The Super Heatsink/Fan
I’ll briefly explain how you cool a computer.
Most people might think you cool a computer by placing a fan over the parts that get hot. Whilst true, this isn’t exactly true.
When a computer chip gets hot, the area that’s hot is often really small. The heat can often be condensed over a cm or two.
Because of this, first you need to spread out the heat, and then cool it off with a fan. This is done with a heatsink. Basically, a heatsink makes contact with your CPU, and spreads out the heat over a large (generally finned) area. Then, a fan can easily blow it away.
I dislike noise coming from my computer (which is why i switched from an nvidia 8800GT to an 8800GTS, as it has a much more efficient cooler). Because of this, I decided to switch my heatsink.
I bought a beastly heatsink. The fan is also huge. By being so big, the fan can rotate much slower (thus being quieter) whilst still moving enough air (CFM).
It was actually a little tricky to install. I had to bolt it to the motherboard (because it weighs too much to use the useless intel clips). I placed a metal plate below the motherboard, and screwed right through it. It holds very tightly 🙂