Computer heatsinks for audio

[deleveld]

Hi everyone,

Does anyone here use heatsinks from PCs for thier audio amps? I suspect they would be cheaper to get from a PC dumpstore than special audio heatsinks. They would be noisy at full power but would dissipate alot of heat cheaply. Anyone do this?

Thanks,

Doug

 

[Roushon]

In one of the threads someone pointed out this possibility sometime back. The CPU heatsink with a fan was suggested to do the job nicely.
You can also find it here http://www.shine7.com/audio/pa100.htm
with photo.

 

[jaycee]

If you could get old Pentium II heatsinks, they would be ideal. I have one here that's completely passive, about 30mm along the fins. Would be good if it wasnt in use in my firewall.

 

[mcs]

I sometimes use the heatsinks from dead PC power supplies for small amps.

Best regards,

Mikkel C. Simonsen

 

[wimms]

IMO, PC coolers are definitely option, especially that their cooling efficiency has been under high scrutiny and there's alot of data available.

Also, note that Panasonic has developed special fan for home audio cooling, that has received highest marks in silent PC computing - Panaflo. It is rated as about most silent fan on earth.

Then again, you'd need more mechanical work on them to fit your needs.

 

[Petter]

Audio heatsinks for PC's more interesting?

I did what you suggested, but it was painful since the size of heatsinks is typically so small.

The alternative is to use audio heatsinks for PC's to make them silent and better looking

Petter

 

[tab30]

Tested

Hello,

I have done measurements on PC-Heatsink's some times ago. The result was realy impressive. A cheap normal Cooler for Athlon XP has an Thermal Resistance of no more than 0.2 W/K ( Fan aplied and running ).

If you want to use PC-Coolers I wouldn'd use them without fan, they are designt to work ideal with an Fan. Without it , the performance is bad - compared to "Audio-Heatsink"


greethings Andi

 

[lgreen]

I have

I've used those heatsinks (got them from Electronic Goldmine) in my GainClone.

See here and here

They are very good at dissipating heat, but I'd still like them to be a little bigger.