Active/Passive Heatsink

[mouldjaj]

Hi all,

Could some1 please tell me the difference between active and passive heatsink in terms of cpus.

Many thanks.

[JAC]

active heatsink has a fan or other cooling like phase change to make it work up to its power rating. They are much smaller than passive heatsinks for the same power rating. A passive heatsink is just the heatsink, no other devices.

[mouldjaj]

Thanks JAC

I suppose that means the passive ones are much quieter.

In terms of the cpus themselves is there a difference between the active & passive?

Many thanks.

[JAC]

Passive heatsinks are silent.. there is just the heatsink in the air. Good active heatsinks are virtually silent, and once placed inside the computer you cant hear them. I like the Zalman stuff, large copper flower with a 120mm fan suspended above it. I use a thermal feedback to control the fan speed. One resistor, one thermistor and one transistor. Homebrew The newer heatsinks use phase change technology and work much in the same way your fridge works.

The cpu doesnt know or care about the heatsink. You can use any type of heatsink you like, as long as you remove the heat from the cpu and keep it in operating temperature range.

[Mixeur]

Just an advice, don't try passive heatsinks with P4 ...