This my be a stupid question, but what is a Heatsink on a PC?

Answer 1

It is the way that your PC keeps some of the hottest chips from overheating. The chip itself is not mechanically efficient at getting rid of the heat, so something is attached to it to assist. It could be something as simple as a big piece of PC etch, but usually it is some finned thing that gives the chip a better heat transfer to the air in the box. Some chips get so hot they even have a fan build into the heat sink. The price we pay for speed.

Answer 2

the heatsink helps keep the processer cool with help from a fan.it pulls the heat off the processer. every 5 or 6 months you should clean the dust off with a can of dust off for computers.blow all the dust off your fans ,heatsink,motherboard.when you blow the air off the fans make sure that you use a straw to hold the fan from spinning when you use the air this way you will not burn up the bearing in the fan.. this will help keep your computer run cool and make it last longer if you dont clean the dust off over time dust will build up and the heat sink and the fans will not be able to keep unit cool

Answer 3

A PC heat sink is usually a finned copper or aluminum device that sits atop the CPU to draw heat away from the CPU, thus cooling it. It typically dissipates heat from itself by a fan attached to it or from the airflow traveling through the case. Extreme heat causes data corruption and crashing thus the heat sink is a small but vital part of a PC.

Think of how a car radiator functions... it is similar except that a heat sink works by direct contact

Answer 4

A heat sink is an environment or object that absorbs and dissipates heat from another object using thermal contact (either direct or radiant). Heat sinks are used in a wide range of applications wherever efficient heat dissipation is required; major examples include refrigeration, heat engines and cooling electronic devices.

Answer 5

A heat sink is an environment or object that absorbs and dissipates heat from another object using thermal contact (either direct or radiant). Heat sinks are used in a wide range of applications wherever efficient heat dissipation is required; major examples include refrigeration, heat engines and cooling electronic devices.

Heat sinks function by efficiently transferring thermal energy ("heat") from an object at high temperature to a second object at a lower temperature with a much greater heat capacity. This rapid transfer of thermal energy quickly brings the first object into thermal equilibrium with the second, lowering the temperature of the first object, fulfilling the heat sinks role as a cooling device. Efficient function of a heat sink relies on rapid transfer of thermal energy from the first object to the heat sink, and the heat sink to the second object.

The most common design of a heat sink is a metal device with many fins. The high thermal conductivity of the metal combined with its large surface area result in the rapid transfer of thermal energy to the surrounding, cooler, air. This cools the heat sink and whatever it is in direct thermal contact with. Use of fluids (for example coolants in refrigeration) and thermal interface material (in cooling electronic devices) ensures good transfer of thermal energy to the heat sink. Similarly a fan may improve the transfer of thermal energy from the heat sink to the air.

Answer 6

As an electronics student i can tell you that a heatsink disperses heat from semicoductor circuits in order for your computer doesnt fry.

Answer 7

In your PC there is a Metal Flanged unit, (sometimes with a Fan) that is directly attached to your Main Processor Chip. It dissipates the heat from your processor.