Copper vs. Aluminum - Thermal Conductivity & Radiation

[FordGT90Concept]

The difficult problem is we are restricted. The heatsink can only have so much mass before it hurts the motherboard or cracks the IHS or just goes beyond load specs. We are also limited to the physical size of the heatsink. This is why we are seeing all these really cool heatpipes and copper/AL mixed blocks. So you have to run hybrid heatsinks to get the largest surface area in a small space and the most mass it can have without going over specs.

QFT: it's all about mass.

 

[eidairaman1]

All I know is Cooking with a copper vessel tastes far better than aluminum vessel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_toxicity

read that and you may want to think twice.

 

[P4-630]

A copper heatsink with fan runs warmer and it takes a longer time to cool down unlike an aluminium heatsink that cools down fast with fan, also lots of copper warms up your case more then aluminium heatsinks. But yet copper does a better good job in getting the heat away from processor cores.

 

[suraswami]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_toxicity

read that and you may want to think twice.

To me Wikipedia = bunch of jobless idiots blaberring something and some nut hosts that.

You know best cooking is with mud pot

 

[kiriakost]

The first successful CPU cooler design was the SLK-900 heatsink .

Never ever before, any heatsink had a similar shape .

The special thin fins design , offered the air flow that the copper needs,
so to transfer the heat away.

The SLK-900 heatsink block size cooler , is our successful past .

The heat pipes , are one failure as design in my eyes , it offers more choices at building coolers industry,
so to be creative and make several designs , but the bottom line are,
that is less effective, than block design heatsink s.

All latest high performance copper (coolers - heatsink s) , using the same thin fins design,
that we have see at the SLK-900 , before five or six years back.

This design is the end of the road about high air flow on copper .

ALPHA famous heatsinks designer from Japan, did first worldwide , the copper base with aluminum fins.

If we need to learn and understand , we have to examine the past.



.

 

[aspire]

A copper heatsink with fan runs warmer and it takes a longer time to cool down unlike an aluminium heatsink that cools down fast with fan, also lots of copper warms up your case more then aluminium heatsinks. But yet copper does a better good job in getting the heat away from processor cores.

The reason copper takes a long time to cool down is due to it's higher specific heat. Quite simply it holds more energy than aluminum does.

Therefore aluminum is not better for dissipating heat, it's just able to dump its lower amount of energy faster, which should not be a big surprise...

 

[DanishDevil]

So if copper has a higher specific heat than aluminum, if they were both loaded with the same amount of heat (same temperature) which would radiate its heat into the air with the aid of a fan faster? I see a contradiction in your post.

 

[aspire]

So if copper has a higher specific heat than aluminum, if they were both loaded with the same amount of heat (same temperature) which would radiate its heat into the air with the aid of a fan faster? I see a contradiction in your post.

There is a glaring contradiction in your post. Having the same amount of heat does not mean the two metals are at the same temperature.

For example lets say you take 2 metal cubes each 1kg, one copper and one aluminum.

You then transfer 100 joules of heat/energy into each. The copper block will be cooler than the Aluminum one because of it's higher specific heat, essentially it takes more heat to raise 1 gram of copper one degree Celsius than to do the same with aluminum.

L2Physics everyone... :shadedshu

 

[Laurijan]

Quote:
Copper has a higher thermal conductivity, and therefore is superior to aluminum in processor cooling.

Quote:
Copper is better at conducting heat than aluminum, but aluminum is able to radiate the heat into the air better than copper because of its lower density.

+1

 

[Thrackan]

Quote:
Copper has a higher thermal conductivity, and therefore is superior to aluminum in processor cooling.

Quote:
Copper is better at conducting heat than aluminum, but aluminum is able to radiate the heat into the air better than copper because of its lower density.

+1

Seriously, what's with the lower density thing? Aluminum has a higher thermal resistance, which results in it being harder to change temperature in the material, regardless of whether you cool or heat it.

 

[lemonadesoda]

:shadedshu

I find this thread very sad and disappointing. I thought TPU members had a little more scientific knowledge and understanding.

What is also very sad is that due to the w1zzards superb google placings, this thread now comes to the top of a search. How terrible for someone who really wants to understand. So many posts in this thread spout or "+1" total bullsharks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_sink
http://www.heatsink-guide.com/
... AND your skool physiks book.

 

[DanishDevil]

There is a glaring contradiction in your post. Having the same amount of heat does not mean the two metals are at the same temperature.

For example lets say you take 2 metal cubes each 1kg, one copper and one aluminum.

