{"video_id":"tX2VKEesUiE","title":"What is a Heatsink as Fast As Possible","channel":"Techquickie","show":"Techquickie","published_at":"2014-05-07T14:58:16Z","duration_s":314,"segments":[{"start_s":0.08,"end_s":7.44,"text":"Modern electronics pack an incredible amount of complexity into a very small","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":4.48,"end_s":13.04,"text":"space which creates a lot of heat. Heat that if left unchecked could reduce the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":9.92,"end_s":14.719,"text":"lifespan or even destroy outright the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":13.04,"end_s":18.48,"text":"processor that created it. That's why when you first open up a PC or other","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":16.72,"end_s":23.76,"text":"electronic device, one of the first things you'll see is one or more large","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":21.039,"end_s":28.48,"text":"metal objects called heat sinks. Inside a PC, heat sinks will be found on the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":25.76,"end_s":33.36,"text":"CPU, graphics card, motherboard, inside the power supply, and even in other","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":30.48,"end_s":37.2,"text":"places as needed. As you can see, they can look very different from each other,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":35.28,"end_s":41.84,"text":"but they all serve the same basic purpose, to remove heat from delicate","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":39.6,"end_s":45.36,"text":"components and extend their lifetimes. Let's walk through some of the different","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":43.36,"end_s":49.28,"text":"kinds of heat sinks you might encounter. First up is the heat spreader. This is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":47.28,"end_s":53.76,"text":"the most basic heat sink, and it consists of a simple flat piece of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":51.44,"end_s":57.199,"text":"metal. It only moderately improves heat dissipation. Because while metal will","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":55.44,"end_s":62.079,"text":"transfer heat to the surrounding air faster than plastic, it would be much","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":59.44,"end_s":66.4,"text":"more effective if it also increased the size of the area of the surface that's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":64.32,"end_s":71.28,"text":"being used to transfer that heat. That leads us to our next common type,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":68.479,"end_s":75.119,"text":"passive pinned or finned heat sinks. These are basically heat spreaders with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":73.52,"end_s":79.36,"text":"structures on top of them that dramatically increase the surface area","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":77.36,"end_s":83.119,"text":"that can be used to dissipate heat to the surrounding air. They are much more","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":81.2,"end_s":87.36,"text":"effective than heat spreaders, but they are also more expensive to make and they","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":85.28,"end_s":91.759,"text":"take up more space. Speaking of taking up space, adding a fan to blow air","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":89.52,"end_s":96.799,"text":"directly at a thinned or pinned heat sink is relatively inexpensive and very","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":94.96,"end_s":101.52,"text":"space efficient as a means of dramatically improving heatsink","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":98.96,"end_s":105.759,"text":"performance. For this reason, actively cooled thinned heat sinks are one of the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":103.68,"end_s":112.0,"text":"most common types of heat sinks found in PC systems where size and cost are major","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":109.439,"end_s":116.479,"text":"design factors. Speaking of cost, the most effective and the most expensive","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":114.159,"end_s":122.159,"text":"common type of heat sink in a PC is a heat pipe or vapor chamber heatsink. For","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":119.439,"end_s":127.68,"text":"very hot components like CPUs or graphics cards, the limiting factor of a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":125.04,"end_s":132.48,"text":"standard thinned heat sink's performance is no longer the speed at which the fins","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":130.56,"end_s":136.8,"text":"can be used to dissipate heat to the air, but rather the speed at which the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":134.64,"end_s":141.68,"text":"heat can be moved away from the very small processor core to the fins in the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":139.76,"end_s":145.84,"text":"first place. Heat pipes and vapor chambers usually consist of an outer","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":143.76,"end_s":150.239,"text":"copper wall and a material inside that is constantly changing phases between","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":148.239,"end_s":155.36,"text":"liquid and gas. They can be used to carry heat away from a small heat source","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":153.04,"end_s":159.76,"text":"extremely quickly to a large array of heatsink fins where it can be