SPCR

http://www.madshrimps.be/gotofaqlink.php?linkid=2311

Here's a really inventive article about a DIY HS that worked out well. Nothing earth shattering just solid logic and implementation, and a reason we scavenge every last heat sink we get our hands on. Cosmetics are hardly addressed beyond sanding edges for safety reasons.

NOTE - You need to use the scroll bar on the web page to read the article, not the scroll bar in windows.

Thanks for the link. Yes, it looks like a very decent job and easy to do as well.

Generally speaking, do longer prongs yield better cooling performance?

I remember reading a review about HDD cooling on the main page, where the author cut two 7.5" Al profiles and attached them on the sides of a HDD and the temperature readings were a lot better than any other cooling methods he had used. The profiles were stucking an inch or two from the harddrive cage, but the outcome was more than satisfying.

So, the longer the better?

Hey, looks similar to what I did to cool my GPU. Although it looks like he did a better, more clean job than me. And he's got pictures of the progress. I did this before i had my dremel even so it was pretty much a hack job. Works well though.

I did a similar thing to cool some VRMs or MOSFETs or whatever they are called (other than hot!) on one of my motherboards... just sawed off an appropriately sized piece of some other chipset heatsink.

I didn't worry about lapping, I was attaching with thermal tape anyhow. That was one nice job there, but I figure, no-one is looking inside the case, so I went pragmatic and just sandpapered the sharp bits off.

Old slot2 Xeon heatsinks are great for these types of projects. Close to 120mmx120mmx25mm. Not only big but bases are even. Those old socket green heatsinks that are in that example article have stepped bases so they fit ontop of the raised part of the socket. Can find lots of good pin fin ones on ebay for pennies. I've used those for countless projects. CPU heatsinks, nb heatsinks, ramsinks for videocards, etc.

Generally speaking, do longer prongs yield better cooling performance?

I think what matters is increased surface area, not how you obtain it. Lots more smaller prongs would probably work as well for the most part.

I did a similar thing to cool some VRMs or MOSFETs or whatever they are called (other than hot!) on one of my motherboards... just sawed off an appropriately sized piece of some other chipset heatsink.

I posted it to get people thinking.

Old slot2 Xeon heatsinks are great for these types of projects

Yes, check out Nexfan.com, all kinds of older slot coolers that are huge. 486 coolers perfect size as NB coolers for $3. Like you sid probably get them for pennies at some PC swap meet.

I thought about attaching some of them to those silly heat pipe systems that attach the NB to the SB to the MOSFETs.

aristide1 wrote:

Generally speaking, do longer prongs yield better cooling performance?

I think what matters is increased surface area, not how you obtain it. Lots more smaller prongs would probably work as well for the most part.

I have an old Alpha PAL 8045 here:





It worked very well with my old CPU, but for a NB heatsink it looks like the prongs are too restrictive? On the other hand, the mass is enormous (maybe too much so, the heatsink weighs 500 g and measures 80mm x 80mm x 45mm).
I am not going to use it as a CPU cooler anymore, maybe someone has experience with using heatsinks like this one (big and restrictive) or maybe someone can guesstimate how it will do?

I saw the Alpha at NewEgg, I wish they would test it here. Probably requires a fan attached directly to it, like on top.

Very impressive.

I think its too much weight for 2 pushpins. You need to make it smaller. If you scan everything at NewEgg you will see several in a 50*50 size.

If you think it needs a fan on top to cool it for a NB, I won't go that way.
Ofcourse it needs to be cut to be able to fit it on a NB chip (like in the link you provided in your first post), I pasted the pics to show what kind of prongs it has.
It's hard to imagine how it will perform, it has mass but it also looks restricted.