Motherboard heatsinks are crucial parts of any PC’s cooling system because they help to lower the temperature in the machine, which helps with other parts like memory and peripheral cards. Motherboard heatsinks attach themselves primarily to either the chipset or CPU (depending on what you need) and increase airflow around the parts. You can also use a motherboard heatsink when overclocking to ensure that there is enough heat dissipation for all of your hardware components.
Table of Contents
Is a heatsink necessary motherboard?
Could be. Some people think that a heatsink is only necessary when you have overclocked your PC, but this is not the case. You can use a motherboard heatsink with stock components so that everything will run at a cooler temperature and be more stable over time.
A motherboard heatsink can also help when your computer is under heavy load for long periods of time, which causes high heat to build up inside of the machine, putting stress on key components like memory modules and video cards.
Where do I get a Motherboard Heatsink?
You can buy them through the most popular hardware retailers or from some local shops around town depending on where you live.
In almost every case, they are going to be located near other PC cooling products like CPUs, graphics cards, and fans.
You can buy them for $10 to $100 depending on the size of your motherboard, its current heat output, how overclocked it is, and what features you want with your heatsink.
The more bells and whistles that are attached to the motherboard heatsink usually mean that it will be larger in size as well to accommodate all of the extra pieces.
Can I use my Motherboard Heatsink if I don’t overclock? Why does it matter?
Absolutely! There are many reasons why you might consider using an oversized Motherboard Heatsink without overclocking your PC. For one thing, they help keep your machine cool and running at a consistent, low temp all the time.
This is great for those who play games or run other intensive applications as it could potentially save you hundreds of dollars in expensive hardware damage over time.
However, if you have a large heatsink on your motherboard and don’t plan on overclocking anytime soon, you might be sacrificing some of your computer’s performance because there is no way that a small piece of metal will allow the system to run as efficiently as it would with a bigger one.
How do I know if my Heatsink is too big?
In most cases, this will happen naturally so you likely won’t need to worry about whether or not your heatsink actually fits your motherboard.
You will know that you have a huge heatsink on your computer when it takes up at least half of the length of the board, if not more.