You then transfer 100 joules of heat/energy into each. The copper block will be cooler than the Aluminum one because of it's higher specific heat, essentially it takes more heat to raise 1 gram of copper one degree Celsius than to do the same with aluminum.

L2Physics everyone... :shadedshu

Sorry that I'm not a physics major...sheesh. I created this thread to learn the truth...

-----------------------------------------------------------

Clearly, different people have different opinions here. What I would like to do is organize a sort of forum debate. We need a good couple of scholarly sources (most likely physics-related materials) and figure out what really is best for heatsinks.

 

[Thrackan]

Sorry that I'm not a physics major...sheesh. I created this thread to learn the truth...

-----------------------------------------------------------

Clearly, different people have different opinions here. What I would like to do is organize a sort of forum debate. We need a good couple of scholarly sources (most likely physics-related materials) and figure out what really is best for heatsinks.

Apparently, a lot of those opinions are backed by no facts at all. I advise you to look into the following terms yourself to get a well-based opinion:
- Thermal Resistance
- Thermal Conductivity

Both these terms already take into account the density of the material.
Also, keep in mind that copper has a higher mass per volume (1 cubic foot of copper weighs more than 1 cubic foot of aluminum) and be aware which of these terms apply to volume and which apply to mass.

Might be a little scientific journey, but since everyone rolls over each other with opinions here, creating chaos and confusion, the best way to find out is investigate it yourself using cold, hard facts.

At this moment in time you probably still don't know which opinion on this thread is correct and which ones are based on urban legends and common misconceptions. Unfortunately, that's exactly what you get when asking about something which has common misconceptions in the general public.

 

[DanishDevil]

That's why I want somebody to quote a scholarly source that everybody can trust, and answer the question in order to kill the myths once and for all, because there are too many web sites and forums that have opinions that are incorrect.

 

[Thrackan]

Best thing is that people don't even trust facts on Wikipedia anymore lately... Which makes it kind of hard to quote a good source here.
I could quote the numbers out of my physics book, but numbers alone don't say much do they?

 

[DanishDevil]

Then maybe somebody else can find something...that's why I made this public.

Wikipedia will not be good enough, as it can be user-edited.

This would be a sick Physics class project to explain and justify why one is better than the other

 

[kiriakost]

This would be a sick Physics class project to explain and justify why one is better than the other

Not really , because far from numbers and need for knowledge , you have left out side the machinist who will create for you, one working heatsink.

One cube of material is unable to offer anything .

So , more important than metal , are the design .
After the successful design comes the metal .
And the limitations of handling the metal .

Aluminum are soft !! There is no way to make one thin fins design with aluminum body.

Lets talk about things that are possible to be created , and not imaginary .

Technology of 1997 1998 ... ALPHA P3 125
http://two.xthost.info/kiriakost/html/1998.html

 

[DanishDevil]

We're not talking about design. We are talking about the popular coolers of today, like the Zalmans and the Xigmateks.

The question now is, aluminum or copper fins, regardless of weight or price. Which offers better performance?

 

[kiriakost]

And if you do not know how to evaluate coolers by their design , how in earth you could possible tell,
which one are the best , you will buy them all ?

 

[Thrackan]

First off, don't mistake theory for imagination.
Second, about popular coolers on the market today, each cooler which has both a pure copper and mixed or alu version proves that the pure copper version does better.

 

[P4-630]

Aluminum are soft !! There is no way to make one thin fins design with aluminum body.

I do not 100% agree with that.
Yes aluminium is soft for machining but there are many grades of aluminium available...

Many designs can be realized, but "perfect(or better)" heatsinks may become very expensive depending on the design, material and fabrication process.

 

[kiriakost]

I do not 100% agree with that.
Yes aluminium is soft for machining but there are many grades of aluminium available...

Oh if we head that way " grades of aluminum " , we lost in the "heat transferability game " .

 

[Thrackan]

I do not 100% agree with that.
Yes aluminium is soft for machining but there are many grades of aluminium available...

Many designs can be realized, but "perfect(or better)" heatsinks may become very expensive depending on the design, material and fabrication process.

I agree on the grades, I've seen specifications for top- and low grade aluminum at work and it's a world of difference.

 

[Thrackan]

Oh if we head that way " grades of aluminum " , we lost in the "heat transferability game " .

Copper has grades of quality too..

 

[kiriakost]

Copper has grades of quality too..

I do not argue on that , but no one from the big names on heatsinks ,
will use cheap stuff .

The performance loss would be tragic, and the fame of the product doomed.