dissipated","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":157.44,"end_s":164.319,"text":"to the air. So far, I've talked mostly about surface area and how that helps,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":161.84,"end_s":169.04,"text":"but there are other factors that affect heatsink performance. For example,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":166.48,"end_s":173.68,"text":"copper performs better than aluminum as a heatsink material. And among aluminum","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":171.599,"end_s":178.8,"text":"alloys, some of them are better than others. But the material selection, like","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":176.64,"end_s":182.08,"text":"many of these other factors, cannot be controlled by anyone other than the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":180.4,"end_s":186.159,"text":"manufacturer. So might not be that useful to you. But what can you do to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":184.4,"end_s":190.56,"text":"improve your heatsink's performance? Number one is to lower the ambient","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":188.159,"end_s":195.2,"text":"temperature. If cracking open a window lowers the room temperature by 5°, it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":193.28,"end_s":199.92,"text":"will lower your heat sink temperature by about 5°. Number two is more air flow.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":198.319,"end_s":204.64,"text":"The faster the air moves over the heatsink, the better it will perform.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":202.239,"end_s":209.44,"text":"Number three is better thermal interface material. No two pieces of metal will","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":207.12,"end_s":213.84,"text":"ever meet up perfectly, and thermal interface materials fill in these micro","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":211.92,"end_s":217.68,"text":"gaps for better heat conduction or better heat transfer between them.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":215.68,"end_s":221.519,"text":"Replacing the subpar solutions that come pre-installed on your components with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":219.519,"end_s":225.84,"text":"high performance aftermarket thermal compound can easily lower temperatures","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":223.44,"end_s":230.72,"text":"by several degrees or more. Number four is mounting. A good solid mount improves","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":228.799,"end_s":235.599,"text":"the contact between a chip and a heatsink and ensures effective thermal","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":233.2,"end_s":240.56,"text":"transfer. Often a heatsink that isn't performing as expected is being held","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":237.76,"end_s":245.28,"text":"back by an air bubble trapped in between or a small component nearby that is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":243.12,"end_s":249.439,"text":"interfering with the heatsink's mounting pressure. Speaking of mounting pressure,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":247.92,"end_s":254.239,"text":"in spite of all the hubbub about the NSA, your digital privacy is still under","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":251.68,"end_s":258.16,"text":"attack. And there's not much you can do about it. But that doesn't mean you have","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":256.16,"end_s":262.479,"text":"to be completely undefended. Hotspot Shield is a proud sponsor of Fast as","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":260.239,"end_s":265.919,"text":"Possible, and their VPN service does a number of pretty cool things. One of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":264.24,"end_s":269.84,"text":"them happens to be that it makes it more difficult for someone to track your","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":267.44,"end_s":273.6,"text":"activities online and identify you. With one elite account, you can protect","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":271.28,"end_s":277.68,"text":"yourself across multiple PCs and even your phone or other mobile devices. It","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":275.84,"end_s":282.639,"text":"also has the handydandy effect of allowing you to fake your location to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":279.68,"end_s":286.8,"text":"the websites you're visiting. Hello, USA Netflix. Even for non-Americans, am I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":284.639,"end_s":290.32,"text":"right? You can get 20% off Hotspot Shield Elite by using offer code Linus.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":288.8,"end_s":293.759,"text":"So check it out today. And if you're not 100% sure, then you can always get a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":292.0,"end_s":298.32,"text":"free trial of Elite. I believe it's for one week. Thanks guys for watching this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":295.84,"end_s":301.44,"text":"fast as possible on heat sinks. Like the video if you liked it, dislike it if you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":299.759,"end_s":304.639,"text":"disliked it. Leave a comment and let me know if you learned something. And maybe","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":302.96,"end_s":308.72,"text":"tell me what it was. Or if you didn't learn something, maybe tell me what you didn't learn. I don't know. The more","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":307.039,"end_s":314.88,"text":"comments are below, the like better my search rankings are. So go to town. And","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":311.199,"end_s":314.88,"text":"as always, don't forget to subscribe.