Difference between a CPU fan and heatsink?

JohnJSal

JohnJSal

Active Member
Well, since one option is to buy the E8400 from TigerDirect without the fan/heatsink, I'm investigating aftermarket coolers. But what is the difference between a fan and a heatsink, and why does Newegg distinguish between "Fan & Heatsink" and "Heatsink Only"? Is it better to get one or the other? From what I can tell, you can have a heatsink without a fan, but you can't have a fan without a heatsink.
 
you are spot on you can have just a heat sink but you can not just have a fan.
now what is better i think they keep temps about the same for the same price, a heat sink an fan is much smaller as well.
 
reddevil6 said:
you are spot on you can have just a heat sink but you can not just have a fan.
now what is better i think they keep temps about the same for the same price, a heat sink an fan is much smaller as well.
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You will want a fan for your heat sink.Most heat sinks out there come with a fan.
 
And heatsink the the part that directly touched ur CPU on top. Most heatsinks have a fan blow the heat <off?> the heatsink. U would definetly want teh HSF <heatsinkfan> combo. THe zalmans and nirvanas are quite good.
 
But what is the difference between a fan and a heatsink
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Vizy tapped on it, but for a bit more in-depth answer, the difference is passively-cooled vs. actively-cooled.

Heat-sinks (hunk of metal only) passively cool. All they do is absorb heat from the CPU and let it dissipate into the case. Because they rely on fans up to 10 inches away, they tend to be much larger to hold more heat. If you search for 'Dell heat sink' on Ebay, you;ll get a feel for just how large they are. (For example, the one in this link is about 6-7 inches tall and *heavy*: http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Dimension-...ameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting)

HSFs actively cool. They absorb heat from the CPU like a plain heat-sink does, but the fan on them not only blows the heat away, but also sucks cooler air onto the fins. Because they have more bang-for-the-buck cooling power, they are small compared to versions without fans. Really, HSFs are the standard for custom-built systems. The main reason all the pre-built companies go with plain heat-sinks is for noise reasons.
 
Thanks guys! It did appear that the plain HS on Newegg were quite large, and not that I know what I'm looking at, I realize that in all custom builds I've seen, it's been a HSF combo.

Think I might go with the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, or perhaps the Zalman 9500A. They are both 92mm fans. Is that a normal size?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118223

I'm not crazy about the idea of having an LED when I won't even be able to see it in the P182. :)
 
hpi said:
Definitely get the Zalman, those things are kick ass!
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Stupid question: does having your components constantly exposed to an LED have any effect on them, particularly if it's an enclosed space with no window? There's something off-putting about knowing there's a light on inside my case that I can't see. Is it possible to turn the LED off?
 
JohnJSal said:
Stupid question: does having your components constantly exposed to an LED have any effect on them, particularly if it's an enclosed space with no window? There's something off-putting about knowing there's a light on inside my case that I can't see. Is it possible to turn the LED off?
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:P

No it won't do any damage or mess with any components or anything. LED's are just little semi conducting diodes.

People have there cases full of LED's and it's used in so many applications now a days.

Doesn't matter if you don't see the LED light, you can see it when you open up your case :).

Imo even though your not gonna see the little light you still got the performance that your gonna see in a temp program.
 
Yes, but its also much more expensive. I'd recommend the Nirvana NV120 if you want to spend more money than with the Freezer 7 Pro, which is a great budget cooler btw, since it preforms on par if not better than the Zalman 9700 for less.
 
Gogey said:
Yes, but its also much more expensive. I'd recommend the Nirvana NV120 if you want to spend more money than with the Freezer 7 Pro, which is a great budget cooler btw, since it preforms on par if not better than the Zalman 9700 for less.
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I think I might go with the Arctic, since it has a lot of great reviews and is pretty cheap. Of course, this is all assuming I can't find the E8400 retail. Although now I wonder if I should just go ahead with an aftermarket cooler anyway, especially for $27, if it will be better than the stock cooler.
 
Zalman is still better, it's 100% pure copper which is the best heat dissipater and heat absorbing.

Edit: If you don't wanna spend the extra $ on the Zalman then that 27$ extra will of course be better then the stock Intel cooling that's a guarantee.
 
imsati said:
...they rely on fans up to 10 inches away, they tend to be much larger to hold more heat...
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The concept behind heatsinks is that they get rid of heat quickly through convection through the air because of their large surface area. They don't hold heat. If the heatsink was warmer than the CPU, the CPU wouldn't transfer any heat to it.

The real reason heatsinks that were intended to be passive are so large is a little different, too. If you took a very large HSF like the Zalman 9700 and ripped the fan out of it, it'd be ineffective as a passive heatsink.

Passive heatsinks have a larger area between the "fins." This allows air to pass through the fins and pick up heat without being forced through by a fan. The Scythe ninja has almost a centimeter between each layer of fins.
 
Is there a way to know if it will work with a particular CPU? It says "All Core 2 Duo", but I read in a book that you should check if it works with your *specific* CPU, not just the general type.
 
JohnJSal said:
Is there a way to know if it will work with a particular CPU? It says "All Core 2 Duo", but I read in a book that you should check if it works with your *specific* CPU, not just the general type.
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Ya it has to be socket compatible and which one. Most say all dual cores and quad and all.

An LGA775 socket cpu will fit with an LGA775 compatible HSF.
 
fortyways said:
The concept behind heatsinks is that they get rid of heat quickly through convection through the air because of their large surface area. They don't hold heat. If the heatsink was warmer than the CPU, the CPU wouldn't transfer any heat to it.
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In response to my:
"Heat-sinks (hunk of metal only) passively cool. All they do is absorb heat from the CPU and let it dissipate into the case. Because they rely on fans up to 10 inches away, they tend to be much larger to hold more heat. If you search for 'Dell heat sink' on Ebay, you;ll get a feel for just how large they are. (For example, the one in this link is about 6-7 inches tall and *heavy*: http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Dimension-C...ayphotohosting)"

I never claimed they got warmer than the CPU. They, do however hold the heat from the CPU and allow it to dissipate into the surrounding area, as I thought I pretty much mentioned. You're partial-quote of my Post is a bit misleading, no offense, but did you read the entire Post and see "Because they have more bang-for-the-buck cooling power, they are small compared to versions without fans" in the next paragraph describing HSFs?

The real reason heatsinks that were intended to be passive are so large is a little different, too. If you took a very large HSF like the Zalman 9700 and ripped the fan out of it, it'd be ineffective as a passive heatsink.

Passive heatsinks have a larger area between the "fins." This allows air to pass through the fins and pick up heat without being forced through by a fan. The Scythe ninja has almost a centimeter between each layer of fins.
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Again, apples to oranges. Heat-sinks are designed differently from HSFs. If you take a large HSF and rip the fan off of it, of course it will under-perform because that's not how it was designed to work. Comparing the two is like comparing a Celeron from 8 years ago to a new 45nm C2D; yes, they're both CPU's, but other than that, nothing in common.
 
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