Hello sci, i have a question regarding computer heatsinks. As far as i understand, heat dissipation comes from the surface area from which the heat can be transferred to the air, from the CPU. Whereas the mass of the heatsink determines how quickly these heatsinks are "saturated" and hit whatever the highest temperature they will hit?So take two heatsinks with identical surface area, but one has a mass around 50% higher. They will eventually hit the same max temperatures, but the one with a lower mass will hit the max temperature faster, but also lower it's temperature faster. Am i understanding it right?
>>16801893Roughly speaking that is correct yes
>>16801893Assuming the CPU is generating the same heat and the ambient air temperature is the same, yes.
>>16801899>>16801926Thank you. I noticed Noctua coolers seem to be quite heavy compared to other coolers, with similar load temperatures, everything else being equal. I would assume this is to keep the fans running at lower RPMs for longer, and also allowing the CPUs to boost clocks for longer, thanks to their higher mass.This comes at a cost of more than double the price in many instances.
>>16801934Real world doesn't operate like that, heavy coolers are heavy because there's more metal in them which is there to increase surface area or heat conductivity or something. It's not worth it to add metal just to act as an "extra heatsink" though that may be a desirable side effect.
the mass is only important here because the materials are the same.the physical quantity that determines by how much something's temperature increases given how much energy you add is specific heat capacity.
>>16801934The Noctua is likely using a copper cold plate instead of aluminum. Certain thermal pastes will eat aluminum but otherwise the advantages are minimal.
