Increases Life:
A direct advantage of these heat sinks is that they prevent the overheating of the processor or the machine and thus prevent it from any type of damage. In this way, heat sinks are helping to enhance the durability and life of the equipment or the machine. Had there been no heat sink, chances of damage to machine would have greatly increased.

Improves Efficiency:
Heat sink used in automobiles are a great way to increase the fuel efficiency and mileage. Aluminum is primarily used in automobiles because it is light in weight and thus renders a light-weight automobile. Its thermal conductivity is high and it comes at low cost. Thus the sink made out of aluminum is perfect for increasing the fuel efficiency and dissipating the heat energy.

Improves Performance:
The high speed computer and advanced operating refrigerators are a direct result of good processors which in turn is related to the working of heat sinks. Thus it is these heat sinks that render high speed and better performance capabilities to the machines and increases the life of the machines.

Prevents Damage:
One of the obvious advantages of using heat sink is to prevent the overheating of the processor or the machine by keeping the temperature within the operating limits. It is a recommended method by way of which damage of the machine or the processor may get prevented easily.

All these benefits are possible because of some of the unique designs and manufacturing of the fins that are used in the heat sink. These fins may have the shape of thin fins, thin plates or flat surface that are attached on the processor side or the heating side of the machines. The advantage of using these fins is that they occupy very little space while increasing the heat dissipating area significantly. The light weight, pointed shape and perfect flatness make them a very necessary part of the heat sinks.

Working of Residential Heat Sink

A residential heat sink is manufactured and designed in such a way so that it has a large surface area to dissipate maximum amount of heat to the surrounding. These heat sinks are always in contact with surrounding medium such as the air or cooling water which helps in faster removal of heat.  Thus these residential heat sinks are quite beneficial for these components because they reduce the risk of overheating of these components and save the components from temporary or permanent damage. Heat sinks have thermal conductor and air fans to regulate and expedite the process of cooling.

Performance of Heat Sink

The performance of these residential heat sinks depends on many factors such as the velocity of the surrounding medium such as air or cooling water, the material with which the sink is made, the designs of the fin and its surface area and the working temperature. The performance of these heat sinks can be determined by various methods which may include but are not limited to experimental methods, theoretical methods and numerical methods. Residential heat sinks are made up of different types of metals that facilitate the transfer of heat. Depending on the metal used, the rate of transfer and thus the performance of heat sinks may vary.

Applications of Heat Sinks

Heat sinks may be used in many electronic devices such as computers, DVD players, cell phones, refrigerators etc. These are very vital components in any electronic device because the absence of these heat sinks would result in improper heat regulation and functioning. These are mostly attached near the chips to prevent their overheating. Without these heat sinks, the modern day devices will not run at the speed with which they do now. These heat sinks also reduce the consumption of heat energy by the system.

Set the Connection

The first step includes attaching the heat sink to the fan of the processor. The attachment can be done using the screws provided with the fan or the sink. Clean the processor as well as the bottom of the sink for effective and proper installation. This is necessary to remove any dirt or dust particles from the sink. After this, heat sink compounds are usually applied on the surface of the processor. Most of the heat sinks come with good quality of compounds along with them. Applying a very thin layer of heat sink compound on the top of the processor is just enough for proper functioning. This heat sink compound is used in case heat pads are not used with the sink.

Secure the Connection

Once the layer is applied, wait for some time and then place the heat sink and the fan on the top of the processor without applying too much of external force and without twisting it. Press down lightly to make sure that it rests firmly on the processor. Once the heat sink is kept on the processor, it is necessary to secure the connection using the set of clips. These clips are attached on the sides of heat sink to attach the sink firmly. Once the clips are fixed, it is required to check for any falling out of compound. It may so happen that overuse of compounds may cause falling out.

Check the Connection

After this, the connection should be checked by switching on the fan of the processor. If the fan starts working properly, then it means that the connection is secure. Check for all the connections and complete the installation process by closing all the cabinets of the electronic device and the heat sink. Leave it for some time and switch on the electronic device after few hours. The heat sink will start working and you will see the difference in the heat generated and dissipated from the heat sink.

Aluminum Heat Sink:

The most common material that is used for the manufacturing of heat sink is aluminum and the alloys of aluminum. These alloys of aluminum have high thermal conductivity which helps in quick heat transfer. The value of the thermal conductivity depends on the temper of the aluminum alloy and its composition. However all types of aluminum alloys are widely used in the making of heat sink.

Copper Heat Sink:

Although thermal conductivity of copper is larger as compared to that of aluminum, copper heat sinks are around 4 to 6 times as costly as that of aluminum. These are very dense type of material which is difficult to be extruded. Hence they are difficult to be manufactured and require special processing machines for their manufacturing.

Diamond Heat Sink:

This is perhaps the best material and the most expensive one which is used in the manufacturing of heat sink. The thermal conductivity of diamond is five times that of copper. The high transfer rate in diamond is the result of lattice vibrations which make it an ideal material for heat sink. The high diffusivity and thermal conductivity of diamonds is a very desirable property for the working of heat sink. In some cases, synthetic diamond may also be used for making heat sink.

Composite Material Heat Sink:

People have yet another heat sink option in the form of buying composite material heat sink. Composite materials such as an alloy of copper-tungsten, mixture of silicon carbide in aluminum, an alloy of diamond and copper etc can also be used in the making of these heat sinks for equipments. Their thermal compositions are made to match that of the ceramics or the semi-conductors and they can be used as chips in the devices.

Thus we see that depending on the affordability and use, people can chose from the above available heat sink options.