Introduction

If you own any device that generates a lot of heat then you need to choose a heat sink. Choosing the right heat sink can be a little tedious task because of the large variety available on market. You have to make a choice between copper heat sinks or aluminum heat sinks.

When choosing the right heat sinks, you have to note a few important points. You always need to choose a heat sink that not only matches the cost but also runs your devices perfectly. Some heat sinks can give you amazing thermal conductivity but they can also have high costs.

When checking the key specifications of copper heat sinks and aluminum heat sinks, you get to know the following details:

Copper Heat Sinks:

• Thermal conductivity is 40% higher than aluminum
• Cost is higher than aluminum heat sink
• Better thermal performance

Aluminum Heat Sinks

• Less Weight
• More popular option
• Great variety in designs, costs, and colors.

According to recent research, most people prefer to buy Aluminum heat sinks. While copper can be the best one for them. This is what you are going to know in this article. You just need to continue reading to figure out whether you have to buy a copper Heat sink or aluminum heat sink.

Purpose Of Heat Sinks

Heat sinks help you to get rid of excess heat produced by machinery. Basically, the purpose of the heat sink is to help your devices run more efficiently. These heat sinks can be made of different materials. Every material has a different rate of conductivity. Depending upon the manufacturing metal, your heat sinks may function slowly or quickly.

Heat sinks work by collecting the heat that is dissipated in a certain area. The fan Helps to get rid of excess heat collected. Most devices even consist of additional fans that can keep everything cool. Such types of heat sinks are known as active heat sinks. Active heat sinks are usually aluminum heat sinks. While the other case is passive heat sinks which are usually copper heat sinks.

Aluminum Heat Sinks – Active Heat Sinks

Copper Heat Sinks – Passive Heat Sinks

Comparison Between Copper and Aluminum Heat Sinks

Basically, there is no clear-cut answer to what material can suit your needs the most. You have to throw light on some basic factors. It is a grey area to choose between a copper Heat sink and an aluminum heat sink. To help you make the best decision, there are some factors listed below.

When considering which material will help your heat sink to be more effective, you have to ask yourself the following things:

• Your overall budget?

• Orientation of your board?

• Weight of heat sink on the hardware?

• Airflow case?

• Components and designs?

• Targeted temperature?

• Will there be a need for more heat management?

Heat Conductivity

When comparing the aluminium heat sinks and copper heat sinks, you must have to consider the thermal conductivity of the metal. Before proceeding further, you have to keep in mind that copper possesses a higher thermal conductivity as compared to aluminium.

However, the metal only doesn’t indicate that copper is always better than aluminium. Other materials such as plastics used in heat sink manufacturing also possess an impact on their efficiency.

Now let’s take an example of a gaming computer. When you start gaming, a lot of heat is generated in the computer. Therefore, it becomes important to use heat sinks to help your computer work perfectly. In this case, copper heat sinks can be the best choice.

Weight Of Heat Sink

As mentioned earlier, you need to consider the weight loading of the heat sink on your hardware. It can be something negligible to note but it is essential if you use the device on daily basis. In that case, copper heat sinks are considered less weighted heat sinks. On the other hand, aluminium is considered to be less dense than copper.

Costs

When comparing the costs of both options, you will see that aluminium is cheaper than copper. When you are manufacturing any device, you try your best to cut costs. At this point, you may want to buy an aluminium heat sink so that you can invest in more important things.

However, you should not worry about costs when you are planning to build an efficient cooling system. The whole functioning of your device depends on the cooling system. Therefore, aluminium heat sinks can be cheaper but investing in high-quality cooling systems is more practical.

Availability

Deciding what heat sink to choose isn’t the only thing to do. You also need to make sure that your chosen material will also be available on market. The availability of material will decide whether your project will succeed or not. However, it doesn’t mean that you are going to have several options.

Since aluminum heat sinks are more preferred, they are more available in the market. Not only multiple choices for aluminium are available, but you can also select different costs, colors, and designs.

On the other hand, copper doesn’t consist of so many choices.

Which One To Choose Finally?

Now that you have read different factors to differentiate between copper heat sinks and aluminium heat sinks. It is time to decide which one can be your best partner. If you need expert advice then you should definitely go for copper heat sinks. It is because copper heat sinks may cost a little higher, but in the end, these are worth it.

With aluminium heat sinks, you may have to face problems like lesser heat dissipation effectiveness. However, for portable devices, aluminium heat sinks can be a better choice. This fact indicates that the portability of your device also plays a good role in making a decision.

Conclusion

In conclusion, no matter what heat sink you choose. It can be an aluminium heat sink or a copper heat sink. In the end, it also depends upon the quality of your heat sinks. To ensure a good quality heat sink, you need to buy from a good manufacturer.

Finding the right manufacturer may seem difficult but it can be easy if you make thorough research. If you want to purchase the best heat sinks from a high-quality manufacturer, then don’t forget to Contact Us now. We deliver to the United Kingdom, USA, Germany, France& other countries as well. We can also help showing you items of heat sinks so that you can make better decisions. Customer satisfaction is our priority.