Question General physics of HSF

[Mactwentynine]

Generally, a HSF will be more efficient due it's combination of mass + the amount of air it moves across that mass (the fins), correct? So all other things being equal - any test environment (open, high airflow case, etc.), and the number of fins, width & depth of fins - those are the biggest factors.

You can dive into the minutiae of fans, but in general, PWM or not, any size of fan . . . a graph of "scores" is gonna show: big hunk of aluminum (etc.) + move lots of air = better cooler. Without getting into the size of the contact patch,etc.

You can argue about manufacturing quality, the 'physics' of black paint, etc., but that's what it comes down to. I can get all into CFM, and know I need lots vs. an airflow fan, but. . . A bigger cooler w/a good fan is going to cool more than a smaller cooler w/same fan.

I'd think that would be common knowledge. So if I want to switch out a fan on a HSF I could narrow the field by weight and price. Negating attachment method, contact method, for the moment.


Sound reasonable?

 

[Ralston18]

More information is needed.

What matters, as I understand it all, is that the cooling system fulfils the cooling specifications of the host system/CPU.

What are your current system hardware specs?

Are you overclocking or plan to do so?

Reference the following link - just for general purposes and not for any specific product:

https://www.logicalincrements.com/articles/build-pc-hsf-cpu-cooler-comparison-chart

What HSF/fan is now in place and what HSF/fan are you considering as a replacement?

I would put weight and price as secondary to ensuring that the system and CPU are properly cooled as usage and load vary.

If the requirements being addressed are narrowed down too much then something else is likely to go astray.

 

[Mactwentynine]

Uhh, this was a general Q about HSF qualities. Thanks for the link, it's one I've recently read/used. Wish there were more like this: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/891730-cpu-cooler-performance-tier-list/ only with a bit more information. It's really not as useful as your link in some ways.

But alright, I'll bite. I'm trying to buy a cooler I can use on Ryzen AM4 cpu's and hopefully Intel as well in case I switch down the line. Nothing for huge overclocks just average overclocks. I'm going mATX at the moment but may go back to ATX at some point. (Have a good sized mid tower but I'm downsizing currently.)

Want to stay on air and trying to find out what company's have simple attachment method since I'll switch this out a number of times. A major requirement is quiet, but I can always change out a fan as long as I match CFM I figure.

What I think I'm seeing is, in most cases, tall or squat, the more massive cooler gets higher marks. (Most of the time. Although I realize contact patch, direct pipe, etc. plays a part.) I plan on relatively high airflow setup, lean towards positive pressure (although I've seen some interesting negative pressure results) but can't buy yet b/c I haven't locked down a case for this 'build'.

So I'm trying to get some general pointers for a cooler I could use in several scenarios.


Thanks again for any interest.

 

[rubix_1011]

I'm the guy that does the cooler reviews for Tom's Hardware...what are the questions we are wishing to debate?

Cooling delta is based on several variables and changing any of them changes the outright performance.

• Airflow rate over the cooling fins due to fan CFM or coolant flow rate
• Material used for thermal exchange
• Overall volume and mass of the heat exchanger (radiator, heatsink, etc)
• Ambient air temperature
• Exchange efficiency (thermal paste, number of heatpipes or coolant tubes, etc)