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Introduction to the Material of Heat Sinks
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When it comes to the material of heat sinks, each material has different thermal conductivity properties. Ranked from highest to lowest thermal conductivity, they are silver, copper, aluminum, and steel. However, using silver for heat sinks would be prohibitively expensive, making copper the best practical choice. While aluminum is significantly cheaper, its thermal conductivity is clearly inferior to copper—roughly only about 50% as effective.
Commonly used materials for heat sinks are copper and aluminum alloy, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Copper boasts excellent thermal conductivity but comes at a higher cost, is more challenging to machine, and tends to be too heavy—many all-copper heat sinks even exceed the weight limits imposed by CPU manufacturers. Additionally, copper has relatively low thermal capacity and is prone to oxidation. On the other hand, pure aluminum is far too soft for direct use; it must be alloyed to achieve sufficient strength. Aluminum alloys offer the benefits of being affordable and lightweight, though their thermal conductivity is significantly lower than that of copper. To combine the best of both worlds, some heat sinks feature an embedded copper plate in the base of the aluminum alloy design.
For the average user, aluminum heat sinks are already sufficient to meet cooling requirements.
In northern regions, the radiators used for winter heating are also called heat sinks.
Heat sinks play a crucial role in the construction of radiators; beyond the active cooling provided by fans, evaluating the quality of a radiator largely depends on the heat sink's ability to absorb heat and its efficiency in conducting thermal energy.
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