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Questions tagged [heatsink]

A device designed to passively remove heat from a heat source, such as a CPU.

A heatsink is a device designed to passively remove heat from a heat source. Heatsinks are typically attached to CPUs and have a fan installed on top for efficient cooling. Some low-power systems can be passively cooled using only a heatsink, eliminating the noise of the fan. Basic heatsinks are typically simple blocks of metal with fins cut into them to increase heat dispersion; more advanced varieties may use heat pipes or vapor chambers.

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Tiny copper waffle squares inside computer

I've been hearing a sound from inside my MSI GE60 laptop for a while now, so I opened it up to find that these two tiny copper waffle squares came loose. They were originally stuck to the board with some black adhesive, so I stuck them on again, but…
eyqs
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Is it OK to use toothpaste instead of thermal paste when fitting a CPU?

I was told many years ago to do this by someone who at the time knew more than I did. The CPU was a celeron in the Pentium 2 era. It ran cooler with the toothpaste between the chip and the heatsink than what it did with nothing between. Has anyone…
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Does the color of a heatsink affect its performance in dissipating heat?

I know that heatsinks come in different fin forms and those different fin forms affect the way how they dissipate heat. However, there's something I could not get about them and it's their color. Can someone explain how does color affect a heatsink…
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Can I remove and put back the heatsink of my processor without reapplying thermal paste?

If I remove the heatsink from my processor temporarily, then later put it back without changing the heatsink or CPU, do I need to reapply thermal paste?
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Does a CPU heatsink need to cover the entire CPU package? (Xeon E5-1650, Arctic Freezer i11)

I've just purchased an Intel Xeon E5-1650-V3, which I intend to use in a workstation (mid-tower). As a CPU cooler, I bought an Arctic Freezer i11. (The motherboard is an ASrock X99 Extreme4.) I've assembled many PCs in the past, but never with a…
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What's the proper way to remove thermal paste from a CPU?

I'm replacing the heatsink on my CPU, and want to clear the current thermal paste. What should I do?
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Heatsink compatibility for the new Intel Skylake processors (LGA1151)

The new Intel Skylake processors have just released, but they don't come with a fan/heatsink. As a result, I have to purchase a third party heatsink, but it seems there are none yet listed on popular sites that support LGA1151. I hear a lot of…
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What is the gum like thing on the heat sink?

See the attached picture. What is the gum like thing? Should I replace it with thermal paste? Thanks! Update Thank you guys! I replaced it with new thermal paste and my laptop is not burning anymore! This particular thermal pad is quite thin,…
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Five year old unopened boxed CPU – is the stock thermal compound still good?

I have obtained an unopened, sealed, boxed CPU dating back to 2009. It’s an Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 with heatsink + thermal compound pre-applied. Is the stock thermal compound still OK to use after five years on the shelf?
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Is it safe to place heat sink such that it joins multiple voltage regulators?

This is quite possibly a stupid question, but the GPU cooler I bought leaves me with little choice but to position heat sinks such that they straddle and join multiple voltage regulators. Is this a bad (ie. disastrous) path to take? The heat sinks…
me--
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Does heat sink compound degrade with time?

Does heat sink compound degrade with time? How long isv it recommended before I replace my CPU heat sink compound? I have a DELL Studio 17" notebook with core i7 from the lastv one and av half years and it is making more fan noise now than when it…
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Can I use an LGA 1156/1155 heatsink on an LGA 1150 motherboard?

I'm considering moving to Haswell from Nehalem by just getting a new mobo and CPU, but I'm not sure if I can keep my current heatsink. Can an LGA 1156 heatsink be mounted on to an LGA 1150 motherboard? Edit: I just read 1156 heatsinks fit 1155…
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Would a large aluminum (or copper) block make a good heatsink?

I was just curious how much of a difference having the fins makes in a heatsink vs just a large block of metal.
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How to unglue microprocessor from heat sink?

I disassembled a Dell Precision 530 and replaced 5! bad capacitors. I tried to reassemble it, but I realized that I cannot succeed unless I can remove the microprocessor from the heat sink. The ZIF socket locking handle is under the heat sink. I…
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Replacing fan on stock AMD AM3 heatsink with a quieter one?

I've recently built a new PC which includes the AM3 Phenom II x4 955 Black Edition processor. I've been using the stock heatsink and fan because I can't get any aftermarket coolers to get my CPU as cool as the stock (idling in the low 30s and…
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