacity.

Picture a radiator

Heat pipes have tiny holes inside and a space to contain liquids / gases. When the heat passes from the substrate to the tube, it will heat the liquid to such an extent that it evaporates and turns into gas. Then, it moves between the tubes until it is cold enough to return to the liquid state. When again liquid, it flows through the material inside the tube until it returns to the substrate and is so hot that it evaporates.

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