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"Modern electronics pack an incredible amount of complexity into a very small space which creates a lot of heat. Heat that if left unchecked could reduce the lifespan or even destroy outright the processor that created it. That's why when you first open up a PC or other electronic device, one of the first things you'll see is one or more large metal objects called heat sinks. Inside a PC, heat sinks will be found on the CPU, graphics card, motherboard, inside the power supply, and even in other places as needed. As you can see, they can look very different from each other, but they all serve the same basic purpose, to remove heat from delicate components and extend their lifetimes. Let's walk through some of the different kinds of heat sinks you might encounter. First up is the heat spreader. This is the most basic heat sink, and it consists of a simple flat piece of metal. It only moderately improves heat dissipation. Because while metal will transfer heat to the surrounding air faster than plastic, it would be much more effective if it also increased the size of the area of the surface that's being used to transfer that heat. That leads us to our next common type, passive pinned or finned heat sinks. These are basically heat spreaders with structures on top of them that dramatically increase the surface area that can be used to dissipate heat to the surrounding air. They are much more effective than heat spreaders, but they are also more expensive to make and they take up more space. Speaking of taking up space, adding a fan to blow air directly at a thinned or pinned heat sink is relatively inexpensive and very space efficient as a means of dramatically improving heatsink performance. For this reason, actively cooled thinned heat sinks are one of the most common types of heat sinks found in PC systems where size and cost are major design factors. Speaking of cost, the most effective and the most expensive common type of heat sink in a PC is a heat pipe or vapor chamber heatsink. For very hot components like CPUs or graphics cards, the limiting factor of a standard thinned heat sink's performance is no longer the speed at which the fins can be used to dissipate heat to the air, but rather the speed at which the heat can be moved away from the very small processor core to the fins in the first place. Heat pipes and vapor chambers usually consist of an outer copper wall and a material inside that is constantly changing phases between liquid and gas. They can be used to carry heat away from a small heat source extremely quickly to a large array of heatsink fins where it can be dissipated to the air. So far, I've talked mostly about surface area and how that helps, but there are other factors that affect heatsink performance. For example, copper performs better than aluminum as a heatsink material. And among aluminum alloys, some of them are better than others. But the material selection, like many of these other factors, cannot be controlled by anyone other than the manufacturer. So might not be that useful to you. But what can you do to improve your heatsink's performance? Number one is to lower the ambient temperature. If cracking open a window lowers the room temperature by 5°, it will lower your heat sink temperature by about 5°. Number two is more air flow. The faster the air moves over the heatsink, the better it will perform. Number three is better thermal interface material. No two pieces of metal will ever meet up perfectly, and thermal interface materials fill in these micro gaps for better heat conduction or better heat transfer between them. Replacing the subpar solutions that come pre-installed on your components with high performance aftermarket thermal compound can easily lower temperatures by several degrees or more. Number four is mounting. A good solid mount improves the contact between a chip and a heatsink and ensures effective thermal transfer. Often a heatsink that isn't performing as expected is being held back by an air bubble trapped in between or a small component nearby that is interfering with the heatsink's mounting pressure. Speaking of mounting pressure, in spite of all the hubbub about the NSA, your digital privacy is still under attack. And there's not much you can do about it. But that doesn't mean you have to be completely undefended. Hotspot Shield is a proud sponsor of Fast as Possible, and their VPN service does a number of pretty cool things. One of them happens to be that it makes it more difficult for someone to track your activities online and identify you. With one elite account, you can protect yourself across multiple PCs and even your phone or other mobile devices. It also has the handydandy effect of allowing you to fake your location to the websites you're visiting. Hello, USA Netflix. Even for non-Americans, am I right? You can get 20% off Hotspot Shield Elite by using offer code Linus. So check it out today. And if you're not 100% sure, then you can always get a free trial of Elite. I believe it's for one week. Thanks guys for watching this fast as possible on heat sinks. Like the video if you liked it, dislike it if you disliked it. Leave a comment and let me know if you learned something. And maybe tell me what it was. Or if you didn't learn something, maybe tell me what you didn't learn. I don't know. The more comments are below, the like better my search rankings are. So go to town. And as always, don't forget to subscribe."}