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Which heat sink dissipateds heat better... Copper or Aluminum?
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If something conducts heat better, it also dissipates it. Correct? I think the 'aluminum dissipates better' is a common misconception. Look at the SLK's - they're the best heatsinks out there, and they're solid copper. The reason heatsinks have copper slugs and aluminum fins is because the copper conducts heat to the aluminum fins better than aluminum, and from there out aluminum is cheaper, ligher, easier to work with, and gets the job done.Ah, not true. Copper conducts heat better, aluminum dissipates it better
Nope. Conduction is when heat moves through a material, dissipation (or more correctly, convection) is when heat moves from one material to another (i.e. from a heatsink to air).johan851 said:
If something conducts heat better, it also dissipates it. Correct?
JKeefe said:Ah, not true. Copper conducts heat better, aluminum dissipates it better (in this case I'm taking better to mean "faster"). It has to do with the specific heat properties of each metal. This is why you see aluminum heatsinks with copper slug cores.
This should be in the cooling section, where lots of people will argue about it.
johan851 said:
If something conducts heat better, it also dissipates it. Correct? I think the 'aluminum dissipates better' is a common misconception. Look at the SLK's - they're the best heatsinks out there, and they're solid copper. The reason heatsinks have copper slugs and aluminum fins is because the copper conducts heat to the aluminum fins better than aluminum, and from there out aluminum is cheaper, ligher, easier to work with, and gets the job done.
Haha. I think you mean graphite (i.e. diamond). Granite is a rather unremarkable igneous rock.james.miller said:Just because the top performers are all copper doesnt mean all-copper is the best material to use. Everybody knows granite would own - but they dont use that.....(yes i know that sbecuase of the price......)
JKeefe said:Haha. I think you mean graphite (i.e. diamond). Granite is a rather unremarkable igneous rock.
no mention of the word 'miracle' in my posts, NO LIFE. if you care to do a little digging, you'll see that 9/10 test show the alx and slk 800's to be neck and neck. yet the alx is, once again, lighter and CHEAPER. Thats what they really have going for them.james.miller said:nope. Take a look at the Alu/copper Thermalright alx-800. Virtually identical to its all copper brother in dimentions, the slk-800, yet it performs virtually identically, and in some cases better.
Look at the SLK's - they're the best heatsinks out there, and they're solid copper.
no mention of the word 'miracle' in my posts, NO LIFE
If the al/cu combo is so great, then why didnt thermalright use it on their top of the line cooler?