Please explain what this motherboard part does

[Claycrusher]

The large gold pieces above and to the left of the cpu slot. The guy's hand is resting on it in the image.

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/MPpx9USEqXg/maxresdefault.jpg

I'm mainly concerned whether it gets hot or not. I have a cable touching it and don't want the cable to melt.

 

[Archaic59]

Yes it's a heatsink and it will get hot. Try to reroute the cable away from it.

 

[Rookie_MIB]

It's a heatsink for the Voltage Regulation Modules. Will they get hot? Yes. Hot enough to melt wires? Unlikely. Usually it is a good idea to keep things off the heatsink so they do their job, but if you have enough airflow in the chassis it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[getochkn]

That is the heatsink for the VRM's which regulate the voltage for the CPU. It can get very hot. Hot enough to melt a cable, I don't know, but they do get too hot to touch.

 

[Claycrusher]

Good thing I asked. Thanks!