Question about Alpha P3125S

[mark]

On the alpha it has the fans set up to intake air through the fins. Do you think that If I reverse the fans, to have the air blow onto the heat-sink fins it may be cooler?
Anyways, Check it out...

 

[Hoot]

Typically, blowing arrangements do not have a shroud. I would expect that the performance would be better with the shroud removed, if you intend to blow air into the fins. On sucking air out, the opposite is true.

Hoot

 

[mark]

What shroud? and it will be cooler if I have the air blowing IN to the fins?

 

[Hoot]

Looking at your diagram, it would represent the solid sheet metal surrounding the fins. Typically, if you blow into the heatsink, you don't want the sides covered by sheet metal. However, try flipping the fans with it in place and see if your temps improve. Keep in mind that looking at the diagram, the exhaust air will exit the assembly through the small rectangular opening. Whatever components lie just beyond that opening will get heated by the exhaust plume. This does not happen with the shroud removed. Look at some dealer Web pages that have pictures of different heatsinks. You will see some with no sheet metal around the fins, like the GlobalWin FOP and WBK models. Those are blower types. Some will have a shroud around the part of the fins near the mounting point of the fan. They are typically sucking types.

Hoot

 

[Yomama]

I used this great fan/heatsink combo on a number of slot 1 processors and on a peltier once. Even after almost 2 years it is still truely state of the art.

Regarding "blowing vs. sucking" (oh man what a topic....) bear in mind that if the fans blows down onto the motherboard heat may accumulate at the bottom of the heatsink, and prevent effective cooling. In particular if the ram chips are close to the heatsink it can create a heat trap. Try it out, but my bet is on sucking, the same applies btw to the Alpha PAL, that is used with slotkets.

Yo

 

[Remington]

What about on a cooler such as the GlobalWin Fop32-1??

To Suck or Blow, that is the question.

 

[bdf24]

We need some women OC's in here to be talking about sucking and blowing. HAHAHA, Just kidding!

When I first got my slot 1 Alpha, I had it blowing onto the heatsink. It still kept my temps down. but when I installed my peltier I turned the fans around so I wasnt blowing all that hot air onto the chipset. Your chip set is right under that heatsink and blowing the air down on it will get it hotter.