Cpu Heatsink Function

A finned air cooled heatsink with fan clipped onto a cpu with a smaller passive heatsink without fan in the background a 3 fan heatsink mounted on a video card to maximize cooling efficiency of the gpu and surrounding components commodore 128dcr computer s switch mode power supply with a user installed 40 mm cooling fan.

Cpu heatsink function.

There are two heat sink types. But sometimes the heat sink itself can become too hot. This can happen if the cpu is running at full capacity for an extended period of time or if the air surrounding the computer is simply too hot. Typical heatsink fan combination found on a consumer laptop.

The picture is an example of a heat sink that has both active and passive cooling mechanisms. Stands for heat sink and fan nearly all computers have heat sinks which help keep the cpu cool and prevent it from overheating. When you use heavy applications such as video games and video editing software the cpu can produce excess heat which may cause your computer to freeze. The heat sink has a thermal conductor that carries heat away from the cpu into fins that provide a large surface area for the heat to dissipate throughout the rest of the computer thus cooling both the heat sink and processor.

The heatpipes which contain a working fluid make direct contact with the cpu and gpu conducting heat away from the component and transferring it to the fin stack mounted on the exhaust port of the cooling fan. It may also shorten the life of your cpu or cause immediate.