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Aluminum/Copper HSF vs Copper HSF

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EmAzY

Registered
Joined
Nov 12, 2003
Location
Vancouver *604*
Hi guys just curious bout something.

We all know the advantage of aluminum over copper and copper to aluminum and combining both elements.

Why did Thermalright stop the design of the AX7 which had aluminum/copper elements then moved to all copper hsf such as today's slk 700/800/900/SP...

Was it easier for them to make all copper over aluminum/copper combo is that the reason why....

Just a thought, please post your opinions or anything you guys have to say regarding the topic.

K thx in advance.
 
maybe the cooling wasnt sufficient enough for their reputation?

or........maybe, its a conspiracy : o :
 
seriously, they would split.... never heard that before....

the design was really great compared to the all copper one if you ask me... i think it was very innovative design to have copper/aluminum combo and a heatpipe in additional would be the dream team.
 
well... i used to think that it was best to have a mix of the two elements in a HSF rather than all one or all the other. but lots of folks here say that all copper is better than copper (core) and aluminum (fins). i'm still not sure who to believe, but i know my aeroflow (cu core, al fins) is sweet, so that's good enough for me.
 
in my opinion i think the ax7 design is better than the alx800...

it looked sorta cheap...

and im on the alum/copper combo myself... but i dont know why people keep saying that copper is way better...


i tried slk700 and 800
and my ax7 beats both of them...
 
Aluminum shouldn't be better at 'dissipating heat'. I believe materials will conduct heat to the air at a rate reflecting their thermal conductivity, and copper is quite a bit better at conducting heat.

Aluminum may have other physical characteristics making it better for some purposes in a heatsink. For example, it is lighter and harder than copper, and so one could produce a bigger surface for dissipating heat without bendable fins or exceeding the weight limit (whatever that is.)

the wesson
 
I did some searching. I found this in a heatsink review.

The VP4-C7040 uses the tried and true copper core with the surrounding heatsink made of aluminum. In theory and in practice, this makes sense, since copper is a great conductor (absorbs heat quickly). So, the copper absorbs heat quickly, taking it off the heatsink. Unfortunately, copper also retains the heat, and this is where aluminum comes into play. Aluminum, also a great conductor, doesn’t as readily absorb the heat, but it does dissipate it faster than copper. So, putting the two metals together, the copper can quickly accept the heat from the CPU core, and then transfer the heat to the aluminum fins which dissipate the heat into the surrounding air. One thing to note about this particular heatsink is the thin fins, and many of them! The more surface area, the better the heat can be transferred into the passing air.
 
What is funny though is that the copper/alum mixes do not beat out all copper HSFs in heat dissipation. If Alum/Copper mix is TRULY better than an all copper HSF, wouldn't there be one at the top of the heatsink ratings? Instead it is ruled by all copper heatsinks. I know when I left my Volcano 9 and moved to my SLK800 I experienced dramastic drops in temps. When my friend moved from his AX7 to SLK800 he experienced the very same effect. Coincedence? I think not.
 
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here are some temps for ya

I can't explain it beating out a SLK800...but using the same fan on all of them it gets beaten easily by the SLK900.
 
i had slk700 and slk800...

and my ax7 beats both of them handsdown...

2 degree les than slk800... maybe concded or maybe not... but anyhow... so the copper/aluminum combo failed on its chemistry element mixture or it didnt...
 
Maybe "dissipation" is too general a term. Perhaps we should look at dissipation as a combination of metal/air conduction + thermal radiation. If this is the case, then a cu/al heatsink's overall ability to dissipate heat would be a trade off between the thermal conductivity of cu vs the al's ability to radiate heat better.
 
ya i think you are correct there my friend.
Huckleberry said:
Maybe "dissipation" is too general a term. Perhaps we should look at dissipation as a combination of metal/air conduction + thermal radiation. If this is the case, then a cu/al heatsink's overall ability to dissipate heat would be a trade off between the thermal conductivity of cu vs the al's ability to radiate heat better.
 
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